Gov. Judy Martz statue unveiled Monday

Martz passed away in Butte on October 30, 2017, at the age of 74, due to pancreatic cancer.

She was born on July 28, 1943, in Big Timber and grew up in Big Timber and Butte. She graduated from Butte High School in 1961 and attended Eastern Montana College.

Martz was named Miss Rodeo Montana in 1962 and was a member of the 1963 U.S. World Speed Skating Team in Japan and the 1964 U.S. Olympic Speed Skating Team in Innsbruck, Austria.

She married Harry Martz in 1965 and they had two children, Justin and Stacey Jo. Together, they ran a small business in Butte for 37 years, and Martz was actively involved in the civic affairs of the Butte-Silver Bow region.

She was the running mate for Gov. Marc Racicot in 1996 and went on to become Montana’s first female lieutenant governor. Martz ran for governor when Racicot was unable to seek a third term.

Martz served as the state’s 22nd governor from January 1, 2001, to January 3, 2005. She was known for her turtle pin and the phrase “Behold the turtle, he only moves forward when he sticks his neck out!”

She successfully turned a state deficit into a surplus, reduced taxes, and increased funding for education. Despite facing criticism for a 2001 drunken driving incident involving her chief policy adviser resulting in the death of Montana’s House majority leader, Martz still made contributions to the state.

Martz chose not to seek reelection for a second term.

In 2019, the state passed Senate Bill 275 to raise funds for a statue or bust in her honor on the Capitol grounds. The Martz Statue Project was led by her former Montana Transportation Department director.

The project’s budget of $125,000 was raised from over 300 donors. The statue was created by Sculptor Gareth Curtiss, who worked closely with the Martz family on the design.

The statue will be positioned in the state Capitol, located at 1301 E. 6th Ave.