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About Kelly
Kelly Kortum grew up in Ekalaka, a small agricultural community in southeastern Montana. His family was working class, as most are in our rural and frontier parts of the state, and Ekalaka’s strong community and neighborly culture made becoming a healthy adult all but inevitable. On his grandparents’ ranch, Kortum developed an appreciation of hard work as well as both the importance of self-reliance and having neighbors to call on. While in school and sports, he learned to value cooperation and teamwork. As a teenager, locals began calling him to help them with their computer troubles as his reputation as a friendly problem solver grew.
After spending the first half of his life in Ekalaka, he moved to Bozeman to attend Montana State University and has not considered moving again. He quickly grew appreciative (and then protective) of Bozeman's growing technology scene, healthy local economy, and the diverse palette of cultural experiences that it provides. He works at Bozeman’s Community Food Co-op as a Systems Administrator.
Kortum became involved in the day-to-day politics of Bozeman in the summer of 2015 when he became the volunteer website/communications director for the Gallatin County Democrats. He went on to attend every Democratic state convention since, and voted in the 2017 special election primary convention. Additionally, he co-founded a local non-partisan progressive group, Gallatin Progressive Action Network, in the summer of 2016. He is currently the Gallatin County Democrats State committeeman and leads the organization’s communications committee. He also writes a progressive events newsletter for Gallatin County monthly. His strong sense of fairness and ability to reach across any aisle has served him well in these roles and extended his reputation as a friendly problem solver into this part of the state.
Kortum and his spouse, Rebecca Stanton, rent an apartment in west Bozeman.
Healthcare
Healthcare is a human right. We have the means, as a country and state, to provide better health outcomes for our fellow Montanans. The health and happiness of our people are essential to the success of our state. Limiting access to a basic level of care is both cruel and unnecessary. Everyday Montanans should be able to keep their families healthy without worrying about crushing medical debt and bankruptcy.
Housing
Montanans deserve to live in the community in which they work. Areas where housing is available and affordable have much better economic prospects than those with limited options. Our state must enact housing policy that fosters a vibrant community and strong economy.
Public Lands
Public lands are a blessing and responsibility for all of us. We must ensure that public lands will benefit each of us — today AND tomorrow. They must be treated with respect and shared fairly, not reserved for the wealthy few. Privatizing public lands is theft from future generations.
Voting
Voting is an essential right of all American citizens and we must exercise and defend that right to remain a free and democratic nation. Voting for our leaders and government is fundamental to properly ensuring opportunity, justice, and human progress. Efforts to restrict any citizen's ability to vote directly threatens our freedom, liberty, and shared future.
Local Business
Local businesses provide goods and services with a much smaller burden on our shared infrastructure. Local food growers produce less waste and ensure resilience to external conflicts and shortages. Jobs created by local businesses keep money local and strengthen our communities by providing a prosperous culture and personal relationships that make us better neighbors.
The Internet
The internet is an essential part of our economy, our education, and our daily lives. It was funded and created with public money and should be treated like our interstate highway system or our national parks: we all share the upkeep and we all can utilize its many benefits. We must prevent a small number of people from extracting or exploiting this shared space, or America will fall behind the rest of the world in innovation, economy, and education. The Internet must be free, open, and neutral.
Government
A healthy government is free of corruption. Corporations aren't people. People are people, and their rights should be protected equally. Transparency, free elections, and shared common ethical standards ensure that our government serves those people. Until recently, Montana led the nation in combating corruption in politics and securing transparency in government, and we must recommit to those values.
Education
Providing all citizens a quality education is essential to having a successful and prosperous state and country — not to mention a right guaranteed to each person by our Montana Constitution. Public education is our best investment in American democracy and prosperity, so we must make sure its doors are open to all. We should ensure that continued education doesn’t bury our students in a lifetime of debt by supporting our universities and vocational schools.
Montana House District 64
Check out the map to the right.
If you live in this district, you can vote for Kelly!
If you don’t live in this district, you can help Kelly by donating to the campaign and signing up for Kelly’s email list!