Democrats square off at Columbia Falls forum

Democratic candidates for Montana’s lone congressional seat squared off at a two-hour long forum Saturday afternoon at the Columbia Falls High School, answering prepared questions from both students and a crowd of about 50 people.

Student Kayla McDowall posed the question of what the candidates planned to do about student loans and debt.

John Meyer, a Bozeman attorney who founded the Cottonwood Environmental Law Center said he still has student loans to pay off.

He said he’d like to expand programs that ensure a student could go to college affordably and possibly do work studies to pay off their debt once out of school.

Jared Pettinato, an attorney from Whitefish, noted that student loans aren’t discharged in bankruptcy cases and he’d work to change that. He’d also bring student loan rates down to current Treasury bond rates, which are about 3 percent.

Kathleen Williams, a former state legislator from Bozeman, said she would fight to ensure the Pell grant program is funded and would rollback the interest rate of student loans.

John Heenan, an attorney from Billings also said the bankruptcy codes need to be changed and student loan rates were too high. Heenan also advocated two years of tuition-free college for qualifying students.

Grant Kier, the former executive director of the Five Valleys Land Trust of Missoula, said he just paid off his student loans a couple of months ago. He, too, said bankruptcy laws need to be modified and the federal government needed to change policies to reduce predatory lending practices. He also criticized private college that charged inflated tuition.

In general, the candidates agreed on many of the issues facing society today. On campaign finance reform, all of the candidates but Williams said they would not take money from political action committees. Williams said she was taking some PAC money, but said she had a “proven track record of making PACs work for me.”

From a political standpoint, Williams, with her three terms in the state legislature had the most experience. She noted she was still able to get bills passed by working with moderate Republicans and independents in the state legislature.

On several questions though, Heenan pointed to outside money as the problem with Washington.

For example, when asked about climate change, Heenan pointed to corporate influence.

“It’s a Citizen United corporate influence issue,” he said, driven by the fossil fuel lobby. “We need to be brave enough to elect people that don’t have strings attached.”

On gun control, most of the candidates favored some sort of gun control, though some wanted more than others.

Meyer wanted to eliminate bump stocks and semi-automatic rifles. Pettinato said enforce the laws on the books, do better background checks and ban bump stocks. Williams said ban bump stocks and form some sort of policy between firearms that are used for hunting and self-defense and those used for the military.

Heenan once again said it was a corporate corruption is issue and he favored “common sense” gun laws.

Kier wasn’t in favor of a ban on assault weapons, but called for more government studies to look at the issue.

But perhaps the most revealing answer came when the candidates were asked how they expected to GOP to attack them come election time if they win the primary and face off against incumbent Greg Gianforte.

Williams said, “He’ll send a mailer with a picture of me and Nancy Pelosi (a California congresswoman) as two peas in a pod.”

Heenan countered that by saying he, “will not support Nancy Pelosi. She’s a weight on any candidate.”

Kier said he had a track record of working with farmers and ranchers and he was prepared for any attack that might come his way.

“I have a lot of good people behind me,” he said.

Meyer had perhaps the most entertaining answer.

“John Meyer. Radical environmentalist. I’ll get my Stihl chainsaw and cut down some trees.”

He envisioned taking a road-killed badger and making a hat from it.

“Reduce, reuse, recycle, right?” he said.

Pettinato said he plays drums in a rock band and as a former attorney for the Department of Justice, he’s seen both sides of every issue.

He said he’d come up with pragmatic, practical solutions. He touted the “wind and trees” as a way to keep Montana’s economy on track and create renewable energy sources.

Williams noted that winning would be an uphill battle and that President Trump took the state by 20 points, but her experience as a deal maker was paramount.

“It’s time Janette Rankin had a successor,” she said.

Heenan said no matter who won the primary, any Democrat was better for the state than Gianforte.

“My background is a fighter,” he said. “I fight for people.”

Heenan claimed to have traveled 40,000 miles already on his campaign and he said he’s held 200 town hall meetings.

“June 5 is just the start,” he said.