Candidates face off in debate

Denis Cofer, Joe Brenneman differ on sales taxes, they promise to be uniters.

The candidates for Flathead County commissioner outlined differing views on sales taxes and promised to be uniters, not dividers, during a packed Kalispell Area Chamber of Commerce event Tuesday.

Republican Denise Cofer and Democrat Joe Brenneman fielded about a dozen questions on subjects ranging from roads to city-county relations to how they would support education.

The candidates staked out strikingly different territory on sales taxes and in characterizing growth in the valley.

Cofer said that "a sales tax is one of the fairest taxes out there," since people can control the amount of taxes they pay by spending less.

However, she said she opposes a local-option gas tax - in which the county could add a fuel surcharge to fund road construction - because it would cause economic harm.

Furthermore, if the state adopts a sales tax, it needs to be revenue-neutral - that is, offset by reductions in other tax revenues, Cofer said.

"As a Republican, we look at ways to keep government from growing," she said.

Brenneman, meanwhile, called a sales tax "regressive," in that people with lower incomes end up spending a higher percentage of their money on taxes than people with higher incomes.

He might support local-option tax on either gas or sales, however, providing that it's "narrowly focused." He said he'd be willing to lobby the state Legislature for the ability to levy a local sales tax targeting tourist spending.

He also derided the call for a revenue-neutral tax as unrealistic.

"If it's revenue-neutral, we're robbing Peter to pay Paul," he said.

Revenue figured into other comments as well. Brenneman said taxes from new development aren't keeping pace with the costs of providing public services to that development.

"We cannot afford to keep doing this willy-nilly growth and then try to figure out how to pay for it later," he said.

While Cofer agreed that long-range planning is beneficial, and advocated performing a traffic study to determine road priorities, she disagreed with her opponent's growth assessment.

"I don't consider it willy-nilly at all," Cofer said.

The winner of Nov. 2's balloting will be elected to a six-year term.

Brenneman said that if he's elected, by the end of his term "the people of the Flathead Valley would see themselves as more of a community than they do now." He also promised to take steps to protect water quality and quality of life.

Cofer, too, said she can bring people together to meet common goals, and she said she would be known as a commissioner who listens, keeps an open door and works hard.

"I have vision, integrity and values," Cofer said. "I can see the big picture."

Reporter Alan Choate may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at achoate@dailyinterlake.com