House District 4

By LYNNETTE HINTZE/Daily Inter Lake

House District 4 candidates agree on one thing: Government and politics are about relationships and working with all sorts of people.

Beyond that, the paths diverge on many issues for incumbent Democrat Mike Jopek and Republican challenger John Fuller, both of rural Whitefish.

House District 4 includes the Whitefish area.

JOPEK IS seeking a third term. The longtime farmer has worked to build relationships during his time in office, he said, reaching out to constituents with opinion pieces in local newspapers and on his blog (http://onthehouse.mikejopek.com).

In a blog entry before the growing season began this year, Jopek said the issues facing Montanans "seem to be overwhelming - climbing food prices, skyrocketing fuel cost, insurance premiums that run amok and a national debt with no seeming end.

"A cooperative approach is needed to find practical solutions to these dilemmas, one that embraces Republicans, Democrats, Constitutionalist and Independents alike," Jopek blogged.

Property-tax relief, access to public lands and energy independence - with a focus on alternative energy sources - are among the most important issues for Jopek.

During the 2007 legislative session he sponsored and passed laws to protect homeowners from debt foreclosure, clarify gravel pit laws and find property tax reappraisal tools during the interim.

Keeping public lands accessible and in public hands is one of his most passionate pursuits.

During the last session he sponsored a bill that gave the state Land Board the ability to sell development rights off state lands for conservation. In his own district, that legislation paved the way for a community land trust that's being developed to provide affordable housing for Whitefish area residents.

Jopek is excited about the legislative work being done to support energy development, particularly alternative energy sources such as wind turbines, solar panels and cellulostic ethanol made from wood and straw scraps. It makes sense to use what's available regionally, he said.

Jopek sees the need for continued work on assuring that property taxes are lower and more predicable. He sponsored a bill last session that established an interim study committee to look at property revaluation.

"There's so much on the table right now regarding mitigation strategies," he said. "This committee will be kept alive" past the Sept. 15, 2008, termination date.

Jopek said he's "very proud" of the work the Legislature has done for education.

"We've put historic amounts of money into education and we have more work to do," he said.

He stressed the importance of continuing to make the business climate friendlier, and hopes to make progress on reducing business equipment taxes.

"In 2007, eight bills got tangled up in bickering," he said. "I've talked with people in the interim and I think in 2009 something good will happen on the business tax."

Jopek acknowledged the acrimonious environment that often hamstrung the 2007 Legislature.

"We need more statesmen and less hotheads," he said.

Education, job creation and health care are top platforms for Fuller, a longtime high-school teacher.

A former member of the state Board of Public Education, Fuller is still well-connected in state education circles, he said, and supports the work of that board and the Board of Regents.

"American public education has made great accomplishments, but it's time to take it to the next level," Fuller said. "We have to establish a greater mission for education. No Child Left Behind was an attempt to do that, but that hasn't worked very well."

Fuller, who lost his 2004 bid for state superintendent of public education, said two premises still apply for education in Montana: Children's failure is unacceptable and the time has come for public schools to be accountable.

Fuller has plenty of meat-and-potatoes issues on his agenda. Small-business regulations is one of them.

"Montana has the reputation for being unfriendly to business," he said. "Onerous regulations have prevented small-businesses from growing."

Specifically, he wants the business equipment tax repealed.

Fuller favors responsible energy development of renewable as well as non-renewable resources.

"We need it [energy] now," he said, "and we need alternatives as they can be developed."

More natural-resource production is the economic engine that can provide good-paying jobs and property-tax relief to Montanans, Fuller said, pointing out that the state now produces 84 percent less timber now than in 1980.

Fuller is a believer of "Reaganomics," the economic policies of the late President Ronald Reagan that called for reducing government spending and regulation while lowering taxes.

"The more money you have in your pocket, the more you engage [in the economy] and the more wealth there is," he said. "If you have the government taking away a chip during every round of poker," eventually there's nothing left for consumers. "If you want the game to go on, you have to give back to the players."

Fuller said he will work to protect choice and access to basic health-care coverage through both private and public options. He also encourages incentives for providers to serve in rural and underserved areas.

"Most health-care providers are small businesses," he pointed out.

Fuller believes his teaching experience will be an asset in the Legislature.

"Objectivity is a prerequisite for an educator," he said. "I believe I bring that to the table."

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com