After working to elect Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Cooney, Amanda Curtis, President of the Montana Federation of Public Employees told KGVO News on Friday that she has reached out to Governor-elect Greg Gianforte.

“The voters have spoken and Governor-elect Gianforte is victorious, and we will do everything we can to work with him to keep Montana the great states that it is,” said Curtis. “I congratulate him on his win and offer my time and we will continue to work on behalf of our members to work with them moving forward.”

As head of the state teacher’s union, Curtis said her dedication to education remains as strong as ever.

“We are committed to preserving every Montana kids’ constitutionally guaranteed right to a free quality public education,” she said. “We are committed to keeping public dollars in public institutions; we stand for good government, and we represent all of the folks who provide that good government in the state of Montana.”

I do not want this quote now to be used like I'm trying to play politics, because I am not,” she said. “I am being sincere. I have made an initial reach out and sincerely hope that he calls me back, and I have every expectation that we'll have a conversation.

Curtis told KGVO that despite her previous criticism of Gianforte, she is sincere about working with the new administration.

“I do not want this quote now to be used like I'm trying to play politics, because I am not,” she said. “I am being sincere. I have made an initial reach out and sincerely hope that he calls me back, and I have every expectation that we'll have a conversation.”

Curtis said the Montana Federation of Public Employees contains members from all political affiliations.

“We represent a wide range of members from very, very conservative to very, very liberal and like most Montanans, all of those independents in the middle, and we all have a commitment to keeping Montana the great state that it is now,” she said. “And like I said, we will work with whoever we need to in order to make that happen.”

Curtis replaced the now retired Eric Feaver as president of the state’s largest and most influential union.

 

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