Bullock campaigns for governor

Editor’s Note: This candidate feature is part of the Bigfork Eagle’s ongoing coverage of the 2012 election. The Eagle’s feature on Rick Hill was published on Oct. 3.

Steve Bullock, candidate for governor of Montana, is emphasizing education and small business expansion during his campaign.

“Montana was a great place for me to grow up and I want to provide that opportunity for 2013 and for the next generation,” Bullock said in a telephone interview. “Businesses come to the state and stay in the state because of a good work force from a good K-12 (school) system. I want to invest in education and college to meet the needs of employers for years to come.”

Bullock attended public schools in Helena and graduated from Helena High School in 1984. Then he earned his undergraduate degree from Claremont McKenna College and his law degree with honors from Columbia University Law School in New York.

He has 18 years experience as a lawyer in both the public sector and private practice. Bullock was elected attorney general in 2008.

Hill said because 97 percent of Montana’s businesses have fewer than 50 employees he wants to focus on creating opportunities for those businesses to create more jobs. He also said he wants to do this by diversifying the state’s economy into a “21st century economy.”

When asked what sets him aside from his opponent, Rick Hill, Bullock said they differed in what they want to do with the state’s surplus, how they want to approach education, and their stances on abortion.

Bullock said his plan for the surplus includes a $400 rebate for homeowners, while Hill’s plan is for property tax relief.

While Hill supports tax credits for scholarships that could be used at private schools, Bullock is in favor of further investment in the state’s public schools. Bullock said Hill’s plan would defund public schools and “create a system of haves and have-nots.”

“I think that he is trying to find creative solutions in search of a problem that doesn’t exist in Montana,” Bullock said.

The third difference Bullock cited between himself and Hill is on abortion, Bullock said abortion should be a decision made between a woman, her doctor, and her family and that Hill is against abortion.

When asked how he would compare to Montana’s current governor, Brian Schweitzer, Bullock said he agrees with what Governor Schweitzer has done so far with managing the state’s surplus, education system, resources and economy.

Bullock said Schweitzer has diversified the state’s economy and he would like to continue to do the same through alternative energy production and his Main Street Montana Task Force. Bullock’s task force would report on how effective job creation programs are for different parts of the state.

Bullock said “great things are going on in the state for both oil and gas” but would also like to put in place the infrastructure for coal development and renewable energy. Hill said Montana is one of the best states for wind energy and that 600 megawatts are already being produced.

“My vision for the future is all of the above, and we have a great opportunity to do so,” Bullock said.

Although the previously mentioned topics are on Bullock’s to-do list if elected, he said his first goal would be to get a budget in place with priority on a $100 million tax break for homeowners and exempting 11,000 small businesses from the business equipment tax.