Mike Cooney - Candidate for Governor

We sat down with Lieutenant Governor, Mike Cooney, to talk about his candidacy for Governor and the issues that are important to him. He shares his views about healthcare, prescription drug costs, improving public education including a pre-K program, protecting Montana’s aging population, and addressing climate change. On protecting Montana’s public lands and outdoor heritage he says, “I want the same thing for all Montanans that I want for my kids and grandkids, to be able to be given a better Montana than what I was given, and pass it on to the next generation in even better shape.” We also discuss his long history of public service in Montana beginning in 1976 when he was elected to the Montana House where he served two terms, followed by several years working for U.S. Senator Max Baucus at the state level and in Washington, D.C., then on to three terms as Montana Secretary of State, followed by his work for the nonprofit Healthy Mothers where he helped Montanans gain access to the CHIP program, then two terms in the Montana Senate where he was elected president, followed by several positions in the Montana Department of Labor. In 2014 he was tapped by Governor Steve Bullock to be Lieutenant Governor. It’s his broad experience in both elected positions and state agencies that he feels make him uniquely qualified as governor, “I know how to push government to make it work, and I know how to make sure people’s voices are heard.”