Issues that are Important for Montana House District 3:
—Affordability: Property Taxes, Housing, Health Insurance
The main issue that Monatanans are concerned about is Affordability. How can I afford to live in the community where I want to live if rents, mortgages, property taxes, and health insurance costs keep rising?
Many people have already had to move from House District 3 because they were unable to afford reasonable housing. Some of us were fortunate enough to purchase a home before the housing boom driven by second homes and high-end housing. As the value of our property has increased rapidly over the last 5 years, many of us have struggled to afford the our property taxes. The Legislature failed to act in 2021 and 2023 although warned of this crisis. In the 2025 legislature, we made residential property tax reduction one of our highest goals. We worked hard in a bipartisan way on property tax reform and as a result, about 90% of residential property owners saw the same or lower property taxes this year. There is still much to be done to ensure that Montana residents have fair taxation.
We have come a long way from when the Montana tax system was based on the ability to pay. In the last five years, large corporations were paying less in property taxes while the rest of us were paying much more. The new property laws have increased corporate property taxes while attempting to relieve residential tax payers. This is a step in the right direction toward equalizing the tax burden among the various classes of property. As a legislator, I will continue to work for a more equitable tax structure based on the ability to pay.
In addition to tax reform, we need to find workable solutions for affordable housing. Allowing local governments to impose reasonable restrictions on short-term rentals could help make more housing available for people working in our communities to be able to live here. As a legislator, I introduced HB 378 which would have restored the ability of local governments to use inclusionary zoning to encourage developers to provide more affordable housing. Whitefish mayor, John Muhlfeld, spoke in favor of HB 378 at the hearing in the House Local Government Committee. Unfortunately, the bill failed to pass on a party-line vote.
Another area of affordability is the rising costs of medical insurance. Luckily, the 2025 Legislature passed a bill continuing Medicaid past the sunset date. Without this, thousands of hard working Montanans would have lost their health insurance coverage completely. With the attacks on the Affordable Healthcare Act on a national level, premiums are set to rise in 2026 creating another healthcare affordability issue for all Americans including Montanans.
As your Representative, I will continue to be an advocate for affordability including lower residential property taxes, affordable housing, and affordable healthcare
—Quality Public Education
Whitefish usually supports school levies. However, our schools should not have to rely on levies. The Legislature should ensure that we have quality public education for the young people of Montana. The Montana Constitution reads: “It is the goal of the people to establish a system of education which will develop the full educational potential of each person. Equality of educational opportunity is guaranteed to each person of the state.”
When we tether local property taxes and annual school bonds to achieve this, we jeopardize this right. The result is crowded classrooms, underpaid teachers and staff, and inadequate buildings. We must change this. The Legislature needs to change the public school funding formula and allocate enough money for quality public education.
In the 2025 legislative session, we passed the STARS Act with bipartisan support that is bringing more funding to public schools and raising beginning teacher salaries (which were the lowest in the nation). While this bill was signed by the Governor, other bills funding public education were vetoed. This was a very disappointing outcome for all of our hard work in gaining bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate.
I introduced HB 309 to improve the College Loan Forgiveness Program for Beginning Teachers. My bill passed both the House and the Senate and became law.
As your Representative, I will continue to be a champion for quality public education and funding it adequately.
—Keeping Public Lands in Public Hands
93% of House District 3 is public land. These lands belong to all of us and enhance our quality of life by providing opportunities for hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, river floating, and wildlife viewing. In addition, outdoor recreation is a strong economic driver in House District 3.
I have been an outspoken proponent of keeping public lands in public hands through my leadership on the boards of several conservation organizations. I participated in the collaborative work of the Whitefish Range Partnership which brought together diverse stakeholders (logging interests, snowmobilers, mountain bikers, wilderness advocates, and local landowners) and reached consensus on a plan for the Flathead Forest. Most of this proposal became part of the Flathead Forest Plan, including the protection of the wildest lands in the northern Whitefish Range.
In addition, I work as a Volunteer Backcountry Ranger in Glacier National Park and as a Fire Lookout in the Flathead National Forest. I know our public lands first-hand.
In the 2025 Legislature, we defeated HJ 24 which was a blatantly anti-public lands resolution. I spoke passionately on the House floor against this resolution.
As your Representative, I will continue to be an unapologetic champion for your public lands.
—Clean & Healthful Environment
Our right to a clean and healthful environment is guaranteed by the Montana Constitution. This includes the right to a stable climate, which our children successfully advocated for through the courts in Held vs Montana. Although we appreciate our young people for fighting for this right, it should be the Legislature who leads the way on ensuring this Constitutional right for this and future generations. Our Legislature has an abysmal record of lowering water quality standards, as well as support for the fossil fuel industry that is exacerbating the climate crisis.
In the 2025 legislative session, Republicans pushed through bills to weaken MEPA (Montana Environmental Policy Act) in an attempt to circumvent the HELD decision. I introduced two bills to counter this. Although we had huge hearings in the House Natural Resources Committee, these bills failed on a party-line vote.
As your Representative, I will support our Constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.
—Right of Privacy and Reproductive Freedom
All over our country, people are rising up to demand that women have the right to make decisions regarding their own healthcare and whether or not to become a parent. The right to privacy is guaranteed by the Montana Constitution and this includes the right to make personal decisions about one’s body. There is no better way to protect this constitutional right than to send many more pro-choice women to serve in the halls of government.
As your Representative, I will continue to stand against any attempt to diminish our right to privacy and our reproductive freedom.
—Protection of Our Democracy
To maintain civil society in our democracy, we must have certain basic structures in place: fair elections, an independent judiciary, the right of citizens to participate in governmental decisions, and the right of local communities to decide what kind of community they want to have, including growth management. The current Legislature has tried to undermine these basic democratic structures.
As your Representative, I will stand strong against any attempts to decrease the effectiveness of our democracy.
—At Home in House District 3
Importantly, I live, work, recreate, and pay property taxes in House District 3. I have a long record of community involvement in House District 3, including serving as the Representative for HD3. I know this district, its people, and its public lands and I am committed to serving it well in the Legislature.