Tuss files for re-election to House of Representatives

Staff and wire report

Editor’s note: This version corrects former Rep. Ed Hill of Havre’s party affiliation. Hill is a Republican.

Rep. Paul Tuss, D-Havre, announced in a press release this week he has filed for re-election to the Montana House of Representatives in House District 27, which encompasses the City of Havre and parts of Hill County, including North Havre.

Tuss was elected to the Legislature in 2022, defeating incumbent Rep. Ed Hill, R-Havre, and served during the 2023 session. He served on the House Appropriations Committee, Long Range Planning Subcommittee and Legislative Administration Committee.

"I have been honored to serve the residents of Havre and northern Montana in the Legislature and have worked in a bipartisan manner to get real results for our area. I want to continue that work to assure our community has a strong voice on policy matters and through the appropriations process in the next legislative session," Tuss said. "Focusing on common sense solutions and bipartisanship may sound old-fashioned, especially in today's political climate, but it's what I promised to do if elected. And it's precisely how I worked during the legislative session to get results for Havre, Hill County and rural Montana."

As a member of the Appropriations Long Range Planning Subcommittee, Tuss worked with fellow legislators to secure historic levels of funding for projects in Havre and on the Hi-Line. A few examples include the following: $25 million to construct the new Aurora Complex at Montana State University-Northern, $26 million for the rehabilitation of the St. Mary-Milk River Project, $625,000 for improvements to the City of Havre's water system, $6.5 million for renovations to existing buildings on Northern's campus and $359,000 for renovations to Havre Beneath the Streets.

Tuss also sponsored two bills that were signed into law by Gov. Greg Gianforte, was the only freshman legislator to be placed on the bipartisan Honor Roll by the Montana Conservation Voters for his support of public access to public lands and was successful in securing a $3.7 million appropriation to remove lead from school drinking water systems.

Tuss, whose wife, Pam Hillery, died in 2016 after a long battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, has two adult children, Dolan and Caroline.

The family moved to Havre in 2000 after Tuss served as head of the economic development agency in Glacier County. He has served as executive director of Bear Paw Development Corp. for 24 years.

He has served on numerous boards, commissions and groups, including the Board of Regents of Higher Education including as chair, serves on the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors, serves on the Montana State University-Northern Business Advisory Board, the Montana Economic Developers Association Board, the National Association of Development Organization board, and serves or has served on numerous other local, regional and state organizations.

Tuss ran for Montana secretary of state in 2000, losing in the primary to Hal Harper, who lost the general election to Bob Brown.

He also ran for the state Senate in 2018, losing in the general election to Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester.

He said in a press release that he wants to return to continue to represent the local constituents.

"At the end of the day, we all want and deserve representation in the Montana Legislature that works hard, is effective and never forgets the priorities of the people who sent them to Helena," Tuss said. "I know there continues to be a lot of work to do in Montana to make our state an even better place to live, work, raise a family and build a business. I'm asking the residents of House District 27 for their support once again to continue to bring common sense priorities to state government."