Incumbent's defeat opens up HD 10 race

By CANDACE CHASE

The Daily Inter Lake

The defeat of incumbent Bernie Olson by Republican Mark Blasdel in the primary leveled the playing field in the battle for House District 10 in the Nov. 7 general election.

Democratic candidate Carla Augustad, a classic populist, faces Blasdel who promises to serve as a strong pro-business voice in the legislature. The winner will represent a district which stretches from Kalispell to south of Somers.

Blasdel, owner of Vista Linda Restaurant, said the use of Montana's projected budget surplus will be a major issue in the 2007 legislature.

"I will support a significant and permanent property tax reduction," Blasdel said.

He said taxpayers know best how to spend their own money. The candidate advocates efficient spending of public revenue.

Blasdel also promises to work hard to eliminate the business equipment tax to make Montana a more competitive environment for attracting new businesses. He said business owners would make better use of these dollars by investing in their employees and capital improvements.

In the area of criminal justice, Blasdel pledges to work for passage of "a strong version of Jessica's Law" to protect children, such as his seven-month-old daughter Elizabeth, from predators.

The Republican candidate said he wants to use the state's natural resources to generate higher paying jobs and more tax revenue while decreasing dependence on foreign markets.

"I believe that we can use our natural resources and still maintain a clean and healthy environment," Blasdel said.

He also cites maintaining public access to public lands as a strong priority.

Blasdel advocates legislation to protect private property from confiscation by cities and counties in favor of "some outside business entity which promises a higher use for your land."

If elected, he vows to promote strong family values and fight for fiscal accountability, lower taxes and "the rights and fundamental freedoms for all Montanans."

Augustad, a single mom, said she joined the race to work for economic justice in a system she believes works well only for the wealthy.

"I look around and I see my neighbors are having a hard time," she said. "One percent of the population has 95 percent of the wealth."

Augustad said that some multimillion dollar businesses in Montana don't pay any taxes here. Yet she notes that bouts of serious diseases like cancer drive hard-working people into bankruptcy each year.

"I had a friend who had a baby and had to put it on a credit card," she said.

If elected, Augustad said she would advocate providing the all-day option for kindergarten. She also supports legislation, defeated in the last session, which requires reporting which children are home schooled and how they are doing.

"I thought that was pretty reasonable," she said. "Montana has the most liberal home school laws in the nation."

Augustad strongly opposes Constitutional Initiative 97, which would impose limits on spending and taxation authority in Montana. She points to consequences in other states like Colorado where roads deteriorated and child immunizations were cut as a result of similar initiatives.

A district court judge has ruled the signature-gathering process for CI-97, and two other initiatives, was plagued by fraud and decertified the initiatives for the election. The measures will still appear on the ballot, but if the Supreme Court upholds the district court ruling the votes will not be counted.

Regarding the projected state budget surplus, Augustad said she supports the governor's plan to provide rebates to residents while retaining some dollars in a reserve to pay for unforeseen disasters such as wildland fires.

"I want the state to buy more river access," she said. "I really oppose selling any public lands and closing access."

Augustad noted that reducing business taxes does little for small businesses while providing huge rebates to "the Wal-Marts and Kmarts." She calls Montana "a very business friendly place."

She supports adopting a "do no harm clause" that prohibits corporations from harming the environment, human rights, public health and safety, their communities or the dignity of their employees.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.