They promised to properly fund education, to lower property taxes, to reduce rents and make housing more affordable to locals who work and live in the state. They promised better paying jobs. They promised more liberty, freedom, and accountability. They promised that your family and local community would do better once they were elected.
Months later they arrived in Helena to do the people’s work and promptly sequestered themselves in the state Capitol. All their colleagues from across the state followed, cheering and whooping. Hugs, back slaps, and handshakes were abundant.
The Helena restaurants and pubs rejoiced as business would see a big uptick from politics. There’s a lot of good money to be made during the 90 days that descends upon the capital city every two years.
As in recent legislative sessions, all those promises will be delivered, maybe just not how you might have expected. Select education will do better, property taxes will be rebated with federal onetime dollars, and housing costs will reduce for remote workers moving to Montana seeking to live their best life.
On liberty and freedom, the Montana values that attract and keep people living here, some constituents fare significantly better than others. For the majority of Montanans, women’s healthcare is being unreasonably regulated by this Legislature.
With legislative resolve focused to lure more Americans to move to Montana, some industries will prosper. It helps if you lived here preboom, secured basics like housing, and hold the right occupation. More legislative focus helping local people would be welcome.
Not long ago, a Montanan could buy a piece of land and build a modest home only with the money earned through labor at their job. That’s changed in recent years while Helena politicians seem distracted, contrary, and unwilling to compromise.
Lawmakers have plenty of ideas in their heads, remain isolated in Helena, and rarely show up to local planning meetings where neighbors talk to neighbors about infrastructure or development within hometowns.
We’d like to think, ignore the Legislature. But the damage they can do to the future and the lives of your kids is quite real. My experience on working legislation is that the locals who participate get cordial receptions from phone calls, emails, or visits to Helena. Accountability works and remains a basic tenant to democracy.
There are good lawmakers in Helena. Lawmakers who’ve matured on policy and acknowledge that real power is vested with hometown people, the communities we raise, and the families we cherish locally.
Political newcomers want to manhandle all decision-making control to the state level, away from local decision makers. For them, local is a fiefdom of the state. Yet issues facing locals in Columbia Falls are clearly not the same issues facing Saco.
“Can’t you just feel the power?” said the senior lawmaker as I stood under the glass ceiling in the Montana House for the first time decades ago. The sun beamed through the roof as I curiously looked at my new colleague and shrugged my shoulders in acknowledgement.
The allure of power and respect that lawmakers garner while in Helena is real. Chummy lobbyist with big expense accounts seek to curry favor that helps their industry. Lots of lobbyist work the halls of power in Helena, far away from our hometowns, local pubs, and ski hills. We hope they’re advocating for us and pray lawmakers remember who they work for.
When lawmakers return from a halftime break, a quick 45 days remain to properly fund public services like K-12 education. Lawmakers assure us we’re getting some money back. That’s nice. We’ll take it. Send cash. Save enough in the state budget to give the kids, seniors and locals their best chance at a better future. You promised. We remember.
Mike Jopek formerly served in the Montana Legislature and is now a farmer in Whitefish.