Ronan local seeks state auditor post

Shane Morigeau is what hometowns like to call a “Local boy made good.”

Growing up in Ronan and Pablo, and a CSKT member, Morigeau gained the down-to-earth life perspective rural Montanans are known for. He played basketball in high school, spent his college summers fighting fire, got a pilot’s license, and a Bachelor’s in Resource Conservation. He also learned first-hand how important good health care and fair insurance are to people beyond our urban centers, leading him to seek election to the position of state auditor in the 2020 election.

Morigeau earned a law degree from the University of Montana, and a Master of Laws at the University of Arizona. He began his career as an advocate and attorney representing the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, and is currently tribal attorney.

In this role, Morigeau worked to pass Medicaid expansion in 2015. He says this issue was particularly important to him, having grown up in a community of hard-working people that still barely earned enough to “scrape by.” He emphasizes that tribes are not unique in this – Montanans across the state share this experience.

“We are all Montanans and Americans,” he said. “We go to the same schools, shop in the same stores, work in the same jobs; we are cut from the same cloth. We look out for each other.”

He is proud to be a tribal member, but it is important to him that people don’t think of each other as separate.

“Differences make us unique, and they shouldn’t divide us,” he said.

He said it is important for him to represent all Montanans.

Morigeau was elected from Missoula to two terms in the Montana State House of Representatives, possibly the first Native American to represent a non-reservation district in the state. As Minority Whip, he partnered with people on both sides of the aisle to pass a wide variety of major bills, including re-authorization of Medicaid expansion; protections for sex abuse victims; the Montana Promise Act providing grant funds for students to attend two-year colleges and help fill Montana’s health care, tech, and trade jobs; blockchain regulation; and protections from investment fraud.

Working with people on all sides of an issue is important to Morigeau.

“We can have different opinions about things, but still work on things we agree on and get stuff done. We shouldn’t let that toxicity we see with some infect us all.”

Morigeau now hopes to bring his small-town smarts and experience to bear on the Office of State Auditor, which is responsible for regulating insurance and securities, or investments, and protecting Montanans from fraudulent practices in these industries. The office is very important to Montanans, Morigeau says.

“This office holds one of the keys for equal opportunity through access to health care, and making sure people’s health, home and auto insurance protect them, not dropping them from coverage unfairly.”

“I continually hear people say they don’t understand what they are paying for,” he says.

His mission is to help make insurance and investments clear and protect Montanans from scams and “junk plans” by fairly regulating the insurance and securities industries.

“People might think they are getting a good deal but aren’t aware of the limited coverage they’re getting through short-term plans. We have good medical care and providers in Montana. But many people feel like they are blindsided when the bills come in. Education is power,” he said. “I want people to feel like calling the office for help again.”

Morigeau will also focus on strengthening the litigation and investigative arm of the office to pursue fraud cases.

“Transparency helps instill confidence in these industries; you would think they would want that.”

The State Auditor also is a member of the State Board of Land Commissioners that oversees management of state lands. Morigeau, with a degree from UM College of Forestry and Conservation and practical bipartisan legislative diplomacy experience, says balance can be found between agriculture, supporting schools through resource management, and supporting the outdoor economy and heritage.

“That’s what makes Montana so fantastic,” he said. “We have been doing that with each other for years.”

Morigeau takes the state auditor job so seriously, he has been campaigning for it for a year. He has visited every tribe, and most counties. Most of the other candidates entered the race toward the last minute, and many of them are backed by their own wealth and outside big money and connections with industry, he said, putting tens of thousands of dollars into television advertising. He relies on the folks he intends to represent the most strongly, those in low-income rural areas that typically donate just a few dollars.

Endorsements have come in from across the state, including from previous State Auditor Monica Lindeen, Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council and several tribes, Missoula Fire Fighters Local 271, U.S. Atty. Mike Cotter, and Jesse Laslovich who was Lindeen’s chief legal counsel.

And of course, his hometown tribal council backs him one hundred percent. “We are proud to support Shane in his run for State Auditor. Shane has proven he will fight for fairness and equality for all Montanans,” said Shelly R. Fyant, Chairwoman of CSKT’s Tribal Council. “He’s a tireless advocate and protector.”