I was born in Red Lodge, Montana, will be 69 on Election Day 2024, and I live in Missoula, Montana. I am a retired educator with an BA in Elementary Education and a MA in Education. Growing up on a ranch in the foothills of the Beartooth Mountains, my dad instilled in me a strong work ethic. He always said, “If there is a job, just do it!” My rural upbringing, my years as an educator, parenting and advocating for environmental, social and education issues has helped me prepare to serve in the Montana State Legislature. These experiences have served me well the past three terms. I show up, advocate for my constituents and work collaboratively. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve Montana and do this important work.
There are many pressing issues. Housing, tax reform, and continuing Medicaid are three big issues to consider as we prepare for the 2025 legislature. I will support affordable and accessible housing reform, I will work towards a fair and equitable tax policy, and I will vote for the continuation of Medicaid. As a member of the Education Budget Sub Committee, I will work towards providing a budget that addresses inflation to the agencies we oversee, and I will advocate for crucial programs within these specific agencies to make certain they remain and are secure. As we navigate budgetary decisions, I will support adequate funding for government services including public education, health, and corrections.
During the 2025 legislative session, the legislature will have an opportunity to design an equitable tax policy. Over the past decades and most recently with dramatically increasing home valuations, the tax burden has unfairly shifted to Montana’s residential property taxpayers and other taxpayers with low and moderate incomes. Opportunities include tax credits for qualifying families, consideration of a homestead exemption, and carefully analyzing residential property reappraisals. As lawmakers, we need to create equitable property tax classifications, we need to eliminate income tax reductions, and we must create a top income tax bracket to shift some tax responsibility to the wealthy.
Montana Medicaid is scheduled to sunset in 2025 unless the State Legislature reauthorizes it in the upcoming session. As of June 2023, 328,538 Montana citizens were enrolled in Montana Medicaid. Medicaid has kept health care accessible for all Montanans including children, covers preventive services to identify health issues early, provides needed behavioral health services and ultimately has kept people working. The state budget benefits with the federal government providing approximately $900 million into Montana annually. Medicaid strengthens the health care sector, keeps services available in urban and rural Montana communities, and supports new economic activity.
The state’s existing school funding formula isn’t keeping up with the costs of educating students due to inflation and declines in enrollment. Fortunately, leaders of both parties have recognized that our schools are in crisis. Planning is happening to make some changes to how we fund our schools in 2025. I will work with educational leaders across the state as we navigate the proposed budgets for opportunities to enhance funding at all levels of the Montana Education system by working to remove or increase the inflationary cap and adding more direct funding based on enrollment and certified teachers. I will work hard to keep these public dollars in our public schools by voting against all attempts to send money to private entities.
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