The legislative race to represent House District 4 is one of the biggest in Montana as Republican Derek Skees goes up against Democrat Will Hammerquist. Encompassing downtown Whitefish, H.D. 4 has been the only seat Democrats in the Flathead have reliably held in recent elections. In 2008, Rep. Mike Jopek defeated his Republican challenger, John Fuller, 2,948 to 2,446 to win a third term.
This year Jopek is throwing his support behind Hammerquist, the Glacier program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association and a former aide to Republican Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger. Hammerquist’s opponent, Derek Skees, a vice president at R. Porch Construction, is new to state politics but has been active in the conservative groups that have sprung up in recent years, attending Tea Party demonstrations and Freedom Action Rally meetings. In June, Skees won a three-way GOP primary decisively, taking 612 votes over Damon Pace’s 330 and Bill Geisse’s 166.
The outspoken nature of Skees’ conservatism, the increasingly cutthroat atmosphere of Whitefish politics and the potential for majority control of the House to hinge on H.D. 4’s outcome have all contributed to make the fight to represent the district among the most closely watched in Montana. Hammerquist has benefited from fundraising efforts by some of the state’s top Democrats, including Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Attorney General Steve Bullock.
Skees, meanwhile, is a favorite target of liberal political blogs. Last week an advertisement by the North Valley Political Action Committee (PAC) ran in the Beacon accusing him of racism for wearing a jacket with a Confederate flag patch during Whitefish’s Memorial Day parade, tying his campaign treasurer to Red Beckman, a writer who has made anti-Semitic statements, and implying Skees supports anti-government violence due to a Youtube.com video where he appears alongside someone wearing a mask of Guy Fawkes, who attempted to assassinate members of the British Parliament in the early 1600s.
“They are attacking me because I’m effective,” Skees said. As for the ad’s accusations, Skees said he was wearing a jacket from Civil War re-enactments in which he regularly participates. He adds that he did not know Beckman, who he heard speak at a May conservative forum in Missoula, was considered an anti-Semite and that Guy Fawkes masks are more emblematic of the recent film, “V for Vendetta” – where the hero wears one to fight an oppressive government – than of terrorism.
“That ad isn’t our values in Whitefish,” Skees said. “What the folks want is to get back to work.”
SKEES
Skees estimates unemployment in the Flathead at closer to 25 percent, higher than official statistics show. His plan to spur the economy involves deeply slashing state government spending and privatizing every possible state service, from prisons to public health.
“Privatization is the key to our success,” he said. “There’s a huge amount of government waste and we all know it.”
To cut spending on K-12 education, Skees proposes consolidating school districts down to less than 60 statewide, and introducing a voucher system where students can attend the school of their choice based on its performance. In rural, sparsely populated parts of Montana where students only have one school, he believes the free market will solve the problem.
“If there’s a need for a better school and there’s a private reward for that need? Guess what’s going to happen: Somebody’s going to build a private school right there,” Skees said.
He proposes posting all state government spending online, so it’s accessible for all citizens to monitor, and doing away with the business equipment tax and vacancy savings, funds that can accumulate in department budgets from unfilled jobs. Skees also wants to accelerate natural resource development in the model of North Dakota and Wyoming.
He calls the U.S. Forest Service “criminal” for its timber management, and proposes Montana condemn, or take back, federal forest land that violates Montanans’ constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment when it burns. The state should also pass legislation that bills the federal government “when land is locked up for Wilderness,” according to Skees, because that land then ceases providing revenue.
He believes taking these steps could help draw businesses from around the country to relocate to Montana and boost the economy.
“Every company would move here to work because you make money here,” Skees said. “There would be such an influx of private capital and private investment, and this state would explode.”
HAMMERQUIST
Like his opponent, Hammerquist sees the top issue as jobs.
“People out there are concerned about the employment situation,” he said. “There are things we can do at the state level to help facilitate that.”
