Three candidates contend for House District 6 seat
<p>Republican</p><p>Age: 41</p><p>Occupation: Home builder</p><p>Family: Wife Amy, three children.</p><p>Background: Active in Trinity Lutheran Church and a board member for the Montana Building Industry Association</p><p>Website: www.glimmforhouse.com</p>
<p>Independent Democrat or Democratic Independent</p><p>Age: 54</p><p>Occupation: Massage therapist and co-owner of Bodies in Harmony Institute of Massage and Therapeutic Studies at the Ol’ Loading Dock in Kalispell</p><p>Family: Husband Ken, two children</p><p>Background: Volunteer at the Abbie Shelter, Bernie Sanders grassroots organizer, Citizens for GMO Labeling.</p><p>Website: None</p>
<p>Libertarian</p><p>Age: 20</p><p>Occupation: Student at the University of Montana</p><p>Background: Volunteer for Montana for Gary Johnson, Member of Students for Liberty</p><p>Website: None</p>
The race for House District 6 has paired a veteran Republican representative against two new candidates who have said they represent minority voices “voting their belief” instead of following party lines.
Incumbent Republican Rep. Carl Glimm, 41, is running for his third term in the House.
Glimm said he’s seeking re-election to continue strengthening Montana’s workforce and budget.
“Some people probably get tired of hearing this, but I’m running for my three kids,” Glimm said. “I’m worried about the next generation being able to stay here, work here, have good jobs — to be able to raise their family here.”
His opponents for the district that stretches from Whitefish to West Valley include self-defined inactive candidate Lisa Morrow, the Democratic nominee from Kalispell, and University of Montana student Ian Wheeler, a Libertarian who grew up in the Flathead.
Morrow, 54, said as a Bernie Sanders grassroots organizer, she agreed to run for the position as her excitement grew leading up to the presidential primaries.
“I wanted to be another voice for Bernie,” Morrow said. “When I was asked to do this, I was told I wouldn’t win, but could voice my concerns.”
She said those concerns include finding environmentally-friendly solutions for business in the state, keeping federal lands public and eliminating a “big-money lobbying mindset.”
Morrow describes herself as an Independent Democrat or Democratic Independent. She said while she never intended to win this election, she remained on the ballot to give voters the feeling of another option.
“Politics has become following your party, instead of recognizing simple truths and looking at everything on an individual basis,” she said.
Ian Wheeler, 20, said if he was elected as a third party candidate for House District 6, he would work to do away with “one-size-fits-all legislation,” and put more power back into the hands of Montanans.
He said by talking about key issues such as diversifying education, transferring federal lands to state control and creating innovative ways to increase state revenue, he hopes to show voters what it looks like to prioritize individual issues over traditional party lines.
“I think third parties are very representative of what people actually believe,” he said. “I hope to spread the Libertarian Party on a local level, so that in the future people won’t think of voting for the Libertarian Party as a waste, but a vote for positive change.”
Wheeler said he would support abandoning Common Core techniques. In its place, he would support creating a committee comprised of statewide educators to create a curriculum designed to inspire students.
He said the state should also increase funding for higher education to balance the weight Montana’s future workforce carries in looming college debt. However, he said that would be a challenge since the Legislative Fiscal Division has projected an ending fund balance considerably below what was originally predicted.
“I think instead of turning to increasing taxes for homeowners, I would look at ways to create new streams of revenue,” Wheeler said.
He said one example would be to legalize and tax recreational marijuana to pull new dollars into under-funded projects, such as education.
The state’s infrastructure, which has a long list of backlogged projects, could also benefit from the new stream of funding, he said.
“This will sound a little non-Libertarian, but I think the infrastructure issue is something we need to address as a state,” Wheeler said. “It especially needs to be addressed because of how much we rely on the tourism industry, which supports so many Montana communities.”
Glimm said as the state faces a lower revenue than expected, he intends to use his experience serving two terms on the House’s Appropriations Committee to reduce government spending.
“Over the last number of years we’ve grown state government quite a bit, I think too much,” Glimm said. “We need to look at budget requests and decide what are wants versus needs. This belt-tightening will be hard, but good in the long run.”
He said as part of that effort, he will avoid bills that “push the state into debt.”
Last session, Glimm was one of the voices that opposed a $150 million infrastructure bill that failed. He and other representatives in opposition to the bill highlighted spending that they said went beyond repairing roads and sewer systems.
He said in the past he supported infrastructure through the Treasure State Endowment Program, a state-funded program created to assist communities with financing public projects.
“But that won’t be enough this time. We have huge infrastructure needs and a bill is long overdue,” he said. “But I want to see something that excludes want projects and focuses on the needs we have across the state.”
Glimm said he’s also interested in moving federal public lands under state control, as long as the land remains public. He said the transition could lead to increased logging sales that aren’t tied up in litigation, allow Montanans to manage the land and increase economic activities.
He said another way to support economic growth in Montana is to reduce the level of bureaucracy on a federal and state level.
“It’s going to be very important to us if as a Republican Party we can make sure that [Greg] Gianforte is elected as governor,” he said. “We have swung so far to the left in policies and spending, it’s been a common theme in the issues I’m concerned about. The best thing our government can do is let the free market drive growth.”
Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.