Montana Republican Rep. Derek Skees has opted to run for state auditor in 2012 rather than pursue reelection in Whitefish’s House District 4, according to news reports.
Skees told the Whitefish Pilot last week he is running for auditor primarily to challenge the federal healthcare reform law. The current state auditor, also known as the commissioner of securities and insurance, is Democrat Monica Lindeen, who defeated Republican Duane Grimes in 2008 with 53 percent of the vote.
“I think the auditor’s job is to be an advocate for the consumer and to protect us from fraud, both private and public,” Skees told the Pilot. “The current auditor is not protecting us from Obamacare.”
A campaign website, “Derek Skees for Montana State Auditor,” has been established. Skees didn’t return voice messages left for him last week.
Last November, Skees won a tight race over Democrat Will Hammerquist for Whitefish’s House District 4 seat. Skees received 51 percent of the vote and then served in the 62nd state Legislature.
Among the bills Skees introduced during the session was the Montana Nullification Reaffirmation Act, “prohibiting infringement of the state of Montana’s constitutional right to nullification of any federal statute, mandate, or executive order considered unconstitutional by the state.” The bill failed.
Over the summer, Whitefish Democrat Tom Muri announced he is running for Skees’ seat in the House.
According to its website, the Montana commissioner of securities and insurance office “is a criminal justice agency charged with protecting Montana’s consumers through insurance and securities regulation and also through informing the public about insurance and securities issues.”