Mark Thane

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Mark Thane
Image of Mark Thane
Montana House of Representatives District 89
Tenure

2025 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

0

Prior offices
Montana House of Representatives District 99
Predecessor: Marilyn Ryan

Compensation

Base salary

$104.86/legislative day

Per diem

$171/day

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

University of Montana, 1980

Graduate

University of Montana, 1985

Personal
Birthplace
Missoula, Mont.
Religion
Christian: Catholic
Profession
Educator
Contact

Mark Thane (Democratic Party) is a member of the Montana House of Representatives, representing District 89. He assumed office on January 6, 2025. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.

Thane (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Montana House of Representatives to represent District 89. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Mark Thane was born in Missoula, Montana. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Montana in 1980 and a master's degree from the University of Montana in 1985. Thane's career experience includes working as a teacher and administrator. He has been a member of the Montana Federation of Public Employees and the School Administrators of Montana.[1]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at:editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Thane was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Thane was assigned to the following committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Bills Sponsored By:
An error occurred retrieving bills.


Elections

2024

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 89

Incumbent Mark Thane defeated incumbent Lyn Hellegaard in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 89 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Mark Thane
Mark Thane (D)
 
55.6
 
3,590
Image of Lyn Hellegaard
Lyn Hellegaard (R) Candidate Connection
 
44.4
 
2,868

Total votes: 6,458
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 89

Incumbent Mark Thane advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 89 on June 4, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Mark Thane
Mark Thane
 
100.0
 
1,488

Total votes: 1,488
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 89

Incumbent Lyn Hellegaard advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 89 on June 4, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Lyn Hellegaard
Lyn Hellegaard Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
1,252

Total votes: 1,252
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Thane in this election.

2022

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 99

Incumbent Mark Thane defeated Ryan Darling in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 99 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Mark Thane
Mark Thane (D)
 
66.0
 
3,417
Image of Ryan Darling
Ryan Darling (R)
 
34.0
 
1,761

Total votes: 5,178
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 99

Incumbent Mark Thane advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 99 on June 7, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Mark Thane
Mark Thane
 
100.0
 
1,786

Total votes: 1,786
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 99

Ryan Darling advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 99 on June 7, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Ryan Darling
Ryan Darling
 
100.0
 
966

Total votes: 966
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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2020

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 99

Mark Thane defeated David Moore in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 99 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Mark Thane
Mark Thane (D) Candidate Connection
 
64.3
 
4,088
Image of David Moore
David Moore (R)
 
35.7
 
2,265

Total votes: 6,353
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 99

Mark Thane advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 99 on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Mark Thane
Mark Thane Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
2,211

Total votes: 2,211
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 99

David Moore advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 99 on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of David Moore
David Moore
 
100.0
 
1,312

Total votes: 1,312
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Mark Thane did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Mark Thane did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Candidate Connection

Mark Thane completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Thane's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I am a Missoula native, University of Montana graduate and recently completed a thirty-nine year career in Missoula's public schools. My wife Mary and I are the proud parents of two adult daughters, Lindsay and Emilie. I currently serve on the board of directors for Partnership Health Center (Missoula) and the United Way of Missoula County. Previous board service includes the Missoula Economic Partnership, Missoula Family YMCA, SPARK! Arts Missoula, Missoula Education Foundation and Young Audiences of Western Montana. My campaign for House District 99 has been endorsed by the PAC of the Montana Federation of Public Employees as well as the PAC of Missoula Firefighters Local 271.

  • As a member of the Montana House I will advocate for affordable and accessible healthcare and case management services.
  • I support a high-quality K-12 public school system and the Montana University System, including our two-year colleges and workforce development programs (certificate programs, apprenticeships, trades).
  • Public lands and waterways are a great asset and significant driver of economic activity in Montana and access must be defended.

As a career educator, I am passionate about high-quality education from pre-K through the university system. Workforce development is critical in order to continue to advance Montana's economy. I will advocate for and support apprenticeships, certificate programs and the trades in addition to K-12 programs and the Montana University System.

Affordable and accessible healthcare and case management services are quality of life issues. I support Medicaid expansion and will advocate for the restoration of the positions which have been cut from the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS). Early intervention and appropriate case management will save significant resources in the long term.

Our Montana heritage includes complete access to our public lands and waterways for hunting, fishing and other recreational pursuits. Montana's outdoor recreation economy supports over 71,000 jobs and generates more than $7.1 billion in annual economic activity. Access to our public lands must be defended.

Servant leadership is an important attribute in an elected official. One must be an active listener, seeking to fully understand the issue before attempting to formulate a solution. Elected officials must be willing to take advantage of the collective capacity of colleagues and constituents to find the most reasonable solutions to problems.

I consider myself to be a collaborative problem solver. I listen well and am willing to invest the necessary time to study the issues. I am approachable and have always maintained an open door policy. I am committed to serve all citizens, but particularly the most vulnerable and underserved members of society.

