GOP candidates face off in Senate primary election

Whitefish businessman Don “K” Kaltschmidt says he’s a deal-maker who will bring fresh ideas to the state’s Republican party. House Majority Leader Rep. Keith Regier says his years of experience and established relationships in the Legislature gives him the clout to get things done.

The two candidates are squaring off in the contested Republican primary for Senate District 3, which includes greater Whitefish, north Kalispell and the rural West Valley area. The winner will face unopposed Democrat Melissa Hartman in the November general election.

The seat comes available as Republican Sen. Bruce Tutvedt terms out after eight years representing District 3. The primary election is Tuesday, June 7.

Kaltschmidt is the owner of the Don “K” automobile dealership on Highway 93 in Whitefish. He grew up in Kalispell and ventured into the automotive industry in the 1980s after serving in the Marines. His dealership now has more than 100 employees on staff and represents multiple brands.

He says the business has matured to a point where he now has the time to enter the political arena.

“The people of this district have been asking me to run for a long time,” Kaltschmidt said of his reason for entering the election.

Regier moved from Nebraska to the Flathead Valley in the 1970s. Now retired, he taught in Evergreen for 28 years.

For the last eight years he has represented House District 4 in the Bad Rock area and was selected House Majority Leader in the last session. He has reached his term limits in District 4 and says the open Senate seat presents an opportunity to continue to represent the Flathead Valley in Helena.

While his opponent carries deep name-recognition in Whitefish, Regier says he too knows the area well. His stepdaughter is raising two children in Whitefish.

“I’ve got a couple little Bulldogs coming up in Whitefish,” Regier said. “I’ve got ties to Whitefish and know a lot of good people here.”

Experience vs new blood

Regier recalls his first term in the House as being a “whirlwind” trying to learn the ropes of passing a bill.

“Things really happen fast,” he said. “As a freshman, it’s almost impossible to get much accomplished. Others don’t know you and they’re feeling each other out. It takes at least a session to get that all figured out.”

Eight years later, as House Majority Leader, he says he’s developed the relationships and rapport among both parties needed to be a successful legislator.

“It takes time to develop that,” he said. “I know I can use that to help the people of Senate District 3 get things accomplished in Helena.”

Kaltschmidt has never served in public office — but he says that’s not necessarily a bad thing. A drum beat of his campaign has been about being a uniter and bringing new ideas to the Republican caucus.

“We have a citizen’s Legislature in Montana,” Kaltschmidt said. “However, some people would like to make it a career. We have term limits for a reason.”

He has been criticized for not running for Whitefish’s House District 5 seat to gain experience, but is quick to note previous Whitefish senators Bob DePratu, Dan Weinberg and Ryan Zinke who had success going straight to the Senate.

Part of his motivation in entering the election, Kaltschmidt said, is to help address what he calls “infighting” among Republicans.

“I’ve looked at what has been going on in Helena,” he said. “Frankly, like most voters I was tired of it and thought I could do better than that.”

“I’ve proven here in Whitefish that I’ve been able to work with people on both sides of the aisle. I’ve always been able to come up with a consensus and get things done.”

Roads and bridges

The legislature adjourned last year without passing a much-discussed infrastructure bill.

Senate Bill 416 would have assisted local governments statewide by providing funding for road, water, and sewer projects, and other public works objectives..

Regier says the bill had the wrong priorities targeted, and pointed to proposals to fund a Montana Historical Society museum in Helena and renovation of a gym at Montana State University.

He says Gov. Steve Bullock showed poor leadership in working on a compromise.

“Those two projects alone were $40 million,” Regier said. “For a bunch of us in the House, that was not a priority. A museum is not an infrastructure project.”

In favor of using cash on hand, he’d like to see a portion of the state’s $300 million budget surplus fund infrastructure projects.

He has a plan to divide the state into four regions that infrastructure funding would be split among. Schools, counties and cities could then apply for the funding.

Kaltschmidt had sharp criticism for both Bullock and the Republican party on the rejected infrastructure bill, calling it a “major failure” from the last session.

