Chairman

DAVE McALPIN

Governor Steve Bullock appointed McAlpin to the Board in 2013 after which he was confirmed by a unanimous vote of the Montana State Senate. In 2015 McAlpin was designated Chairman, and he was appointed by Bullock to a second term in 2019. Before joining the Board, he was Director the Montana State Crime Laboratory for the Attorney General from 2009-2012. McAlpin was elected to the Montana House of Representatives in HD94 from 2004-2009, serving as Whip, and on Taxation, Health, and Fish and Game committees. He was appointed by the Speaker to the interim Revenue and Transportation Committee with legislative oversight of the Montana Dept. of Revenue. As Chief Deputy Clerk of the Montana Supreme Court from 1995-1998, McAlpin gained extensive experience in case management and court administration. Since his appointment to the Board, he has taken certified courses and passed examinations by the International Association of Assessing Officers in real estate appraisal and income methodology. He has also successfully completed course work in opinion writing and rulings on evidence for Administrative Law Judges provided by the National Judicial College. He successfully completed the program for Ad Valorem Taxation of Communications, Energy and Transportation properties at Wichita State University in in 2014 and 2017 and has presented cases to national gatherings of State Tax judges on two occasions. McAlpin has a BA from the University of Montana and grew up on the family dairy farm near Polson. He lives in Helena with his wife and two children and serves as Chairman of the Community Council for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Helena and Great Falls. He is also a Board member of the Burton K. Wheeler Center for Public Policy and the Exploration of Montana Issues, at Montana State University.

Address:  P.O. Box 200138 560 N. Park Avenue Suite 201, Helena MT 59620-0138

Phone:  (406) 444-9570

Term of Appointment:  January 1, 2019 - January 1, 2025

Steve Doherty

Steve Doherty was appointed to the Montana Tax Appeal Board by Governor Steve Bullock in January, 2015.  His legal career was in private practice and he has been  a member of the Montana and Oregon State Bars for over thirty years, as well as membership in numerous Tribal Bars, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States Claims Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.  He served three terms In the Montana State Senate from  Great Falls.  As a legislator, he served on the Senate Taxation and numerous other committees and in leadership positions.  He was appointed by the Governor and then served as Chairman of the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission.  He has also served as the Senior Adviser for the Northwest for the United States Secretary of the Interior.  He was born and raised in Great Falls, his undergraduate degree is from the University of Pennsylvania and his law degree is from Lewis and Clark in Oregon.

Address:  P.O. Box 200138 560 N. Park Avenue Suite 201, Helena MT 59620-0138

Phone:  (406) 444-9570

Term of Appointment:  January 1, 2015 - January 1, 2021

ERIC STERN

Eric Stern is a Montana lawyer and writer who served as senior counsel to the last two Montana governors, advising them on a broad range of matters including tax policy, litigation, constitutional law, governance, legislation, media and elections. Stern also served as Montana’s Deputy Secretary of State, in which he oversaw Montana’s elections and voting.

In 2019 Governor Steve Bullock appointed Stern to the Montana Tax Appeal Board where he sits as an administrative law judge and hears major tax cases, drawing on an extensive knowledge of tax policy gained during his work for the governors.

As a journalist, Stern has written for the New York Times and Salon, about politics, law, media, and Montana history. His writings have received critical coverage in the New York Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and Media Matters. He has been a contributor on MSNBC, CNN and Bloomberg TV, and is a regular guest on Face the State, Montana's weekly political show, as well as local talk radio.

Stern has lived in Montana since 2001. In 2004 he directed Brian Schweitzer’s historic gubernatorial campaign in which Schweitzer became Montana’s first democratic governor in over two decades. He has lectured at Columbia University, the University of Montana Business School, and Montana State University. He lives in Helena, MT, and attended Columbia Law School and Connecticut College.

Address:  P.O. Box 200138 560 N. Park Avenue Suite 201, Helena MT 59620-0138

Phone:  (406) 444-9570

Term of Appointment: January 1, 2019 - January 1, 2022