All legislators must be responsible to fully invest themselves in the process, do their homework and commit to serving the best interests of the state and its citizens. Legislators must be attentive and discerning when listening to testimony and must utilize the best available data to inform decision making.

I want to be regarded as a person of integrity who recognized the "big picture" and effectively served the best interests of the state and its citizens.

Throughout my early childhood I recall watching the launch of a number of missions in the space program leading up to the moon landing in July of 1969 (when I was ten years old). I marvel at the capacity of our nation to rally around an event that required such amazing commitment, planning and technological advancement. I believe the display of unity, national pride and collective commitment to the project is instructive for us today. While we currently face a number of significant issues, climate change is one such issue that I believe can be successfully addressed if we are able develop the collective will and apply our scientific and intellectual capacity to seek solutions. The effort will require committed leadership and a level of personal sacrifice; however, the accomplishment will be one of the greatest feats in our history

Call of the Wild by Jack London is my favorite novel. The basic struggle, the fierce commitment and the power of the writing impacted me. (I have read it multiple times.)

The shorter terms in the house cause representatives to be more responsive to the electorate. The two year election cycle result in legislators returning to the district to attend meetings/functions and to meet to voters through door-to-door campaign efforts. The longer terms state senate guarantee the preservation of a certain level of institutional knowledge. To enact legislation requires approval of the house, senate and the governor. Having three "checks" in the system affords us greater opportunity to be certain legislation is in the best interest of all of our citizens.

While it is important to have some level of institutional knowledge preserved in the legislature from session to session, I believe infusion of new personalities, new ideas and fresh perspective is healthy for state government. I believe it is critical to have a true "citizen's legislature".

One of the great challenges facing the state of Montana will be continuing to support the state budget in the era of declining revenue from taxes on resource extraction, particularly coal. Property tax and state income tax cannot sustain the budget given the loss of revenue from resource extraction. Revision of the state tax structure will be a significant challenge over the next decade.

The governor and legislature must work collaboratively in order to produce the best legislation to serve the people of the state of Montana. While there may be ideological differences between those charged with the responsibility to govern, all parties must be willing to seek solutions that are in the best interest of the stae and its citizens. Having your say doesn't necessarily mean getting your way. The ability to navigate the political minefields and find room to compromise/collaborate is the mark of good leadership.

Developing relationships with other legislators is necessary in order to establish credibility and foster healthy dialog. It is difficult to collaborate if you don't have established relationships. The collective capacity of the legislature is enhanced if its members have established relationships founded on mutual respect.

My preference would be to serve on the appropriations committee. Dedicating the appropriate resources to support the priorities of the state and its citizens is a challenging but essential function of the legislature. As a career educator, the education committee is naturally a significant interest.

As a first-time legislator my intent would be to immerse myself in the process and learn as much as possible during my first session. I certainly aspire to leadership; however, I recognize that I have a significant learning curve as a new legislator.

There are attribute I have seen in a number of legislator which I would hope to evidence in my role. I would practice active listening, seeking first to understand then be understood. I value being collaborative and solution-oriented.

I have been impacted by the testimony offered by constituents from a number of Montana's rural communities that special education services are significantly hampered by the lack of funding to support special education cooperatives. In a rural school there may be a small number of students who require physical therapy, for example, due to a disabling condition. The school district doesn't have enough demand to hire a full time therapist, so they depend of a cooperative that serves multiple schools/communities. These cooperatives; however, are woefully underfunded and are in jeopardy because of budget deficits. Service to some of our most vulnerable students may be lost unless a solution is identified and supported.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.



Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


Mark Thane campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* Montana House of Representatives District 89Won general$36,604 $0
2022Montana House of Representatives District 99Won general$5,961 $0
2020Montana House of Representatives District 99Won general$11,177 N/A**
Grand total$53,742 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Montana

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Montana scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.


2024


2023


2022


2021










See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 13, 2020

Political offices
Preceded by
-
Montana House of Representatives District 89
2025-Present
Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
Marilyn Ryan (D)
Montana House of Representatives District 99
2021-2025
Succeeded by
-


Current members of the Montana House of Representatives
Leadership
Speaker of the House:Brandon Ler
Majority Leader:Steve Fitzpatrick
Minority Leader:Katie Sullivan
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
Ed Byrne (R)
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
Paul Tuss (D)
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
Mike Fox (D)
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
District 48
District 49
District 50
District 51
District 52
District 53
District 54
District 55
District 56
District 57
District 58
District 59
District 60
District 61
District 62
District 63
District 64
District 65
District 66
District 67
District 68
District 69
District 70
District 71
District 72
District 73
District 74
Marc Lee (D)
District 75
District 76
District 77
District 78
District 79
District 80
District 81
District 82
District 83
District 84
District 85
District 86
District 87
District 88
District 89
District 90
District 91
District 92
District 93
District 94
District 95
District 96
District 97
District 98
District 99
District 100
SJ Howell (D)
Republican Party (58)
Democratic Party (42)