“They should have been able to come up with a compromise,” Kaltschmidt said. “If I was in a leadership position at that time, I can guarantee you we wouldn’t have left Helena until we got that job done.”

Kaltschmidt says the idea of bonding should be on the table when looking to fund such projects.

“We have the ability to bond at 2 percent,” he said.

“Why wouldn’t we get that job done now rather than kick the can down the road because two factions can’t agree.”

State taxes

One area where both Kaltschmidt and Regier agree is on the need to address unfair property taxes in western Montana. Both say improvements to land should be taken into account when determining property value.

“You’ve got this piece of dirt and just because it’s against Whitefish Lake, the value is a lot higher,” Regier said. “If someone is going to build a $10 million house, then the value of the land it’s on would go up. If it’s going to be a modest house, then the value of that land should be lower and the taxes should be lower.”

Kaltschmidt offers a similar proposal and says more equity is needed between the west and east sides of the state.

“Most of the taxes are getting paid over here on the west side,” he said. “Our land per acre is more valuable than over in eastern Montana. We’re gong to have to negotiate... and that’s what I’m good at.”

Both candidates share the belief that tax cuts ultimately help the economy and jobs.

“I’m always a proponent of lowering taxes because I believe that stimulates the economy and get things moving,” Kaltschmidt said.

Regier for his part worked on two bills last session that aimed to cut taxes. House Bill 166 would have lowered the individual state income tax and pur $40 million in taxpayers’ pockets, he notes. Gov. Bullock vetoed that bill. Another bill he worked on would have lowered state property tax mills and left about $20 million in taxpayers’ pockets.

“I got it through the House but not the Senate,” he said.

He says some of the $300 million budget surplus should go back to taxpayers.

“That means we’re collecting too much money to have that excess,” he said. “I would like to see some of that left in the taxpayers’ pockets. They’re going to turn around to buy things, stimulate the economy and that will create more jobs.”

Kaltschmidt — a self-described “numbers guy” — said he’d have to look more closely at the budget.

“If [the surplus] is too high, then I would say yeah, let’s lower taxes,” he said.

“I’d have to look at what I think is going on in the future. I’ve noticed our revenues going down and we’d have to calculate for that.”

Land transfer

Last session there were several bills aimed at increasing the state’s influence over federal lands. Proponents like Sen. Jennifer Fielder, R-Thompson said the move would create jobs and improve forest health. The Montana Wood Products Association, however, came out against those efforts.

Both District 3 Republicans believe the transfer to state control could be beneficial, but would have to happen slowly.

“I do think the state does do a better job of managing the land,” Kaltschmidt said. “That being said, the state of Montana has a lot of federal land. If we throw that on the state, that’d be tough to do.”

Kaltschmidt also says he’d be pragmatic about the idea, noting that it’s unlikely the federal government would ever agree to such a deal.

“Is that really going to happen?” he questions. “We can beat our chest and say we want the state to take over. But the federal government is going to have to be the one that says ‘OK, here it is.’”

Regier says the land transfer makes sense if done in a reasonable way. He suggest transferring 1 to 2 percent of the land per year over an extended time-frame. He also wants the federal government to assume liability of the lands that he says are overgrown and ripe for forest fire.

“There isn’t much logging going on [on federal lands] and the fuel is just piling up,” he said. “Then we have massive forest fires like we had last summer.”

Economy

With decades of experience running a business, Kaltschmidt says he’s excited for the possibility of working to help grow the state’s economy. He says voters have told him that Montana isn’t business friendly and that regulations can be onerous.

“There are more and more regulations we have to work on,” he said. “Your small mom and pop guy is having a hard time keeping up with that.”

Kaltschmidt also believes the free market should dictate the minimum wage.

“I’m living this every day,” he said of owning a business. “It’s a competitive market for employees and we need to pay employees what they’re worth. That comes through the free market system rather than dictated though the government.”

Regier says the coal industry in under attack in Montana and that he’d fight to protect the income it creates for the state through the coal tax trust fund.

“Each one of those coal trains brings in $25,000 to the general fund,” Regier said. “To see that stop or slow down — we’re going to have to look at cutting services or raising taxes.”