Candidates differ on budget at Chamber forum

Twelve candidates for the Montana Legislature and Flathead County Commission faced off at a Wednesday forum arranged by the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce.

District 2 Flathead County Commission candidates Joe Brenneman and Pam Holmquist squared off first.

“I know what it takes to maintain a budget,” said Holmquist, the Republican challenger. She said she would make a good team with other commissioners, Republicans Dale Lauman and Jim Dupont. Holmquist called the current situation “two-thirds of a team.”

Incumbent Brenneman, a Democrat, responded to an earlier charge by Holmquist about the county’s “ballooning budgets.” Brenneman said the county budget is capped to a one-half percent increase above inflation each year in accord with state law, and pointed out the county has lived below that cap for the last three years.

Brenneman said Holm-quist either doesn’t understand the budget process or is intentionally misrepresenting it.

Brenneman also said he expects the disagreement about the Whitefish doughnut issue to be resolved within a couple of weeks.

Holmquist said she would vote with Dupont on the doughnut issue. “Adding one more bureaucratic layer to land use is unnecessary,” she said, referring to the Whitefish City Council’s implementation of its critical-areas ordinance to doughnut-residents who live outside city limits.

The candidates were asked what they would do about job recovery.

Brenneman proposed that some out-of-work Montanans could go to Alberta to work temporary jobs in the oil fields. “Alberta is close to a labor shortage because of oil development,” he said. Brenneman said he talked with U.S. Sen. Jon Tester about the issue recently. There is a “visa issue” that needs to be worked out first, he said.

“I don’t want to wait until the 12th hour of my term to care about the local economy,” Holmquist said, noting she would feature one local business per month on the county website.

Candidates for the Senate District 4 spot also spoke at the lunch forum.

Democrat Mary Reckin was asked about a comment she made to the Missoulian about legislation banning use of cell phones while driving being her highest priority. Reckin said that wasn’t what the story said, but noted that such legislation is the first she would propose. It’s “non-controversial ... simple and easy to pass,” she said. Texting while driving increases the chances of an accident 23 times, and talking on a cell phone while driving increases the chances two or three times, she said.

In regard to a question about energy use, Reckin said “extensive mining and timber harvesting are not the wave of the future. Wyoming and North Dakota are not doing it the Montana way.”

In contrast, her Republican opponent, Jon Sonju said those neighboring states “are doing it right. We’ve been letting our forests burn down with the beetle kill.” He has viewed this while driving to Helena. “It makes my blood boil,” he said, citing forest mismanagement, both at the federal and state levels.  

Sonju said he wants to eliminate the 3 percent business equipment tax, calling it “ridiculous. It’s one of my No. 1 issues.”

Reckin said it would be ideal to reduce the tax, but asked where the money would come from. She believes it would come from school budgets, which she deems unacceptable.

In her opening statement, House District 10 Democrat candidate Carla Augustad said caffeine and acetaminophen have been found in shallow wells, 152 homeless children are in the county, 25 dams need to be reconfigured for safety, and one in five bridges are obsolete. 

To spur economic growth, Augustad, who later said she has neurological issues, promoted the area for medical care. “There is a huge network of healers in this valley,” she said, including a couple who offer therapy for autistic children and disabled people through a horse riding program.

“One good thing about war is the amount of money that goes into medical” care and treatment, she said. Augustad wants to bring injured veterans to the Flathead to heal. The health care funds expended under this scenario “would help heal us,” she said.