Big Sky 55+ supports Ryan Busse for Governor, and Raph Graybill for Lt. Governor. We invite you to join us in this worthy effort!

 

Ryan Busse and Raph Graybill are running a vigorous campaign earning Montanan’s confidence and trust. Montana needs an executive at the helm who can steer the ship of our state toward economic stability! Here are key elements:

• Unwavering commitment to our beloved 1972 Constitution.

• Strategies to move aggressively to build affordable housing for workers, young families and older adults downsizing. 

• Rolling back the explosive growth in residential property taxes that shifts the cost of vital local services from wealthy and large industries onto homeowners.

• End the assault on Montana’s excellent public schools

• Continue Montana’s affordable health care 

 

Ryan grew up on a family cattle ranch and wheat farm, and came to Montana working for a firearms manufacturing firm that focused on hunters. He and his wife Sara are raising two sons in the Kalispell area. He is the author of a national best seller, “Gunfight: My Fight Against the Industry that Radicalized America.” 

 

Raph is an attorney in Helena with deep roots in Great Falls, including his grandfather Leo Graybill who presided over the Montana Constitutional Convention in 1972. Raph is the preeminent legal defender of the Montana Constitution, defending it against a barrage of legislation passed in 2021 and 2023 undermining Montanans’ constitutional rights. Raph and his wife Marisa are parents of three young children.

 

The Busse-Graybill team share a majority of Montanans’ conviction that reproductive health decisions are the private province of our citizens and their health care providers, and are not to be retracted by the State Legislature or the Governor.

 

One issue that Ryan Busse fiercely campaigns on is the preservation of Montana’s historic commitment to public access: hunting, fishing, and floating the states’ public lands and rivers.   The landscape is rapidly changing as Montana sees ultra-wealthy out-of-staters purchase ranches and lock gates in many parts of the state. Quite a few of the new residents, for whom these beautiful lands are second or third homes, have no experience or regard for the neighborly traditions and symbiotic relationships that have preserved Montana’s iconic wildlife and beautiful landscapes. Gov. Greg Gianforte has doggedly pushed policies to privatize wildlife, and move Montana away from our unique history of access and wildlife management practices that preserve and protect public hunting and angling. 

 

The Gianforte Administration’s record supporting senior services is abysmal. In 2022, eleven skilled nursing and assisted living facilities were closed due to decisions made by the Gianforte Administration and the State Legislature. State leaders fell far short of covering the costs of caring for Montana’s Medicaid patients. (In senior long-term care, many hard-working elders find they have spent all of their savings and assets, and require Medicaid to sustain their ongoing care.)  In 2023, Big Sky 55+ worked to boost the reimbursement levels to match the actual costs and keep local care facilities open. To date, the Gianforte Administration has failed to take initiative to bolster access to home and community based services, or to ensure that Montana’s senior long term care infrastructure does not further deteriorate.  

 

Big Sky 55+ has worked through the interim to strengthen and fill gaps in the continuum of care and support for older adults.  The Gianforte  Administration has no plan to address this critical and growing need.  While the tide of facilities closing  has slowed down with the passage of increased reimbursement rates for caregivers, the rate remains inadequate and Montana continues to see a steady decline in licensed medicaid beds for long term care.

 

It’s time to bring in a new team to roll up their sleeves and work with Montanans to move us forward. Please join us in voting for Ryan Busse and Raph Graybill for Montana’s Governor and Lieutenant Governor.