Born Chicago, IL Age 70
Residence Flathead County (for over 20 years)
Occupation Real Estate Investor and Ski Instructor
Education – Bachelor Zoology, Bachelor Psychology, Master Oceanography
Experience: I have worked as an educator, a scientist, and an entrepreneur. As an educator, I learned how to inform and inspire, to communicate and collaborate. As a scientist, I learned to objectively gather information in order to reach unbiased logical conclusions. As an entrepreneur, I learned that problems are really opportunities for innovation and success. I am ready to utilize my diverse background and eager to apply my broad base of knowledge to address the common problems we face and improve the lives of all our citizens.
Property Tax Relief – A rapid increase in residential property values combined with cuts in the state income tax has disproportionately shifted an increasing amount of the tax burden onto home owners. It is a travesty that so many Montana citizens are struggling to pay these significant increases while the property taxes paid by Governor Gianforte on his Helena mansion actually went down! See suggestions to remedy this situation below in answers to question 3. Other issues: expand Medicaid (it is good for the economy and good for our people), keep public lands in public hands (let the Feds pay for firefighting while we enjoy the forests), mitigate climate change (creating new technology jobs to power a clean future).
What is needed is a more equitable system of taxation. One solution would be to raise the property tax rate and then provide a "homestead tax credit" to Montanans on their primary residence. The effect will be to shift the burden onto wealthier Montanans with second homes and onto out-of-state residents with vacation homes in Montana. There is some justice in this , since the rapid increase in property values has been caused in part by non-residents buying up property & thereby raising housing costs for locals. To raise more revenue, recent income tax cuts will need to be reversed. We could consider a sales tax; however, a sales tax is regressive falling most heavily on those least able to afford it. Better to institute a luxury tax .
1. Medicaid needs to be expanded. Medicaid is paid primarily by the Federal government and even generates a 27 million dollar surplus. 2. Six million dollars of the Cannabis tax goes to the HEART account for addiction treatment. As this revenue increases, instead of a fixed dollar amount, HEART should receive a percentage of the revenue. 3. In 2022, over 100,000 Americans died of an overdose. States sued opioid distributors and won. Montana currently has 2.4 million in its opioid settlement fund. More money will be coming in over the next 20 years. So far, none of this money has been spent. It should be utilized as a plentiful source of funding for health care, especially for drug addiction treatment programs.
The state needs to raise additional tax revenue and earmark this for education (see question 3 above). The state must utilize every federal dollar available in the Head Start and Early Head Start programs to pay for pre-k education. These programs yield improved long-term outcomes for children in otherwise disadvantaged economic conditions. Plus, they essentially provide free child care allowing the parent to enter the work force and become a more productive tax paying citizen. Vocational programs should be available in high school and after graduation. These programs produce tradespeople who make good wages and pay more taxes. Voucher programs and charter schools are NOT the solution. They drain funds from the public school system.
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