Alme Named as Budget Director for Gov-elect Gianforte

When I heard the news on Monday that Kurt Alme would be stepping down as Montana's US Attorney, my first reaction was: what a huge loss for the State of Montana. My second thought was, is he stepping down early so he can join the incoming governor's administration?

As Montana's US Attorney, Kurt Alme has done an incredible job. The previous administration oversaw an explosion in meth violations. From 2010-2015 meth violations increased by over 400% in Montana. Then, Donald Trump was elected president, and Kurt Alme was nominated to the US Attorney post.

Immediately, after taking over as US Attorney, Alme reinvigorated the Project Safe Neighborhoods program across the state, and finally started putting a dent in the meth epidemic.

My concern now is that if Joe Biden becomes president in January, he will install a weak, partisan US Attorney that will take the state backward in the meth epidemic fight once again.

The good news is that Kurt Alme will continue serving the State of Montana, now as the Budget Director under Governor-elect Greg Gianforte (R-MT). Alme previously served as the Director of the Montana Department of Revenue under former Gov. Judy Martz (R-MT).

This news came out in a press release from the governor-elect on Tuesday, which included this reaction from Gianforte and Alme:

GIANFORTE: We received a clear mandate from Montanans to fire up our economy and hold the line on state spending, and I need a leader of Kurt’s experience and intellect to implement that mandate. In partnering with Kurt, I’m confident that we’ll be able to identify waste in the budget and free up those dollars so that folks can keep more of the money that they earn.

 

ALME: I’m honored to serve in the Gianforte Administration as Budget Director. Montanans want to see Helena change the way it does business, and that begins with how Helena spends the hard-earned dollars of its citizens. I’m grateful for the opportunity to join this team, and look forward to getting to work on the Governor-elect’s forthcoming budget.