The Montana Office of the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance and State Auditor. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan)
The Republican candidate for state auditor — and current president of the Public Service Commission — signed into a registration log at the Office of the Montana State Auditor using the name Peter Parker, alias Spider-Man.
James Brown, running to lead the agency charged with protecting consumers and preventing fraud, did not respond to requests for comment about signing in under a false name or the topics of his meetings there.
In an interview with the Daily Montanan, the deputy for the state auditor’s office, Frank Cote, characterized the meetings as typical informational meetings that took place with both candidates for office.
Sign in sheet at the Montana State Auditor’s Office. (Provided by Repke campaign.)
However, Democratic candidate for state auditor John Repke said use of the fake name indicates intentional deceit and is possibly illegal, and the meetings represent exactly the type of politics Montanans don’t want to see.
In a letter this week addressed to current auditor and Commissioner of Securities and Insurance Troy Downing, Repke called for an investigation into the meetings the state auditor’s office held with his opponent and the falsified registration log records.
“This is someone who is going to be responsible for an office fighting fraud,” Repke said in an interview. “Fraudulently identifying themselves in meetings with the office is about as hypocritical as they can possibly get.”
In an email to the Daily Montanan, Downing said he would look into the matter. He did not respond to a subsequent question about how he had decided to proceed, but he earlier said he was unaware of any unethical dealings at the Office of the Montana State Auditor and Commissioner of Securities and Insurance.
“I have no knowledge of any inappropriate activity,” Downing said.
Downing directed questions about the meetings to Cote, his deputy and government affairs director, who talked with the Daily Montanan about the meetings he held with both Brown and Repke.
In April, Cote said the executive team met with both candidates separately in order to provide information about the functions of the state auditor’s office and answer questions.
He confirmed Brown had signed in on Friday using the comic book superhero’s identity; he said he may have done so before but could not immediately confirm it.
However, Cote said the meetings did not include discussions of the political campaigns.
“We wanted to reach out to both of them and offer them the opportunity to come in and have a discussion with the executive team to understand what we do and offer our assistance if they ever have questions,” Cote said.
The executive team includes Downing, Cote, other deputies, and additional staff, although Cote said not every member of the team attends every meeting.
He said any responsible agency that will have new leadership plans for such a change, and the meetings with candidates were part of that preparation.
Cote said he met with both candidates again in August. He said he invited them to be on a panel at an insurance summit and discussed how the office participates in order to prepare both of them.
Brown had two additional meetings at the auditor’s office, Cote said.
He said Brown had been invited to speak to the Montana Collision Repair Association and wanted to know how the auditor’s office interacts with the nonprofit. Cote said he, Brown and the deputy auditor discussed the topic.
Additionally, Cote said Brown met with him last Friday. He said the person at the front desk noticed Brown signed in as Peter Parker, recognized him, and wrote in Brown’s real name on the log.
Cote said he did not know why Brown would have signed in using a fake name and also said his own calendar displays meetings with Brown using his actual name.
Additionally, Cote said the registration log is a public record, and the auditor’s office disapproves of people signing in under a name that isn’t theirs.
“We would not want that, and if he or anybody else were to do that in the future, we would ask them to sign their correct name,” Cote said.
Leading up to the recent meeting, Brown had asked for more information about an event of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in November, Cote said. He said Brown did so after the auditor’s office informed both candidates about it.
However, Cote said any discussion about specific transition plans did not take place. In his letter, Repke had called on the auditor’s office to look into whether Brown had requested staff order him stationery and business cards, but Cote disputed such a topic came up.
“There was never discussion about stationery and business cards,” Cote said.
In an interview, Repke said the order for stationery and other business items for Brown didn’t take place, but only because an employee of the auditor’s office said doing so would be inappropriate and stopped it, as relayed to him in a call from inside the agency.
“The fact that state employees are using their time to do something like that rather than do their job to work on behalf of the people of Montana is just absolutely inappropriate,” Repke said.
On the other hand, Repke said he has a responsibility to follow up on the concerns after being contacted by a person or persons who viewed the activity as unethical: “For me to do nothing with that information would not have been right.”
He said he is particularly troubled because of Brown’s previous relationship with Western Tradition Partnerships, later American Tradition Partnerships.
More than a decade ago, Brown represented the “dark money” group, which fought Montana’s campaign finance disclosure laws. In 2013, a judge found the group used “subterfuge” to avoid complying with state disclosure law, Montana PBS reported.
Since 2021 Brown has served as a member and now president of the Montana Public Service Commission.
In 2021, the regulatory agency was in turmoil after legislative auditors found questionable spending and practices there. Some legislators have credited Brown with helping to make improvements, although auditors have said more needs to be done.
In his letter this week to Downing, Repke said he assumes the auditor will “take the acts of fraud seriously” as head of the office combating fraud: “It is critical that you act without delay as this matter is highly relevant to the upcoming election.”
He said Montana voters deserve full knowledge of unethical and potentially illegal actions of a candidate. Brown did not respond to the allegation that signing into the log under a false name could be illegal.
“I’m sure you agree that all state employees, elected or hired, must comply with state laws and must be sanctioned if found to be in violation,” Repke wrote. “I note that Brown was also a paid state employee/officer when these meetings reportedly occurred.”
Repke said he appreciated that he and his opponent both had the opportunity to meet with the executive team about the functions of the office.
However, he said he signed in using his real name, and he subsequently received a call informing him his opponent had been to the auditor’s office more frequently.
“Why would someone falsify their identity to go in and have meetings that were with the office?” Repke said.
In his letter, he said Montanans would not appreciate the activity occurring in the auditor’s office either and pointed a finger at Cote, too.
“The fact that a long-time political insider like Mr. Cote has been conducting secret meetings with a political candidate during official business (hours) in office space paid for by Montana taxpayers is exactly the type of thing Montanans are rightfully fed up with,” Repke wrote.
Cote, however, said he is a Democrat who has not given money to either auditor candidate.
Records show he gave $200 to Brown in 2022 when he was running for the Montana Supreme Court, although Cote noted he gave twice as much to one of Brown’s opponents, Judge Mike McMahon.
Cote also said the auditor’s office has been willing to help both candidates learn about its work.
“Both candidates were offered the opportunity to reach out to me or anyone at the office if they had questions about the office and what we do,” Cote said.