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2018 General Election Q & A: House District 8

Republican John Fuller vs. Libertarian Sid Daoud

By Tristan Scott
Republican John Fuller, left, and Libertarian Sid Daoud.

1.  How do you intend to balance the state budget?

2. What taxes are you willing to increase, if any?

3. Are there any services you are willing to cut?

4. How do you plan to foster economic growth in the Flathead Valley?

5. What role should state government play in managing federal public lands, and how should those management activities be funded?

6. What are the most urgent issues facing your district?

Name: John Fuller

Age: 72

Occupation: Retired high school teacher and small businessman

Political Experience: Served on Montana Board of Public Education (2001-2008 –appointed by Governor Judy Martz); Northwest Montana Field Director for former Congressman Ryan Zinke; unsuccessful candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction (2004); taught American Government for over forty years at various secondary schools.

Political Affiliation: Republican

Place of Residence: Rural Kalispell-Whitefish

1. The Montana Constitution requires a balanced budget for every legislative session.  As a potential freshman legislator, I do not presume to claim the foresight, skill and institutional knowledge to balance the budget without the assistance of other legislators (Republican and Democrat), the Legislative Staff, and the contributions of constituents, citizens and interested parties.  Because of the Trump economic policies that have restored the American economy to its normal robust growth, providing the essential services of government while keeping the taxpayers’ burden as light as possible should be considerably easier than the last legislative session. We will have a successful legislature when we get a bi-partisan budget signed by the Governor.

2. The French philosopher Frederic Bastiat once said, “Every time government undertakes to perform something good, it must first do a wrong.”  By that he meant that whenever government does something for someone, it must first forcibly take money from someone else.  Consequently, increasing taxes or creating new taxes without first eliminating all fraud, waste and abuse currently within the government would be immoral in and of itself.

3. Cutting services is the opposite of raising taxes. I refer to the previous question’s answer.

4. President Trump has provided the blueprint for restoring economic growth in this country. Utilizing the same policies at the State level will allow the hard-working citizens of Montana the freedom to allow small businesses to grow and prosper; to wit, reduce tax and regulatory burdens, streamline permitting processes and get government out of the way of the entrepreneurial spirit of Montana.

5. The Federal bureaucracies have exerted the heavy hand of red tape on the Rocky Mountain States for over a century. Collaborative management of our vast public lands is a proven way to benefit all stakeholders in the responsible utilization of our public lands and restore Montana to its former prosperity. It is a false premise that this costs money; it can be self-funding.

6. House District 8 is an eclectic district of small businesses and working families in urban, suburban and rural settings.  Taxes of all kinds are the number one concern.  The people feel over-taxed, under-served and alienated from the government that seemingly is less concerned about the needs of everyday families than that of some outspoken interest group.  To paraphrase Edmund Burke, “Just because half a dozen grasshoppers under a bush make the field ring with their importunate chink, while thousands of great cattle chew their cud in silent repose, pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field.” I intend to represent all those in the “field” of House District 8.

Name: Sid Daoud

Age: 51

Occupation: Solutions Engineer for CompuNet Inc.

Political Experience: Kalispell City Impact Advisory Board

Political Affiliation: Libertarian

Place of Residence: Kalispell

1. Like many other states, I believe that we have a spending problem, not a revenue problem. The first step is examining the budget from top to bottom and rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse.  Instead of having Helena follow tradition and raise taxes to cover their own shortfalls, let’s be creative about solutions to grow our economy.

2. The practice of raising taxes due to government failure has never served Montana well.  The answer is not to raise taxes on hard working Montanans but to reign in government overreach.

3. Enough with the safety scissors, time to get out the buck knife and cut the pork. There is no government program that should be considered untouchable.

4. We need to stop holding our economy back and let entrepreneurs do what they do best. Items to consider toward this goal are licensure reform, rolling back regulations and empowering our innovators.

5. Federal mismanagement of public lands has made Montana more vulnerable to wildfires, increasing cost to taxpayers and placing Montanans safety at risk.  Local management of public lands, if done right, will reduce cost and make us safer. Our community cares about our public lands and has been incredibly vocal about demanding better management and allowing for recreation access.

6. 1) Our state’s inability to manage its budget. 2) Transparency and accountability in managing the state budget so that we are not threatened with a looming property and income tax increase. 3) Protecting our God-given rights that are continually under attack (e.g. our Second Amendment rights) through introduced legislation that is unconstitutional. Career politicians seeking office for their own personal ambition instead of leading with principle and doing what’s best for their constituents.