ISSUES
Seven priorities for House District 91. Each one has its own link so it can be shared from a mailer, a text, or a social post.
01
Medicaid is what keeps rural clinics, nursing homes, and behavioral health providers open across Lake, Sanders and Missoula counties. When that funding is cut, the care does not move somewhere else, it disappears, and families and county budgets absorb the loss. I will work to sustain Montana’s Medicaid expansion, remove the sunset that puts it at risk every few years, and protect coverage for low income Montanans, seniors, and people with disabilities.
02
Property taxes that should be paid by the largest corporations have been shifted onto homeowners, renters, and small businesses. I hear it from people who have lived in Arlee or Ronan for forty years and are now worried about staying in their own homes. A fair system asks wealthy property owners and large corporations to pay their share, funds the local services counties are required to provide, and does not price working Montanans out of the place they built.
03
Safe, decent housing and reliable childcare are not extras, they are what lets people take a job and keep it. In this district both are scarce. I support incentives that get housing actually built, including a workforce housing tax credit and the multifamily loan programs that leverage private dollars, and investment in childcare that helps new providers open, keeps qualified workers in the field, and lowers what parents pay out of pocket.
04
Many of our schools need facility upgrades, and in less affluent communities paying for these is difficult if not impossible. All of our students deserve safe learning environments where they can thrive. I will work to fund public schools honestly instead of shifting the cost onto local levies, support our tribal colleges and the university system, and expand career and technical training so young people can build a life here without leaving.
05
Montana’s constitution gives each of us an explicit right to privacy, and that right belongs in the exam room. Decisions about pregnancy, contraception, end of life care, and the care a family chooses for a child should be made by the patient with their provider, not written into statute by the Legislature. I will oppose bills that put government between Montanans and their doctors, whatever the subject.
06
Montana is the Last Best Place and, as such, needs unwavering protection of the environment so future generations can enjoy what we have enjoyed. Maintaining fisheries, hunting habitats, and clean air and water should be a priority for the state. Our constitution guarantees a clean and healthful environment for present and future generations. Cities and Tribes here have already written climate adaptation plans. The state should be working with them, not around them.
07
As Food Sovereignty Chair for the Arlee Community Development Corporation, I see how much of our health comes down to whether people can reach good food. Much of the diabetes and heart disease in this state traces back to that. I support local producers, tribal food systems, school meal and garden programs, and the processing and distribution capacity that lets Montana food feed Montanans instead of leaving the state first.
I am willing to tackle difficult issues and help come up with solutions to ensure a better world for our future generations.
