1. Should the state of Montana expand Medicaid to Montanans earning less than 138 percent of poverty, as allowed under the Affordable Care Act? Why or why not?
2. Should the state encourage or discourage the production of coal, oil and gas? How?
3. The state of Montana has had budget surpluses in recent years. Should
this money be invested in public services, returned to taxpayers in some form, or both? Please be specific.
4. Do you support freezing tuition for in-state students attending state colleges and universities for two more years, as the 2013 Legislature did? Why or why not?
5. Montana schools are implementing new math and English standards and testing known as the Common Core standards. Do you support these? Why or why not?
Jerry O’Neil (Incumbent)
Age: 71
Occupation: Independent Paralegal; mediator with the Blackfeet Tribal Court as an advocate and counselor licensed by the Blackfeet Tribe.
Political experience: Elected to the Montana State Senate in 2000 and served from January 2001 through December 2008 when I was term limited out of the senate. Elected to the Montana House of Representatives in 2010 and served in the 2011 and 2013 sessions.
Political affiliation: Republican
Place of residence: Columbia Falls
1. No, Montana should not expand Medicaid. With the federal debt of $17.8 trillion, or $152,540 per taxpayer, now is not the time to expand our dependence on the federal government. It is not the time for Montana to take over the federal government’s responsibility to provide health care to our Native American population. It has been stated there are 70,000 uninsured Montanans who would be eligible if we expanded Medicaid. There are approximately 70,000 Native Americans in Montana, some of whom would drop their government-run Indian Health Services in exchange for government-run Medicaid Expansion. A substantial portion of uncompensated care now is provided through Medicare, Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital Payments, and federal direct care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Indian Health Service. This population will continue to receive services if Montana does not expand Medicaid. Maybe, instead of Medicaid Expansion, we should take our healthcare clinics that are presently reserved for Montana’s government workers and sell them to private buyers, publicly owned co-ops or to charitable organizations in order to take care of our needy and reduce medical costs for all Montanans.
2. We should encourage the production of coal, oil and gas. Montana’s laws for protecting our environment are equivalent to North Dakota’s environmental laws. Part of the reason our production is so much less than ND’s is because it takes much longer to approve a drilling permit in Montana than in North Dakota. We need to have a state agency in charge of overseeing the issuance of drilling permits with the mandate these permits are issued in a timely manner and that our environment is protected. We also should not tax drilling rigs at a higher rate than we tax windmills and solar panels.
3. I advocate we use any “budget surpluses” to fix the retirement system relied on by Montana’s public employees. If no other changes are made, in order to make Montana’s Public Employee Retirement System structurally sound, it needs an infusion of $5,000,000 per year from the State and $13,500,000 from our county and local governments. In order to convert this system to a 401(k) type plan like the private sector enjoys, we would need to have an up-front payment. This needs to be done to avoid an out of control retirement system that has the capability to bankrupt the state.
4. I do not support freezing college tuition. This would force Montana taxpayers who do not have the benefit of a college education to pay for such education for the privileged. Rather than freeze tuition we need to do what we can to control the costs. The best way to control costs would be to increase competition between Montana’s colleges, universities and community colleges. One idea would be to give students vouchers to use at the Montana school of their choice. Another would be to make more use of distant learning by use of the Internet in our classrooms.
5. I do not support Common Core standards. This concept is a further step in the nationalized “school to work” program, which includes programs such as Goals 2000 and No Child Left Behind. They will lead to centralization of our education system in the federal government. Instead, I support that local school boards, in conjunction with the Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Legislature set the standards for our local schools.
Zac Perry
Age: 36
Occupation: Substitute teacher at Columbia Falls High School, employee at O’Brien’s Liquor & Wine, business manager of the Ox Yoke Inn (family vacation rental).
Political experience: 2003 campaign assistant, gubernatorial campaign of Brian Schweitzer, candidate for HD3 in 2010 and 2012
Political affiliation: Democrat
Place of residence: Martin City
1. Do we refuse federal highway dollars that keep our roads intact and drivable? Do we refuse federal farm subsidies that assist farmers every year? Montana should accept federal dollars to create jobs and cover the working poor, period. The needs in Flathead County for mental health services and preventative health care for low-income families are significant. We have two more years where this expansion will not cost Montana a dime. Let’s take advantage of all the benefits those funds can mean to Montanans and reevaluate which direction we want to go in 2017.
2. These industries provide living-wage jobs and significant revenue for the state of Montana. That being said, I believe renewable energy can become an integral and valuable part of Montana’s energy portfolio. While we need to continue to responsibly extract coal, gas, and oil, the encouragement of renewable energy can benefit Montana.
3. There are many possibilities when it comes to what we should do with our budget surplus. Some want to cut a check to the Montana taxpayer. Others believe we should direct these funds toward the Montana public pension fund. Our state has many needs that could benefit from these surplus funds. I would lean toward directing these funds back to where they came from: The Montana taxpayer.
4. The state should provide enough additional money for the university system to freeze tuition for two more years for Montana students in 2015. Taking this action would be the equivalent of a tax cut for Montana families sending their kids to a state college.
5. I support the Common Core standards being implemented in math and English. Montana’s Common Core Standards are more stringent and less ambiguous than previous standards. I like that Montana’s Common Core is not a federal mandate like No Child Left Behind. Local school boards must achieve these state standards, but still have oversight over instructional materials, curriculum, and offered courses. Of course it is not perfect. One of the problems right now is the amount of classroom time taken for all the required tests, especially in elementary schools. Data is important, but so is the time teachers have with their students to teach.
Chris Colvin
Age: 66
Occupation: Retired mason, philosopher and writer.
Political experience: None
Political affiliation: Libertarian
Place of residence: Columbia Falls
1. Yes, expand Medicaid. Many Montanans live on sub-poverty income, are charged the highest prices – often double – and are lost in a “donut hole” in the Affordable Care Act. We really need to confront greed-driven medicine, and only the federal government has enough power to do it. “Chargemaster” prices should be transparent and everyone (Medicaid, Medicare, Insurance AND the individual without insurance) should pay the SAME prices, same terms. In this country there is no profit-incentive to find and provide cheap and effective cures, and I have ideas how to change that.
2. Yes, if they’re willing to be responsible. Before one taxpayer dollar is spent cleaning up corporate mess – all corporate and stockholder dollars should be spent first, and the State should have their hands on them before they issue the permit. In Columbia Falls we have an ongoing environmental disaster (CFAC-cyanide and heavy metal leaching into everyone’s water) and a big international resource conglomerate (Glencore) refusing to do anything to stop it – and a corrupt two-party system which would sweep it under the rug. We need to act now, and I’m willing to lead the effort.
3. Budget surpluses are great – be glad we have them and fund MTDEQ to enforce the law and make polluters pay and turn the agency into a money-maker, like FWP. I think we need to change the basis of state taxation from income and other regressive and intrusive taxes to property and asset-based flat taxes with no exception, exemption or other corruption – to require those who benefit most from our system (many of whom don’t live in Montana, or even America) to pay their fair share to support it. Fair taxation is my biggest issue.
4. Education benefits everyone in society, make it as reasonable as possible for people who want to study subjects which benefit us (medicine, law, education …) and who want to stay here and serve – and put it in a contract. We have a serious shortage of primary care physicians, public (court appointed, MTDEQ, etc.) lawyers, good teachers – this would be a good way to address it.
5. There needs to be an objective standard so that higher education and industry knows when it gets a graduate that the diploma means something and if a teacher isn’t effective he/she can be replaced. In politics you always have to look in bed to see who’s there before you get in. I’m not certain all the opponents of Common Core are playing with a full deck.