Legislative leaders from both sides of the aisle removed state Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, from his interim committee and commission assignments Monday. Interim committees and commissions meet between Montana’s biannual legislative sessions to discuss issues and draft policy.
Windy Boy’s removal from two interim committees and one commission came at the request of Senate President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, and Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade, according to a joint press release from Republican and Democratic Senate staff.
In April, Windy Boy dropped out of the Democratic primary for U.S. House representing Montana’s Eastern Congressional District after Democratic primary competitor Brian Miller surfaced allegations by a Pennsylvania woman that Windy Boy sent sexually explicit photos and messages to underage girls in 2002. Windy Boy has not publicly acknowledged or responded to the allegations.
The state Democratic Party, which broke the news of Windy Boy’s withdrawal from the U.S. House race, at the time also called on him to resign from his state Senate seat. Windy Boy has not publicly acknowledged or responded to that request.
Regier replaced Windy Boy on the School Funding Interim Commission with Sen. Dave Fern, D-Whitefish, on Monday. Also on Monday, the Senate Committee on Committees, which manages committee assignments, removed Windy Boy from his interim committees and replaced him with other Democrats during a seven-minute meeting.
The Committee on Committees, which is composed entirely of Republican senators, selected Sen. Laura Smith, D-Helena, to take Windy Boy’s spot on the Senate Finance and Claims standing committee, which in turn removes him from the Education Interim Budget Committee. The Committee on Committees chose Sen. Jacinda Morigeau, D-Arlee, to replace Windy Boy on the State-Tribal Relations Committee.
“This at least clears the deck for the rest of the interim so that we don’t have this hanging over the interim work,” Sen. John Esp, Big Timber, said during the committee meeting.
Appointments for standing committees, which meet during the biennial legislative session, will be decided after the November election. As a holdover senator, Windy Boy is not up for reelection until 2028.
In their joint statement Monday, Regier and Flowers said they want additional action as well.
“Sen. Windy Boy still needs to do the right thing and completely resign from public office,” the pair wrote.
MTFP reached out to Windy Boy for comment Monday but had received no reply by publication time. Windy Boy, who has served as a representative and senator in the Montana Legislature since 2003, has not been criminally charged, and the allegations against him are not under formal investigation or review by any legislative body.
Note: This story originally appeared on Montana Free Press. It is published under a Creative Commons license.Montana Free Press: Native lawmaker breaks silence on sexual misconduct and resumes campaign for Congress
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