Hammerquist proposes the state government increase the amount of the coal tax trust fund it invests in Montana, facilitating lending for in-state businesses. He noted recent years have provided a higher return for the coal tax fund on Montana investments than elsewhere.
“They actually got a better deal on the money invested in Montana,” Hammerquist said. “This is like a no-brainer.”
He also proposes a two-year suspension of the business equipment tax for capital investments that create jobs, and a $5,000-annual income tax credit for employers that hire in certain industries: “It’s really about targeting your incentives to the newer jobs and new business.”
Hammerquist points to his successful effort to include Haskell Basin in federal legislation protecting the North Fork as evidence of what he has already done to help Whitefish.
“The work we’ve done protects water quality and drinking quality for the city of Whitefish,” he said. “I have a track record of getting things done.”
Acknowledging 2011 will be a “belt-tightening session,” Hammerquist believes decisions by the Legislature to slash education funding simply shift the burden to local taxpayers, who then face requests for mill levies from schools to make up the difference. He opposes this type of what he calls “pass-the-buck” budgeting.
“We’re going to have to see moderates from both sides of the aisle going forward,” Hammerquist said. “We don’t want to balance the budget on the backs of children, the least fortunate among us and the backs of seniors.”
“We have to all be realistic, to have a dialogue that’s not based on ideology,” he added. “I’m not going to have any type of ideological test – my test is what’s best for Whitefish.”
BEACON ELECTION 2010 CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE: House District 4
1. In what way should Montana’s medical marijuana regulations be changed, if at all?
2. How should the Legislature handle the funding shortfall facing schools when stimulus dollars run out?
3. How should the state change its property reappraisal system, if at all?
NAME: Derek Skees
AGE: 42
PARTY: Republican
OCCUPATION: General Contractor
YEARS IN THE VALLEY: 16
1. I believe in the sovereign power of the citizen in this state. They voted for the Citizens Initiative and wanted this law, so we should not act like the state Supreme Court and change or modify it. That assumes we are superior to their power. I think the law is not like the voters wanted, so I would suggest a referendum on how they want us to act: Throw it out, or fix it?
2. We should look at school district consolidation, voucher systems to bring competition to the schools, and transparent (business) accounting principles to clearly see how they spend our money. Let’s look at ways to make them more efficient and utilize the dollars they get better, and through that process they would require less tax money. This process could also allow for more money to pour out of the heavy administration costs and into the teachers’ hands, driving up demand for those jobs and getting the best teachers in there.
3. We need immediate relief, so we should roll back the appraisal value to a previous level and enact a statute that prevents any government entity from taking someone’s land for failure to pay taxes. Once that is in place, we need to find a better way to fund this state that has a flat rate that everyone pays the same. The tax needs to be fair, universal and low. Lets privatize as much as we can to reduce the cost of government, and therefore reduce their need for more of our money.
NAME: Will Hammerquist
AGE: 30
PARTY: Democrat
OCCUPATION: Glacier Program Manager, National Parks Conservation Association
YEARS IN THE VALLEY: 26
1. The law must be changed to ensure that patient quality-of-care and safety comes first. It is vital for patients to have a solid, meaningful relationship with their doctor. Traveling clinics and over-the-phone prescriptions should not be allowed. A state certification and audit program should also be established to ensure that illegal imports are being sold under the program. Implementing changes that place patients’ medical needs and safety first and foremost is necessary to honor the intent of Montana voters when they passed this law.
2. The next legislative session – like every session – will contain difficult budgetary decisions. K-12 education needs to be the top funding priority in Helena. I will not support a ‘pass the buck’ budget that cuts state education funding in manner that leads to additional property tax increases at the local level.
3. The state appraisal process must be changed to meet three objectives: Fairness – property values need to be based on actual value – not market speculation. Predictability – homeowners should be able to anticipate approximately what their future property tax bills will be. Protection – seniors living on fixed incomes should not face dramatic increases that threaten homeownership. The 2003 appraisal must be disregarded and we need to switch to a property tax system fixed to a home’s purchase price.