Greg Gianforte announces his candidacy for Montana governor on Wednesday at Peterbilt in Lockwood. The Bozeman Republican thanked his wife, Susan, at left, for her support at the beginning of his speech. (Jonathan McNiven photo)
by Judy Killen-originally published in the weekly newspaper Yellowstone County News.
LOCKWOOD — Greg Gianforte launched his anticipated campaign for governor on Wednesday, telling 70-plus people gathered for his announcement that he intends to “give Steve Bullock pink slip.”
Speaking to a crowd of local Republicans and reporters, Gianforte, a Bozeman businessman, said he intends to fight federal regulations that he believes strangle Montana businesses and called Bullock, the current governor, a “chicken” who’s failed to stand up for Montanans in the face of lost jobs and a struggling economy.
“I fell in love with Montana 40 years ago,” said the 54-year-old Gianforte. He moved here with his young children and started a business in Bozeman, which paid high wages and stimulated business growth, he said.
He said federal officials use regulations to curtail and threaten Montana jobs and resources, including timber and mining.
“They think a prairie chicken is more important” than peoples’ jobs, he said, and the current administration in Helena is “too chicken to stand up to them.”
Gianforte announced his campaign at Montana Peterbilt in Lockwood, launching a read more
