Values and The Issues

I believe in People over politics.

I believe in politics as service. I believe that we have a responsibility to STEWARD OUR STATE SO THAT OUR CHILDREN ARE SET UP FOR SUCCESS and do not have a mess to clean up. I believe in dancing across the aisle to work together for the people, not the party. I believe the best policies are written when you work with people who think differently than you do.

I value the history of Montana and everything it stands for.

Why.

Speech from The 2024 Richland County Republican Lincoln Reagan Dinner in Sidney Montana.

Why, this humble one-syllable word is the most powerful word we have in the English language. It is the word that raises up to question the status quo and today, like our founding fathers, I am being asked and asking the question why. 

So why am I here? It’s simple. I am here because I love and believe in this state. Our Montana. I am here because when our founding fathers wrote the Constitution of the United States of America, they wrote the guidepost for our nation. When our bipartisan group of Montanans wrote the Montana state constitution, they wrote a masterpiece. I stand here because of my deep conviction about who we are according to these documents and the faith I hold so dearly. 

I am here because when elected representatives tell those they are supposed to represent that if they do not listen, they will leave, it is time to let those legislators leave and elect someone new. I am here because you deserve real representation in Helena that cares more about your opinion and what is good for Montana than my self-interests.

 

I value you. 

 

Why? is the question I was left with after the last legislative session. Why are our legislators beginning the erosion of our parental rights with Senate Bill 99 when the Bible says in Matthew 7 that even a wicked man gives his son a fish and not a snake when he is hungry?

Why are our legislators restricting our First Amendment rights to free speech with bans on books and TikTok when the Lord tells us in Luke 19 that even the rocks will cry out if no one speaks his praises?

I’ve heard all these bills are for safety, but that is the same argument we reject vehemently, and rightfully so, when it comes to our Second Amendment rights. Books, apps, and guns are not the problem. The people wielding them as weapons are.

The Lord, the Holy 3-in-1 God that I know, is looking for hearts first and obedience to him out of love second because 1 Corinthians 13 tells us any action without love is like a clanging cymbal. The Bible warns us in Matthew 6 against the fancy performances of Pharisees as they pray on the street corner. They do not love the Lord! They are haughty and self-righteous! The Legislation I saw out of Helena in 2023 looked a whole lot like a haughty and self-righteous prayer. Nothing like legislation a Christian legislator would pass, and very little legislation that looked like something a true patriot would pass. 

 

I am both a Christian and a lifelong red-blooded Republican. As such, I understand that the separation of church and state protects the church just as much as the state. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that freedom must be preserved and that the best path forward is to understand that humanity will always be flawed and that power will change hands as the Lord wills it. As such, we cannot set precedents in law to remove those freedoms like the precedent that was set in the last legislative session. As a Republican, the lack of conservatism and the cost of unconstitutional laws, both monetarily in court and morally, has me scared for the freedom of my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. 

So, I have now stood up and entered the chat, as the kids say. I was raised not to sit back and complain. I was raised in the great American tradition that if I believe in something and see injustice happening, I must act.

 

So why? Why should you vote for me? It’s simple: I have a proven track record as a community service leader in Richland and Dawson counties. I led Sidney Mothers of Preschoolers for several years, working with various other organizations throughout Sidney, and had a vibrant volunteer team. In Sidney, I was also involved in the foster care support group through Child Bridge, serving my church and children’s sports. I am a sitting Dawson Community College Trustee and work with a variety of different viewpoints on that board to do what is best for our college and communities. Currently, in Glendive, I am also a Court Appointed Special Advocate for the 7th judicial district. I serve on the Historic Bell Street Bridge Committee for the Dawson County Commissioners and work for Lincoln Elementary School as a paraprofessional. 

I know how to work with others to get a job done.  I am knowledgeable in a lot of the factors that go into our kitchen table issues. I know how to find common ground and a solution among many viewpoints, and that frequently ends up looking nothing like my own idea but being much better in the long game. In Helena we need legislators that are willing to work together to put Montanans first. When a supermajority of our colleagues consistently refuses to take accountability for the increase in taxes we are paying in a period of sustained inflation, the lack of help for our failing school infrastructure statewide, or any other issue by saying that they didn’t have the votes. It means they either don’t care or cannot work together effectively enough, with people of our own party, to pass the legislation that matters to you. That is simply unacceptable. At the end of the day this is a job, not a fight, fighting is for children and wars. Solid Montana legislation is about collaborating and advocating for what is best. Montana has gotten it right up until the point that the Republican Party decided they didn’t have to work together anymore. I’m listening. Let’s restore the Republican Party and Montana together. 

Thank You

Find an individual issue

  • Education

    Our founding fathers believed that public education was essential for the continues health of our democracy, and I agree with them. Our education is not only essential to our democracy but to our future workforce as well. We must set our children up for a successful career.

    Currently, our school funding is in crisis. This is statewide issue, but especially in HD 33. Placing the entirety of paying teachers, and maintaining buildings on local taxpayers has failed to keep our school buildings up-to-date, and has failed to pay any of the people involved in making sure that our children can be competitive in the workforce.

  • Property Taxes

    Our property taxes are much to high. Full stop.

    Our regular everyday people cannot afford more taxes, and in many households, our current taxes. We need to stop overburdening our citizens and we need to stop giving money away to mega corporations who received very large tax cuts during the last legislative session, and contributed very little to the support of our communities. All this happened while our property taxes increased significantly.

    It is time to steward our money well, in favor of citizens, and not mega corporations.

  • Agriculture

    Our farmers and ranchers are the back bone of our state. We must support them and ensure that they are able to provide for their families while they are growing food for ours. Healthy Agriculture is essential to our way of life and no one should forget it. As Papa said to me one day in the kitchen at the Hoiland ranch “It wasn’t an easy life, but it sure was a good one”

    That good, hard life is one worth honoring and protecting.

  • Protecting Montana Values

    Montana is truly the last best place. As such I believe we have a duty to protect what made this state the best in the first place. Montana has a very long history or working together while respecting and honoring differences of opinion on any issue. This attitude is what has made us strong and independent. We care for our neighbors, but let them live their lives as they see fit.

  • Healthcare

    Health Insurance has become a necessary part of modern society. Especially in the rural place that we live. Healthcare is something that needs to be collectively bargained. We cannot negotiate the price of the hospital visit when we are already in an ambulance!

    No child should go without healthcare because their parent could not afford health insurance.

    My son lacerated his pancreas when he was five. We had no choice and had to get on a life flight to Salt Lake City where we stayed for two weeks before coming home and flying right back 24 hours later for another week. The second life flight was $100,000 and was initially denied by our health insurance. You can imagine the panic that set in as the bill was almost the same size as my mortgage. Luckily it was a simple paperwork mistake and it was covered eventually, but for a couple of weeks I was sure we were going to have to declare bankruptcy. Choosing between the health and safety of your child in an emergency and your ability to provide for that child in the future is not a choice any parent should have to make.