Kalispell Candidates Pitch Property Tax Fixes and Affordability in House District 7

Rep. Courtenay Sprunger and Madison Evans both want to represent the heart of Kalispell in House District 7, and both say they’d rather talk policy than party lines. 

“I’ve seen a lot of really quality conversations on the issues during the general,” Sprunger said. “We should be rewarding discussions like that.” 

Sprunger, a 44-year-old Republican, has held the House District 7 seat for the past two terms. During her tenure, she has sponsored the Right Back Act, designed to provide property tax relief while mobilizing state funds for schools. Sprunger advocated for infrastructure improvements, attainable housing initiatives, a reduction of illegal labor, the Montana Hunter’s First Act, and pro-life legislation. She runs a boutique public involvement firm in Kalispell.  

Evans, 35, was born and raised in the district. She said her motivation to run dates to childhood, when she watched her mother learn the family had earned $200 too much to qualify for Medicaid, leaving no one in their single-parent household eligible for state services. She was 7 and remembers wondering what she could do to help.  

A licensed clinical social worker, Evans has spent much of her adult life helping people navigate Medicaid, disability services and other state programs. The Kalispell Democrat said she wants to improve those systems.  

“My whole career has been walking with people through these systems that they’re putting into place in Helena,” Evans said. “I think that gives me an extremely in-depth perspective and lived experience with it.” 

Both candidates cited property taxes as a top issue for the next legislative session.  

Evans wants to explore long-term solutions and ways to better use existing property taxes. She also wants to examine the effect of tax increment financing (TIF) districts, which use growth in tax revenue to pay for improvements in blighted areas.              

“People who have lived here forever are seeing a huge jump, and being like I can’t afford this,” Evans said. “It’s something we need to continue building off and improving because it’s obviously not hitting the mark, and we see our businesses also taking a huge hit.”  

Sprunger pointed to the Right Back Act she sponsored last year and which is still taking effect. Early estimates projected it would return around $54 million by 2028, offsetting costs for all taxpayers on things like country teacher retirements and public school transportation. For future legislation, Sprunger said she’s interested in improving the property appraisal process and exploring TIF district reform. 

TIFs aren’t necessarily good or bad, Sprunger said, but they are “the highest and best use of the tax dollar at a time when people are really struggling.” 

Sprunger said her top priorities for next session remain largely unchanged: infrastructure, education reform, and community safety. She called School District 5 a model for the state, with “proficiency based, confidence based, personalized education for each kid.” She has supported career and technical education (CTE), which offers hands-on, trades-based learning, and wants to extend funding to younger students, starting with sixth graders.  

“Those have really high value, and they are really helping our students gain that mastery,” Sprunger said.  

She also plans to pursue DUI reform and measures against online fraud targeting the elderly.   

Evans is focused on affordability, particularly when it comes to housing and health care. To increase the affordable housing market particularly for the middle and working class, Evans wants to explore reforming zoning laws and making better use of duplexes and fourplexes near existing roads and infrastructure.  

Montana consistently ranks among the states with the highest suicide rates. Evans said other lawmakers are working on mental health initiatives, but she believes it deserves higher priority, particularly in schools.  

For most of her ideas, Evans said she would use funding the state already has.  

“I’m also very aware that if elected, I’m considered a freshman,” Evans said. “I want to go in with some realistic approaches here, that I’m not outright asking Montanans to take on new expenses, new taxes.”   

Both candidates emphasized collaborating with people who disagree with them. Sprunger became known in the House for working with all sides to move legislation.  

“I think the key, whether you’re working across factions or working across the aisle, is understanding what matters most to people and being able to find alignment in your shared principles to solve a problem,” Sprunger said.  

Evans, a Democrat in a historically Republican-leaning district, pointed to Montana’s history as purple state. Her campaign leans into the color, from her website and clothes repping the red-and-blue combination. 

“I feel like that’s what really resonates with what I’ve been trying to get through with my campaign,” Evans said. “We all have the same goal if we’re being honest. We want to live here and we want to be able to focus on things that matter like family, friends, and being outdoors, protecting what makes Montana, Montana. So let’s get there.”  

Ballots were mailed to absentee voters Oct. 9. Election Day is Nov. 3. Voters can check their registration status and the status of their ballot here: https://voterportal.mt.gov/WhereToVote.aspx. 

To register to vote, voters can either bring their completed voter registration application to their county election office or visit their county elections office to fill out a voter registration application and receive a ballot there.

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