One of the Republicans campaigning for Montana’s Senate seat that’s up in 2018 is facing multiple charges for trying to purchase resident hunting and fishing licenses as a nonresident.
Troy Downing of Big Sky has pleaded not guilty to seven misdemeanor citations.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokeswoman Andrea Jones confirmed the citations, which were first reported by Bozeman blogger Kathryn QannaYahu.
"We lost that money," QannaYahu said, "that was a theft to the agency when someone does that, and I’m concerned about that because that’s more that could go in towards our Fish, Wildlife and Parks management."
QannaYahu, who writes for the environmental newsletter Enhancing Montana’s Wildlife and Habitat, broke the news on her blog after receiving court documents through an open records request.
A person must live in Montana for 180 days prior to buying a resident license.
Downing, the CEO of a California company that owns self-storage facilities in five states, is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.
Montana’s State Auditor Matt Rosendale, state Sen. Albert Olszewski of Kalispell and Belgrade businessman Ron Murray are also seeking the Republican nomination.