Statehouse candidates discuss how to invest in local economy

Legislative hopefuls on Tuesday made their pitches for the best ways the state can reinvest in communities, including decreasing taxes, supporting tourism and addressing workforce needs. 

Seven candidates, all running for state Legislature seats in the Flathead Valley, attended the Sept. 17 forum organized by the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce. Chamber members asked 10 questions touching upon Medicaid, schools, energy policies, workforce housing, child care, tourism and business innovation. Candidates were randomly asked questions and given one minute to respond.  

“When you’re dealing with innovation, you need to look at what the barriers are ... to take them off the table when you can,” said Steven Kelly, the Republican candidate for House District 9, of expanding the city's business community.  

One question asked candidates how they would invest Montana’s budget surplus into the local economy. Devin Marconi, Democratic candidate for House District 10, raised ideas such as redistributing dollars to public schools across the state or issuing a property tax rebate to Montana's middle class.  

“We can use this state revenue to help the counties most in need,” Marconi said.  

Kelly argued for lowering taxes. 

“[The state] shouldn’t be taking any more [money] than what we actually need,” Kelly said. 

Lukas Schubert, the GOP candidate for House District 8, agreed with Kelly, saying that the more taxes the state cuts, the more money stays in people’s pockets. 

Jennifer Allen, a Democrat running for House District 11, worried that permanent tax cuts in response to a momentary surplus could prove detrimental.  She said tax dollars could potentially be invested into workforce housing and public infrastructure.  

“I recently talked to a number of voters who said they didn’t particularly want the property tax rebates but wanted the state to use the surplus to rebuild services,” Allen said in a prepared statement. 

WHILE NOT every candidate present was asked their thoughts on reauthorizing the state’s expanded Medicaid program, there was consensus among those that answered that it would benefit the state’s aging population and foster economic growth. Kelly suggested placing some limits on the program to avoid tax increases.  

Link Neimark, a Democrat running for Senate District 5, said that the money, if reauthorized, would also support rural hospitals and medical centers, increasing health care access for rural communities.  

“Not only is reauthorization the right thing to do, it is also economically the smart thing to do,” Neimark wrote in a prepared answer.  

As for tourism, candidates mostly agreed with keeping the statewide collections of bed tax and tourism business improvement district dollars.  

Chris Sidmore, executive director of the Flathead Food Bank, stood in for an absent Rep. Courtney Sprunger, a Republican who is running for reelection. He said that Sprunger also supports ongoing marketing for the shoulder season to feed the region’s tourism economy.  

Asked for what legislators could do to attract and retain workers to the area, Schubert suggested reducing taxes, fees and red tape around housing, and said that he would see “what specific policies” are drafted up in the Legislature.  

housing and child care remain a challenge for the region’s workers, said Beth Sibert, Democratic candidate for House District 8 and Schubert’s opponent. The state needs to invest in quality child care, she said, referencing her own experience as a working mother of two.  

When asked how to support the affordability, reliability and sustainability of local energy, Marconi said that it could be beneficial to strengthen the efficacy of Montana’s wind generation programs. Marconi also referenced the reliance of Montana’s labor market on the energy industry, as state natural gas and oil industries employ 8% of the state’s workforce and generate 21% of its gross domestic product.  

Schubert advocated for a diverse energy grid and removing the government from the energy sector. Being energy sufficient as a state, Schubert said, would be a good thing. 

Allen raised concern about the state becoming dependent on fossil fuels.  

OUTSIDE OF the prepared questions, candidates addressed a range of topics, including judicial reform, immigration and women’s health care. 

Kelly expressed his commitment to ensuring that Flathead Lake’s water levels remain high enough for summer recreation in a nod to last year’s low water level.  Drought conditions saw the lake’s water level decrease to record lows after mid-June.  

Schubert hammered the state’s judiciary, repeatedly calling it corrupt without offering any specific examples. He also touched on parental rights regarding school choice and cracking down on illegal immigration. There are “murders and stabbings from illegals in Montana,” he said it what appeared to be a reference to a July 2022 murder case in Bozeman. 

In that case, a man in the country illegally stabbed another man to death. According to Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office, the victim was in a relationship was the perpetrator’s estranged wife.  

Multiple studies show that immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than people born in the United States. The Libertarian think tank Cato Institute, for example, found that people in Texas illegally were 37.1% less likely to be convicted of a crime. Research conducted by Stanford University has shown that since the 1960s, immigrants are about 60% less likely to end up behind bars than those born in the U.S. 

Sibert, Schubert’s opponent, pointed toward the importance of more women being in the Legislature to better represent their peers across the state.  

Election Day is Nov. 5. 

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

    Jennifer Allen, Democratic candidate for House District 11, answers a question at a candidate forum hosted by the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024 at the Red Lion Hotel in Kalispell. (Matt Baldwin/Daily Inter Lake)
  

    Devin Marconi, Democratic candidate for House District 10, answers a question at a candidate forum hosted by the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024 at the Red Lion Hotel in Kalispell. (Matt Baldwin/Daily Inter Lake)   

    Lukas Schubert, Republican candidate for House District 8, answers a question at a candidate forum hosted by the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024 at the Red Lion Hotel in Kalispell. To his right is Link Neimark, a Democratic candidate for Senate District 5. (Matt Baldwin/Daily Inter Lake)