Please follow us on X and Telegram

David Sanders, the former Executive Director of the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC), announced earlier today that he will be a candidate for the District 5 seat on the Montana Public Service Commission which oversees Montana’s monopoly regulated utilities. Sanders currently serves as the Chief of Staff for the Montana State Auditor’s Office and Commissioner of Securities and Insurance.

A fourth-generation Montanan and Helena resident, Sanders has a long career in public service, most recently regulating industries that are key parts of the Treasure State economy.

In addition to his service at the State Auditor’s Office and the Public Service Commission, Sanders previously served in the federal government as a staff director for the International Economic Policy and Trade Subcommittee of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee and as the chief executive of a government-owned corporation within the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“I have had the good fortune to be able to serve the people of Montana by protecting consumers, enforcing our laws, providing balanced regulation of key industries and providing leadership to important state agencies,” Sanders said.

He added, “The Public Service Commission is an important agency with some very serious responsibilities. Unfortunately, the current Commission has prioritized personal grudges over the public interest—neglecting the core mission of protecting Montana ratepayers and ensuring accountability.”

Montana State Auditor James Brown, to whom Sanders currently reports as Chief of Staff, also served as PSC President when Sanders served as the PSC’s Executive Director, said of Sanders, “David Sanders has demonstrated his abilities as an experienced and thoughtful leader of regulatory agencies in Montana’s government. He provides me with well-informed, wise counsel, and a unique ability to reduce chaos and build consensus. That seems to be exactly what the PSC needs again. For these reasons, I am taking the unusual step of giving him ‘my complete and total endorsement’ as our President likes to say.”

Sanders added, “Having worked with James Brown when he was PSC President, I know what the PSC is capable of when it is focused on the right things and functioning efficiently and effectively. I believe it’s possible to return the PSC to its important mission and I believe I can make a positive contribution toward making the PSC an exemplary state agency again. It is imperative that we fundamentally reform the PSC to make it a model state agency, protect Montana consumers from unjustified hardships, and help our utilities meet the economic and infrastructure challenges that lie ahead.”

Sanders kicks off his campaign this week with events in Helena, Missoula, Great Falls, Kalispell, and Potomac, Montana.