Brown named lottery director

A Senator from Trout Creek has a new position within the state. Governor Greg Gianforte last week announced the appointment of Bob Brown of Trout Creek to serve as lottery director for the State of Montana.

Brown was first elected to serve Montana in the state legislature in 2015, serving consecutive terms in the Montana House of Representatives until 2019. He was elected to the Montana State Senate in 2021.

“It’s very interesting and I’m learning a lot,” Brown said Monday, his first day in his new position. “It’s going to be great.” He told The Ledger that he recently had a second hip replacement and was looking for a new opportunity. “I was in a position that I needed to do something different in my life,” he explained, and became interested when he was contacted about the Lottery position by former director Scott Sales.

"With his extensive experience in the legislature, Bob will lead the Montana Lottery well," Gov. Gianforte said. "I am confident he will build upon the Montana Lottery's progress that has more than doubled the amount of money transferred to the general fund and improved experiences with the games."

Brown, who began his appointment as lottery director on March 1, most recently served in the Montana State Legislature, representing Senate District 7. Brown assumes the role after the resignation of the former director, Scott Sales.

"It's been an honor to serve the people of Montana in the legislature, and I look forward to continuing to do so in my new role as lottery director. Thank you to the governor for his continued support and confidence," Brown said. “We’ve done some good work. Much of that is bills that you have to stop. There was a lot of legislation passed that was good for Sanders County with the predator situations we have.”

Brown stated that he will miss the people and the friendships that he made, as well as being in contact with and being able to help the people of Sanders County. “Even not being in the legislature, I’ll still be able to have an influence because of the relationships I’ve made.”

Brown’s position in Senate District 7 includes portions of Missoula, Mineral, Flathead and Sanders counties. Montana state code dictates that the Republican committees in those counties will provide a list of potential replacements to fill Brown’s seat until the 2024 election. From that list, county commissioners from the four counties will choose the interim Senator to serve until January 1, 2025.

Paul Fielder is the chairperson of the Republican Central Committee in Sanders County. He said Monday that in the 2020 election, Sanders County accounted for 59% of the votes for Brown’s seat, Flathead County 19%, Mineral County 18% and Missoula County about 3%. Montana code states that the votes of the commissioners in those county will be weighted in accordance with those percentages. The county commissioners have 45 days to fill the vacancy. “I obviously would like to have a person that will represent Sanders County very well,” Fielder said Monday. “Obviously the legislature isn’t in session, but that person will sit on interim committees and would be needed if a special session is called.”

Brown was up for re-election this year. Republican Greg Hertz of Polson is the only person to file for Brown’s seat so far. The filing deadline for candidates is March 11.

Before entering public service, Brown spent most of his professional career as a general contractor in the construction industry and five years as a special needs educational coordinator at the Spring Creek Lodge Academy in Sanders County.