Good Jobs Montana was a non-federal Montana-based political action committee (PAC) aligned with the Democratic Party. Good Jobs Montana was primarily funded by the Democratic Governors Association and labor unions. ¹ The PAC was operational in the 2016, 2017, and 2020 elections. ²

Background

Good Jobs Montana was founded in 2016. Tax filings  indicate that the organization was created by Stephen Hill, the principal officer of the organization. ³

Finances

In 2016 Good Jobs Montana received $5,300,000 in contributions, ⁴ made $5,297,395 in expenditures, and held $2,605 in net assets. ⁴

Reports show that Good Jobs Montana received contributions from the National Education Association (NEA) Advocacy Fund ($1,200,000) ⁵ and the Jobs and Opportunity PAC ($150,000), ⁵ a super PAC  ⁶ affiliated with the left-of-center Center for Innovative Policy. ⁷

Organizational Support

In addition to financial contributions, reports show that Good Jobs Montana received $8,860 of in-kind contributions from Montana Rural Voters Action Fund, the PAC arm of the center-left Montana Rural Voters voter mobilization organization. ⁸ Montana Rural Voters is part of a larger consortium of “rural  organizations” supported by the Movement Voter Project ⁹ in Alaska, Nebraska, Utah, Oklahoma, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, and Wyoming  that seeks to elect Democratic Party-aligned candidates to local, state, and federal political offices. ⁹

Criticism

In 2020, Good Jobs Montana was criticized for having the highest media profile for a Montana political ad-buying organization despite being an out-of-state organization with limited ties to Montana. ¹⁰ In 2020, Good Jobs Montana registered to operate within the state with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices (COPP). ¹⁰ The listed address was a UPS box located at 1633 Main Street, Suite A-370, Billings, Montana. ¹⁰

Leadership

Stephen Hill was the principal officer of Good Jobs Montana. ³ Hill has worked in leadership roles with other Democratic Party-affiliated PACs, including the Good Jobs West Virginia PAC ¹¹ and the Jobs and Opportunity PAC, where he was treasurer. ⁶

In 2019, Hill was hired as the chief operating officer of the Democratic Governors Association. ¹²

Hill is also listed as officer of the Guarantee Our Votes Project, a voter registration and education project ¹³ of the left-of-center Center for Innovative Policy. ¹⁴

1. “Good Jobs Montana.” ProPublica 527 Explorer. https://projects.propublica.org/527-explorer/search?search=good+jobs+montana&toggle=expenditures
2. “Vendor/Recipient Profile: Good Jobs Montana.” OpenSecrets, Accessed August 5, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2020&vendor=Good+Jobs+Montana
3. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Good Jobs Montana. Box F. 2016.
4. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Good Jobs Montana. Part I, Line 17. 2018.
5. “Vendor/Recipient: Good Jobs Montana-2020.” OpenSecrets. https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2020&vendor=Good+Jobs+Montana
6. “Jobs and Opportunity – Profile.” OpenSecrets. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/jobs-opportunity/C00622340/summary/2020
7. “About CIP.” Center for Innovation Policy. https://www.centerforinnovativepolicy.org/
8. “Our Work and Values.” Montana Rural Voters. https://mtruralvoters.org/our-work-our-values/
9. WRAPS Project.” Movement Voter Project. https://movement.vote/funds/wraps-project/
10. Skinner, David. “Don’t Shoot the Messenger-The only ‘Montana’ groups with a significant presence in Election 2020’s media slugfest are facades only.” Flathead Beacon. September 30, 2020. Accessed July 22, 2024. https://flatheadbeacon.com/2020/09/30/dont-shoot-messenger/
11. “Good Job West Virginia-State of West Virginia Campaign Financial Statement.” West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office. 2016. https://apps.sos.wv.gov/elections/pac-search/ReadCFRSReport.aspx?DocId=4942
12. “DGA Announces Senior Staff.” Democratic Governors Association. February 20, 2019. Accessed July 22, 2024. https://democraticgovernors.org/updates/dga-announces-senior-staff-2/
13. “Guarantee Our Votes Project.” Cause IQ. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/guarantee-our-votes-project,862625901/
14. “Guarantee Our Votes Project.” Open Corporates. https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_dc/EXTUID_4296910