Longtime Republican state Sen. Duane Ankney, a fierce advocate for Colstrip, died over the weekend. He was 79.
Ankney served in both chambers of Montana’s statehouse over eight consecutive sessions, from 2007 to 2022.
He was known for his frank demeanor, thick mustache and quick wit. Or as former Sen. Jason Small of Busby calls it, his ‘Ankneyisms.’
“He always said, ‘We gotta get what’s ours, kid, because there’s a little bit of cold dust sprinkled on everything in this state,’” Small said in an interview Monday.
Ankney often reminded others of coal’s outsized contribution to the state’s budget. He was a U.S. Navy veteran and coal miner before public office. Small says Ankney was a friendly, jovial person, but never backed down from a fight.
For example, Ankney co-sponsored renewing Medicaid expansion in 2019, but later voted against it after negotiations to advance his bill to subsidize Colstrip’s power plant faltered. It was a controversial move.
In a 2017 video for the Legislature, Ankney described his philosophy simply.
“And that’s why I’m serving – is to try to maintain those high paying good jobs in Colstrip and throughout southeastern Montana in the coal mines. So our kids, our grandkids can have a good job where they can make a living wage,” Ankney said.
He advocated for supporting the coal industry, but also to hold industry executives accountable. He called for the power plant to continue pumping clean water to the town even after it shutters.
Former Rep. Geraldine Custer of Forsyth says Ankney always voted his conscience.
“Even if there was pushback from parties or other people, he didn’t care what they thought about it. He knew what was right for his people and that’s what he was willing to fight for,” Custer said.
Ankney was also known for bucking GOP party leadership at times. Ankney partnered with former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock on a campaign finance bill in 2015. In 2013, he was credited with moving the dial to pass a bill decriminalizing gay sex. He implored his fellow Republicans to vote for the bill with an impassioned speech about his daughter.
Tributes to Ankney poured in on social media from top officials on both sides of the aisle.
