Big Sky Times

It is perhaps the most unique campaign ever.

A Montana man in the race for a U.S. Senate seat has asked voters not to support him but instead vote for the Democratic candidate.

Dennis Daneke, a retired professor of sustainable construction technology, will face Wendie Frederickson on June 2 for the Green Party nomination. The Greens hadn’t planned to have candidates on the statewide ballot, but the Montana Republican Party paid for it to be included.

Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democratic two-term governor who is challenging Sen. Steve Daines, a freshman Republican wrapping up his first term in the Senate.

The Green Party was pulled into the race when Frederickson, a Helena resident and former auditor at the state Department of Public Health and Human Services, was persuaded to run. She has been a critic of Bullock, saying he created a “hostile work environment.”

Frederickson made allegations of fraud in the state government under Bullock’s leadership, telling reporters and a panel of legislators that she questioned payments to undocumented welfare recipients on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.

She told the Helena Independent Record that when she red-flagged the payments, she was told they were authorized, continue making them and stay silent. When she would not comply, she lost responsibilities, felt isolated and then was forced out the door.

“It used to be a great place to work,” Fredrickson said. “It wasn’t until this administration that there was so much pressure you couldn’t do it.”

That led to her recruitment to become a Green Party candidate.

Daneke, a Green Party member who lives in Lolo, told Big Sky Times he is running because it seems like his party is being used.

“I confess that the only reason my name is on the ballot is because I was asked to run 20 minutes before the registration deadline because the Repubs had just put a Green Party candidate on the ballot in an effort to siphon votes away from Gov. Bullock,” he told Big Sky Times. “We didn’t want her to run unopposed in the primary and get a walk to the general election. So I am running. I also believe it is a little rude to run as a Green Party candidate when you are not a member of the party.”

Daneke referred to Gary S. Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, who is the Green Party candidate for state Senate District 47 out of Missoula. In 1994, Marbut ran for the legislature as a Democrat and in 2012 he sought a seat as an independent.

“You might ask Gary Marbut what he likes about the Green Party platform,” Daneke said. ”I have received no money, direction or advice from the Democratic Party or Gov. Bullock’s campaign. This is literally a kitchen table project.”

He sent a pair of statements to explain his unorthodox campaign.

“To all Montana voters: Please do not vote for me. Don’t vote for my Green Party opponent either. Your vote is a precious privilege and should never be wasted on a candidate that cannot possibly win,” he wrote.

“My opponent was recruited to siphon votes from Democrats and I was recruited to siphon votes from her. Judging from press reports, she feels she was treated unfairly by Governor Bullock and has a grievance for the Governor. As a life-long union member and organizer I will give her the benefit of the doubt.

“However, I would also argue that the polling booth is not the place to fight grievances. Apparently, the Republicans do not think they can win elections based on their ideas or the character of their candidates. Consequently, they resort to dirty tricks like voter suppression and running siphon candidates. Don’t let them get away with it.

“However, if you feel compelled to vote for a third-party candidate as some sort of protest, you should definitely vote for me. I have read the Green Party platform and whole-heartedly agree with their positions. I am a member of the Green Party.

“My wife and I live our lives as 'green’ as possible. Our property is landscaped with native vegetation. Our home is a passive solar design so the boiler infrequently turns on. We grow most of our own food and contribute any surplus to others.

“Rooftop solar panels provide more electricity than we use to run our home, and charge our electric vehicle, and lawnmower and operate a drip-irrigation system. We try to invest in green business. Hell, we make Kermit the Frog look yellow!

So if you really want to vote green, vote for the green guy.”

He ended the statement with an apparent campaign motto: ”Dennis Daneke, Roof top solar for all who want it, and a puppy on every porch.”

In a second statement, he offers what he calls “some straight talk” about politics and his campaign.

“It is unlikely that any third-party candidate is going to win a statewide race in the near future. Nonetheless, some voters prefer to vote for third parties to send a message to the major parties that their platforms don’t go far enough,” he said. “I am one of those folks. I fully subscribe to the Green Party platform and I encourage you to check it out here https://www.gp.org/platform.”

Daneke said he believes all public policy should follow the three E’s of sustainability—environment, economics and equitability.

“For a policy (or any activity for that matter) to be sustainable, it must be environmentally benign or at least mitigatable, economically feasible, and equitable or fair to all involved,” he said. “If you agree with that philosophy, you should vote for the Green Party in the primary. If you so choose, I encourage you to vote for me. I live as ‘green’ as possible. Solar panels on the roof, electric vehicle in the garage, native vegetation landscaping with water conservation measures, passive solar home design, and organic gardens to feed my family as well as the less fortunate. I am the Green Party’s green candidate.”

Sen. Daines is being opposed by John Driscoll and Daniel Larson in the June 2 primary. Driscoll has changed political stripes. He was a Democratic state legislator years ago and served as speaker of the Montana House of Representatives.

Dan Larson is making his first bid for public office. He is a hardware store owner in Stevensville.

The Democratic primary is between Gov. Bullock and John Mues.

Bullock had mounted a late-starting campaign for the Democratic nomination for president. It failed to ignite and he dropped out while saying he was disinterested in a race for the Senate. But after intense lobbying by Montana and nationally prominent Democrats, he joined the race on the final day.

Mues, another political newcomer, is a miner and rancher from Loma. There were other Democrats interested in challenging Daines, but they dropped out when Bullock entered the race.