Big Sky Times

Montana Green Party U.S. Senate candidate Wendie Frederickson says Gov. Steve Bullock and his fellow Democrats will not bully her into quitting before the November election. 

Fredrickson has accused Bullock, who is running against her for the Senate seat held by Republican Sen. Steve Daines, and the state’s Democratic Party of trying to silence her in an opinion piece published in the Helena Independent Record on July 8.  

Montana Democrats sued to remove Fredrickson from the ballot but failed, and Fredrickson said she is running to bring truth and transparency to state government.

“I refuse to be silenced, like so many others have, through either bullying or non-disclosure agreements,” she wrote. “My resolve to run for U.S. Senate has only been strengthened by Democrats’ attempts to remove me from the ballot. I will continue to use my voice to fight for greater transparency in our government. The same transparency that I saw deteriorate before my eyes when I worked for the Bullock administration.”

She also accused Bullock’s administration of engaging in retaliation and cover-ups during her tenure as state auditor.

"We’ve seen Bullock retaliate and strip his former female Lt. Gov. Angela McLean of her duties, eventually forcing her out of her job, due to issues that he refuses to discuss to this day," Frederickson wrote. "We’ve also witnessed Bullock cover for his close friend and senior adviser Kevin O’Brien’s sexual harassment accusations, refusing to warn a future employer of his troubling history.

 “While Bullock tried to defend his actions by saying he believed O’Brien wouldn’t do it again, his friend went on and sexually harassed another woman. I’ve had enough of the bullying, cover-ups, and smears that run rampant through this administration. That’s why I’m running for the U.S. Senate, to restore trust and integrity in those we elect to represent us."

Frederickson was a state auditor until 2014 when she left her position due to what she said was bullying by state officials. She spoke up about potentially fraudulent payments made to undocumented welfare recipients on Fort Belknap Native American reservation.

“Before being forced into retirement in 2014, I was a proud government employee for 20 years at Montana’s Department of Health and Human Services," she wrote in the Record. "I enjoyed the job and ended up spending more than two decades analyzing the state’s financial books. However, I ran into a few experiences during my time that gave me pause, beginning with the state’s handling of potential fraudulent businesses.”