The Issues

As your House Representative, I plan to work hard to turn conversations back to a point where we can communicate respectfully as a legislative body to better address the true issues that impact our state.

We have a long list of relevant issues that impact Montana and Montana Residents. Stay tuned to my future posts, videos, and comments, as I Listen to the residents of Montana,  Learn about legislation that will impact us as Montanans, and Educate myself and others on common-sense solutions and approaches to navigating these issues.

Education

Livingston is growing and changing, and we need someone that is going to help support our school systems through those changes. Our educators are doing a great job, but don’t have the support they need in Helena. I am a lifelong educator and a lifelong supporter of education. I will bring my experiences to the State House to advocate for our Public Schools and to make the legislature be more accountable in providing the necessary resources needed to support our teachers, support staff, and students of Montana.

Education is currently under attack, and we must push back hard on that attack. Many state house members have spent their time talking about a boogie man of so-called “Critical Race Theory,” or LGBTQ issues as a way of attacking teachers and educational staff, causing unnecessary drama and chaos, distracting from the focus of their job, which is getting increasingly more difficult.

Montana and the USA are missing the boat by not investing more time, energy, and funding into the education of our youth. Investing in our youth, and the educational and mental health systems that support them now, will save us billions of dollars in the future.

 If elected I will advocate for bills to:

• Increase pay for teachers and support staff that are doing the hard work of guiding our students on a daily basis.

• Reduce the number of students to counselor ratio from the shockingly high 400 to 1 ratio that is currently mandated by OPI.

• Reduce Student to teacher ratios in certain classrooms.

I will oppose bills that take away funding for our Public Schools, and allow them to go to Privatized Education

Our Public Schools are the cornerstones of our communities and need to be supported as much as possible.

Mental Health

Healthcare

Hundreds of thousands of Montanans who are eligible for Medicaid have had their access cut by the state, which is more focused on keeping needless red tape blocking Montanans from registering, than letting our neighbors access healthcare they need and are entitled to. This is not only bad for our community members, but for hospitals and healthcare providers, which are increasingly not getting the revenue they need to effectively operate on. If elected I will fight to cut down on red tape, support Medicaid expansion, increase access to affordable healthcare, and ensure Montanans can continue to access necessary reproductive services like birth control and abortion.

Climate Change & Environment

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF MONTANA

ARTICLE IX. ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Section 1. Protection and improvement.
(1) The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations.
(2) The legislature shall provide for the administration and enforcement of this duty.
(3) The legislature shall provide adequate remedies for the protection of the environmental life support system from degradation and provide adequate remedies to prevent unreasonable depletion and degradation of natural resources.

I am so thankful that I get to live in and enjoy the great state of Montana, I think we all understand that we have a truly unique state with a beautiful, diverse, and picturesque environment. If elected, I will work to advocate for our shared environment and acknowledge the nearly ubiquitous scientific consensus that cutting fossil fuel use, reducing consumption and implementing new technologies necessary to protect our environment.

I will advocate for and support bills which:

• Transition current fossil fuel systems to updated energy production methods.

• Implement pollution control standards that help to reduce waste and emissions.

• Protect and maintain our valuable water sources.

I will be keeping a close eye on legislation that affects our public lands and access to them. It is imperative that we keep our public lands public, and that we protect the ability for all to access them. Also keeping a close eye on issues surrounding the management of our many resources for future generations to come, including water, wildlife, timber, and access to hunting and fishing opportunities for all Montana residents, are at the top of my list of concerns.

Affordable Housing

The cost of housing, for both renters and buyers, has continued to rise faster than both inflation and average wages in Park County. We need to address the housing crisis in Montana, and find common sense, multi-pronged solutions to increase affordable housing within the state and our community.

Affordable housing is a complex, widespread issue that impacts Montana in multiple ways. Medium Income Montanans cannot afford housing in many Montana communities. Teachers, law enforcement, first responders, healthcare, and a multitude of other employees cannot find affordable housing despite being the backbones of our communities.  Employers are struggling to find employees because of a lack of housing.

Being a member of the Park County Housing Coalition Steering Committee has helped me to understand the scope of the problem and allows myself and other devoted community members to source out potential solutions that can be implemented both locally, and statewide at the legislative level.

Again, this is a multipronged problem that requires multipronged solutions, if elected I will work with my colleagues in the legislature to:

●       Provide tax incentive to landlords that offer below market rates
●       Implement tax incentives to builders and developers that create truly affordable housing.
●       Provide grant funding and incentives for businesses that create employee-based housing

Property Taxes

The GOP controlled state legislature and governor failed to sustainably address the expected rise in property taxes, resulting in Park County residents paying on average 21% more than they were before the last legislative session. It was well known in the legislature that the short-term $650 tax rebates implemented during the last session were not going to come close to covering the expected tax increases Montana property owners were going to experience. Republicans pushed through these short-term tax policies and rejected long-term solutions proposed by the Democratic minority with little regard to what was in the best interest of the majority of Montana’s property owners. If elected I will represent the people of Park County in finding long-term solutions to restructuring our property tax system and stop forcing the vast majority of people to pay tax increases, just to prevent wealthy out of staters, and corporations from paying more. 

Public Land Access

Montana Resource Management

Water
Wildlife
Timber
Mining
Public Lands
Energy