Judy Martz

Template:Short description Template:Infobox officeholder Judith Helen Martz (née Morstein; July 28, 1943 – October 30, 2017) was an American politician, businesswoman, and Olympian speed skater who served as the 22nd governor of Montana from 2001 to 2005. A member of the Republican Party, she was the first, and as of 2025, the only woman to hold the office.<ref name="MTPR">Template:Cite web</ref> She previously served as the 31st Lieutenant Governor of Montana from 1997 to 2001 under the governorship of Marc Racicot.

Early life and education

Martz was born July 28, 1943, in Big Timber, Montana, as Judith Helen Morstein.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NBCM">Template:Cite web</ref> Her father was a miner and rancher, and her mother was, at various times, a cook, liquor-store clerk and motel maid.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Morstein graduated from Butte High School in 1961 and attended Eastern Montana College.<ref name="mt.gov">Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

Morstein was named Miss Rodeo Montana in 1962. She competed on the U.S. women's speed skating team at the 1964 Winter Olympics (1500 meters).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She was one of the first two Montana women to appear in the Olympics.<ref name="NBCM"/>

Morstein married Harry Martz in 1965;<ref name="BTP" /> she and her husband owned and operated a garbage disposal service in Butte, Montana.<ref name="SFC">Template:Cite news</ref>

Martz helped to establish the U.S. High Altitude Speed Skating Center in Butte.<ref name="MTPR" /> She also worked as a field representative for Republican U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns from 1989 to 1995.<ref name="SFC" />

Gov. Marc Racicot appointed Martz as lieutenant governor of Montana in 1995<ref name="auto1">Template:Cite web</ref> after her predecessor, Denny Rehberg, stepped down to run for U.S. Senate.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Martz was the first female lieutenant governor in the state's history. In 1996, Martz was elected lieutenant governor as Racicot's running mate.<ref name="auto1"/>

Governor of Montana

2000 Montana gubernatorial election

Montana Governor Judy Martz, FEMA Director Michael Brown and Bob Beckley of the Forest Service tour a smokejumper plane in Missoula, Sept. 2003

Template:Main In the Montana gubernatorial election of 2000, Martz won the Republican primary over conservative activist and University of Montana law professor Rob Natelson 57 percent to 43 percent.<ref name="HIR"/> She went on to defeat her Democratic opponent, State Auditor Mark O'Keefe, in the general election by a margin of 51 percent to 47 percent<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> despite being outspent by a three-to-one margin. Martz's running mate was Karl Ohs.<ref name="MTPR" />

Tenure (2001–2005)

Martz was Montana's first female governor.<ref name=martz2>Template:Cite web</ref>

Martz "was noted for turning a state deficit into a surplus while reducing taxes and increasing funding for education. However, her term was besieged by missteps. Her popularity dropped to 20 percent at its low point".<ref name="SFC" />

In August 2001, the Montana Democratic Party filed an ethics complaint alleging that Martz violated state law by buying land from Atlantic Richfield Co. (Arco) in 1999 at a much lower price than Arco had paid for the property two years earlier. Following a hearing, the political practices commissioner issued a September 2002 decision clearing Martz.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Martz's chief policy adviser, Shane Hedges, was involved in an automobile accident near Marysville, Montana, in August 2001. Hedges was driving while intoxicated. Following the accident, Hedges went to Martz's residence, where she washed his clothes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> House Majority Leader Paul Sliter died in the crash.<ref name="Cover"/> Hedges promptly resigned and pleaded guilty to a charge of negligent homicide.<ref name="Cover">Template:Cite news</ref>

Martz announced that she would not run for re-election as governor in 2004.<ref name="MTPR"/> She finished her time in office campaigning for President Bush in Ohio, Arizona, and other swing states, and sparring with incoming Democratic governor Brian Schweitzer over the state government transition.<ref name="Transition">Template:Cite web</ref>

Later career

In September 2005, Martz was named chair of Montanans for Judge Roberts, a group supportive of Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, and spoke at a rally in support of Roberts.<ref name="HIR">Template:Cite web</ref> She also sat on the boards of Maternal Life International, University of Montana Western, Big Sky State Games, and TASER International, a company that manufacturers non-lethal electrical shock equipment for law enforcement, the military, and private individuals.<ref name="auto2">Template:Cite web</ref>

After leaving office, Martz "routinely addressed Christian organizations throughout the country and was part of a network that prays at locations across Montana".<ref name="auto2"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Martz and her husband, Harry, were married in 1965.<ref name="BTP">Template:Cite web</ref> They had two children: Justin and Stacey Jo.<ref name="mt.gov"/><ref name="BTP"/> Martz was a Christian.<ref name="auto2"/>

In May 2003, Martz was referenced in news for a perceived similarity to the face and hair of a nude bordello dancer sculpted by Seattle artist Kristine Veith, and placed in a new development in downtown Helena.<ref name="NBCM"/> Both Martz and Veith denied the similarity, with Martz stating, possibly partially tongue-in-cheek, "I'm a very modest person, no one would ever see me like that. My husband doesn't ever see me like that".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On November 11, 2014, it was announced that Martz had stage II pancreatic cancer and was undergoing treatment in Arizona.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She died of the disease on October 30, 2017, in Butte, Montana, at the age of 74.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• List of female governors in the United States
• List of female lieutenant governors in the United States

External links

• Template:C-SPAN

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