Buttigieg speaks on Montana Plan, hosts town hall in Butte
BUTTE — Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was greeted by more than 1,000 people on Sunday, speaking to an energetic crowd in The Mother Lode Theatre about getting corporate money out of politics.
Organizers and advocates in Montana are pushing for a citizen’s statutory initiative I-194, the Montana Plan, which seeks to remove corporate spending from politics. The Transparent Election Initiative, a nonprofit organization led by former Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan, is leading the effort.
More than 3,000 people sent in an RSVP for the event, organizers said, and The Mother Lode Theatre — capacity 1,200 — was full to the brim, with a carryover event at the Knights of Columbus bar next door. Organizers said they have about half the number of needed signatures, slightly more than 30,000, which must be submitted by June 19. If the signatures are gathered, the issue will appear on the November ballot in an effort to create a new law.
Multiple speakers, including Buttigieg, pointed to Butte’s history with politicians, corporations and spending on elections. Specifically, they talked about the Copper King era, which led to the state’s Corrupt Practices Act, a 1912 law that followed a bribery scandal.
https://dailymontanan.com/2026/05/17/buttigieg-speaks-on-montana-plan-hosts-town-hall-in-butte/