Ron Marlenee

Ronald Charles Marlenee (August 8, 1935 – April 26, 2020) was a Republican politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from the U.S. state of Montana from January 3, 1977, to January 3, 1993.

He represented MT's 2nd congressional district.

Ron Marlenee was born on August 8, 1935 in Scobey, Montana, the son of Charles and Margaret (Darchuk) Marlenee and the brother of Bob and Lanney.

He was educated in the public schools of Daniels County, and attended Montana State University in Bozeman, the University of Montana in Missoula, and the Reisch School of Auctioneering in Mason City, Iowa.

Marlenee was an auctioneer, farmer and rancher.

He was active in politics as a Republican, and held several party posts in Daniels County.

From 1975 to 1976 he was the Second Congressional District's member of the Montana Republican Committee's executive board.

In 1976 he was elected to the Ninety-fifth Congress.

He was reelected seven times, and served from January 3, 1977, to January 3, 1993.

During his time in Congress, he gained the nickname "Dr. No" for his frequent rejections of governmental bills, since he believed in reducing governmental involvement in public life.

While in Congress, he served on the House Interior and Agricultural committees.

In 1978, he married his second wife Cindy Tiemann.

After leaving Congress, Marlenee resided in Bozeman, Montana with his wife Cindy and son Casey.

He continued to be active in Montana politics.

For many years he hosted or participated in fundraisers and other campaign events for Republican candidates.

Marlenee also became a lobbyist for a variety of organizations.

In addition, he became the director of legislative affairs for the Safari Club International, a hunting club in Washington, D.C., and co-founded the Western Tradition Partnership (now the American Tradition Partnership), which works in Montana politics and bills itself as a "advocate for issues like water, forest management, and energy development."

According to the Bozeman Chronicle, a "state election regulator later found that the group had provided illegal contributions to state Republican candidates."

In addition, Marlenee was responsible for establishing a veteran's memorial in Miles City, Montana.

After the 1990 Census, Montana's declining population growth rate resulted in the loss of its 2nd district, reducing the state to one at-large district.

Marlenee ran unsuccessfully against the Democratic nominee, Pat Williams, who represented the 1st district.

The election was hotly contested, and Williams won with 50.5% of the vote.

Ron Marlenee was the longest-serving Republican representative from Montana in the House of Representatives.

Environmentalists were unhappy with Marlenee's voting record, and in 1992 he was named by Environmental Action as one of Congress' "Dirty Dozen."

Following the 1992 election, Marlenee left politics and never ran for a political position again.

Marlenee was known as a conservative Republican who fought for small businesses, limited government, Second Amendment rights, and a balanced budget.

He also battled against federal control over state lands(1) and was involved in agricultural issues, particularly focusing on the needs of family farms and small business owners.

Marlenee described himself as a "multi-use" person who believed in multiple uses of federal lands, including drilling, mining, and recreation.

In particular, he took a firm stance against environmentalists, and he termed conservationists "fern feelers and prairie fairies."

Ron was both a Freemason and a Shriner over the course of his life.

Marlenee's first wife was Carmen Willard, and the two had five children: David, Mike, Sheila, Casey, and Allison.

He died in Bozeman on April 26, 2020.