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Birthplace: Walla Walla, WA
Age: 31
Hometown: Kalispell, MT
Occupation: Special Education teacher
Current Employer: Lakeside School
As a teacher, I care deeply about the future of Montana. I want our kids to be able to grow up in a place that they can afford to live, to have a job that can pay the bills, and to have adequate housing and healthcare. I see so many young people forced to leave the state as we are reduced to being a playground for billionaires. Our economy cannot function without workers.
The greatest issue facing our state is the cost of housing. Montana is becoming unaffordable for all but the wealthiest and the luckiest people. We need to bring down property taxes for working and low-income homeowners, reform our zoning and rental laws, construct more affordable housing and create a path for working families to having their own homes.
We need to revisit and revise our current education funding model which has failed rural schools and districts such as Kalispell. The state has the money to meet its constitutional obligation to provide a free, quality and appropriate public education to all children.
We need to reform our healthcare system to bring down costs and protect the rights of workers.
The simplest change would be to do what the last legislature should have done and reduce the base tax rate.
If that is not possible, we should have a homestead exemption on the first couple hundred thousand dollars of property value for bona fide residents.
If any future relief checks are sent, they should be available without hassle on the part of the recipient and should include renters as well as owners, as rents have also gone up significantly.
I oppose any attempt to "lower" taxes by implementing a statewide general sales tax, as well as tax breaks to utility companies that are using their monopoly power to extort rate increases.
I am personally a supporter of universal healthcare but would favor any proposal that takes us in the right direction.
The government of Montana has been the most aggressive of any state at purging recipients from the Medicaid rolls post-pandemic. It is cruel and unnecessary and has resulted in massive numbers of uninsured. The state has the opportunity to renew Medicaid expansion and pay for it almost entirely from federal funds, a massive win for working people and Montana as a whole.
Montana has one of the highest suicide rates in the country. We need to treat mental health as something that is worth funding in its own right, not an excuse for inaction on other issues.
I oppose any new restrictions on reproductive rights, including IVF.
Montana's constitution guarantees every kid the right to a free, appropriate, and quality public education. That right is not contingent on the ability of adults in their community to pass school bonds and levies. We should fully fund a basic PK-12 education for all children.
I support renewal of the 6 mill university levy and support for job training programs. We should work towards creating debt-free college for all qualifying students. People should not be stuck in 40 thousand dollars of debt for life because they tried to do the right thing when they were 18. We should crack down on predatory student lenders and fake colleges.
I support expanding apprenticeship programs.
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