Candidates for statehouse talk Medicaid, property tax reform and child care at chamber forum

Lawmakers and political hopefuls made their pitches to Kalispell’s business leaders last week, arguing largely in favor of lowering property taxes, expanding child care opportunities and reauthorizing the state’s Medicaid plan.

The April 16 candidate forum was hosted by the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, who prepared four questions ahead of the event addressing Medicaid, property tax reform, affordable housing and child care. Each candidate received about five minutes to answer all four questions. 

“Montanans should prosper by the expansion of this state, not be pushed out because of it,” said Dakota Adams, Democratic candidate for House District 1, which includes Eureka and Troy. 

While candidates saw the need to address rising property taxes and a lack of affordable housing across the board, they differed on the best policy approach. 

When the market falls short of fixing things, “perhaps intervention is important,” said Dave Fern, a Democrat running for Senate District 2. Fern suggested changing the way the state handles property taxes, shifting from a statewide classification system to a localized system. Montana is a big state with diverse interests, he said. 

Most candidates agreed that property taxes should be lower for those full-time residents with an emphasis on primary homeowners. Lindsey Jordan, Democratic candidate for House District 4, argued for lessening the burden on homeowners by curtailing tax breaks to corporations.

Republican Rep. Courtenay Sprunger, who is running in House District 7, pointed toward Senate Bill 511, which failed to gain traction in the 2023 legislative session, as a policy to revisit. The legislation looked to revise government entity limitations on property tax increases by altering the tax cap. 

Devin Marconi, a Democrat running in House District 10, said that he would be open to the possibility of a sales tax if his constituents expressed support for the idea. Most of Montana’s neighbors impose a sales tax, he said.

Ed Bryne, Republican candidate for House District 11, said that one solution would be for the state to turn bed taxes over to the counties. Jennifer Allen, a Democrat running in the same district, expressed the importance of listening to tax experts and finding a way to revamp the tax system in a way that benefits communities. 

Republican Rep. Tony Brockman, running for reelection in House District 8, expressed support for legislation that passed in 2023 that created a community reinvestment act to fund workforce housing.

“I don’t believe that the citizens of this community, the corporations of this community, are being treated fairly,” said Marquis Laude, who is running in Senate District 5 as a Republican.

To address a lack of affordable housing, Link Neimark, a Democratic candidate in Senate District 5, said that creating more accessory dwelling units and using underutilized public lands for units — he referenced tiny homes — could be possible solutions. 

Jordan, the Democrat running in House District 4, expressed the need for employee housing. 

Shaun Pandina, a Republican candidate in House District 7, said the high cost of supplies and labor factor into housing costs. Lowering contractor costs, he said, could help with affordability. 

MOST CANDIDATES supported the reauthorization of Medicaid. In the state of Montana, 90% of the program is federally funded, a higher contribution than all of Montana’s neighboring states. The other 10% comes from the state share, according to the Department of Public Health and Human Services. 

Medicaid is important, said both Adams, House District 1 candidate, and Debo Powers, a Democrat running in House District 3, to ensure that the state has a healthy and able-bodied workforce. 

Many legislators also noted the program’s benefit to the community. Marconi pointed to the infrastructure the program supports through new jobs and more income, and Allen mentioned the importance of a system like Medicaid to alleviate the state’s mental health crisis.

“To have a good foundation [for mental health] ... it would be optimal to have as many folks as possible insured,” said Fern, who serves on the state’s behavioral health commission. 

Arthur Fretheim, a Democrat running in House District 7, said in a statement that he is for the reauthorization of Medicaid. However, if federal funds were to disappear, it should be reevaluated, he said. 

There was some opposition, mainly from two Republican candidates looking to oust their Republican incumbents. Lukas Schubert, running in House District 8, suggested that those on Medicaid may use it to get late term abortions up to the day before viability.  

“Whatever merit Medicaid has aside from this is nullified by the fact that the far left … liberal judges have tied it to using taxpayer funding for abortions right up until the day before it would be able to survive outside the womb,” Schubert said. 

Medicaid regulations say that federal money can only be used for abortion care in specific cases of rape, incest or a threat to the life of the mother. A 1995 First Judicial District Court ruling found that Medicaid must also cover the cost of abortions that are considered medically necessary. 

Pandina also questioned the program, setting his speech up in a “claim” and “question” format. Reading closely from a piece of paper, Pandina said that Medicaid doesn’t incentivize people to work harder and that continuous spending at the federal level is a mistake. 

Over 70% of Medicaid participants had a full time job in 2019; 10% were disabled, 6% were in school and 7% were caretakers, according to a current population survey completed by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. 

Kelly also expressed concerns about the program, saying that Medicaid is paid for by people with private insurance. Bryne said that while he strongly supports the program, he questions if it should be reauthorized in its current form.

When discussing child care, the bevy of candidates agreed that there needs to be more affordable options for families, possibly through granting businesses more leniency to launch in-house child care programs or via a governmental credit. 

There were no candidates in attendance for House Districts 5 or 6. Other attendees included House District 11 Republican candidate Rob Tracy and House District 12 Republican candidate Tracy Sharp. 

The primary is June 4.

Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.