Fern, Bennett face off in race for House District 5
Two candidates are running to represent House District 5 in the Montana Legislature.
The incumbent, Democrat Dave Fern, has held the position since 2017. A graduate of the College of Rhode Island and Ithaca College, Fern is the owner of Chimney Solutions, a small business in Whitefish.
The challenger, Republican Lyn Bennett, has a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She works as a registered nurse, focusing on high-risk obstetrics and maternal-fetal medicine. She is married and has three children.
House District 5 covers the Whitefish area, bordered on the south by Montana 40, the east by U.S. Highway 2 and the west by U.S. Highway 93 to Tamarack Creek Road. The northern boundary encompasses the head of Whitefish Lake and Smith Lake.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8 and mail-in ballots have been sent out
Briefly tell us about yourself and why you are running?
Fern:
I have been honored to serve the people of House District 5 for the past six years. I have been a member of the same committees, Taxation (vice-chair past session), Local Government (vice-chair 2019 session) and Transportation. The content of these committees are very important for the Whitefish area. I bring experience, a willingness to collaborate with my colleagues and institutional knowledge, a rare commodity with term limits affecting the number of veteran legislators able to serve. I hope I have earned the trust of the voters and ask for the opportunity to finish my service in the Montana House.
Bennett:
I am currently serving as the president of Glacier Country Pachyderm. A part of our mission is to promote active citizen involvement and education in government and politics. I am also on the board of the local Flathead County Republican Women’s group. I enjoy being involved and volunteering in various ways across the Flathead Valley.
What do you think is the top priority (or priorities) facing the state and how do you plan to address it?
Fern:
I believe the immediate issues facing our most vulnerable citizens is the need to increase the state’s share of Medicaid reimbursements to compensate our front line workers tasked with home health care and staffing our nursing homes and assisted living care facilities. I believe we must do a better job providing regional mental health care services to our populace in need. Corrections must be made at Warm Springs, the state hospital. Overall, the state faces a competitive disadvantage in hiring qualified people in our state agencies including public defenders. Compensation must be adjusted and reflected in the upcoming budget. I will advocate for a budget that reflects such needs.
Bennett:
Some of the top issues that the community has voiced as important to them as I have been campaigning are inflation, rising property taxes, obtainable housing, infrastructure, parental rights, and having a safe community. These issues, along with mental health, the fentanyl crisis, and employees finding housing are some of the major issues the state is facing.
Affordable housing is an important issue affecting many Montanans. What do you see as viable, workable solutions to the housing crisis in the district?
Fern:
There are a few models in Whitefish that could be expanded to offer more affordable housing. Trailview, in the southwest corner of the city, offers many deed-restricted homes, modest in size and footprint. If this model has additional financial assistance, be it free land (possibly city-owned land), tax credits attached to the development, or philanthropic giving, the model could reach a lower income level, if such incentives were available. Alpenglow apartments on Edgewood Place offers affordable units by way of federal tax credits. A state tax credit could expand the number of affordable units offered state wide. Much talk surrounds flexible zoning so as to assure the inclusion of multifamily housing and accessory dwelling units. Additional talk includes regulatory reforms to hasten the permitting process. I agree with the aforementioned but there is likely a cost associated with additional staffing at the state and local levels (DEQ handles subdivision review and the need for additional staff at municipal level).
Bennett:
Implementing Gov. Greg Gianforte’s housing task force recommendations will be a priority in order to address affordable and obtainable housing.
There’s concern among Montanans about rising property taxes and the fear of getting priced out of their home. What are your ideas for property tax relief?
Fern:
Property taxes furnish the funding for county and municipal government, universities, local schools and 95 statewide mills to assure funding equity for K-12 education. Those functions will be funded by property taxes or backfilled through our income tax or a non-existent sales tax. Income tax collections could subsidize all or a portion of the 95 mills or an expanded tax assistance programs so as to reach middle-class residential property owners. There is much interest in freezing taxable assessments to inflation and add mills to newly assessed property owners to meet budgets funded through the tax.
This would require a constitutional change. Presently, all taxable assessments must be equalized so similar homes in the same district are assessed the same amount.
Realistically, I expect the legislature to lower the residential property tax rate and expand eligibility to existing tax assistance programs. I’m supportive of such efforts.
Bennett:
Some ideas for lowering property taxes are to consider investments that create a financially smart return. Possibly using a portion of the bed tax which could be returned to the cities and counties where it is collected, and taxing wind and solar in the same way as coal to lower property taxes. It is important to strive to maintain a balanced state budget.
What is your stance on abortion access and the state’s role in forming laws around the issue?
Fern:
The state supreme court has been clear in validating the Armstrong decision which enshrines reproductive rights (access to abortion). This will change if the court changes in philosophy or content, a constitutional amendment is passed by the people to restrict such a procedure or federal legislation bans the process. For the time being I expect the status quo in Montana and I support the current law.
Bennett:
Regarding abortion access, in Montana, the access has not changed. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling made this a state issue, as it should be.
Do you support how revenue from Montana’s marijuana tax is distributed, if so why? And if not, how would you change it?
Fern:
We desperately need shared-use paths (bikes and pedestrians) alongside highways 93 and 40 between Whitefish and Kalispell and Whitefish and Columbia Falls. The county is not willing to sign off on maintenance of such infrastructure. I would propose some
proceeds from the recreation tax funding a Montana Department of Transportation statewide budget to maintain such amenities. It falls in line with current uses of some of the proceeds for state parks and trails.
Bennett:
Regarding the marijuana tax, I would support having the marijuana revenue brought back to the local counties to decide how to use it for local needs such as mental health, law enforcement, and other locally determined needs.
What are your ideas for the $1 billion plus of Montana’s budget surplus?
Fern:
I’d like the legislature to consider a combination of returning some of the excess tax collections along with the following: Pay off existing bonding debt, create a housing trust fund through the Department of Commerce to address the shortage of affordable homes and apartments, increase the Capital Development Fund to assist low taxable value school districts with building needs, and be prepared to shore up pension shortages because of the declining market.
Bennett:
Montana has a historic budget surplus. I think this should go back to hardworking Montanans.
I support long-term tax relief and a fiscally responsible budget.
