Mitchell, Getts to square off in House District 3 race

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

Two candidates will square off in the House District 3 Legislative race this November. The district covers the city of Columbia Falls, the North Fork and the Canyon all the way to Marias Pass. Incumbent Republican Braxton Mitchell is challenged by Democrat Andrea Getts.

Braxton Mitchell

Age: 22

Occupation: Works at Highland Site Services and Vandevanter Meats

Education: Graduated from Columbia Falls High School in 2018, went to Flathead Valley Community College for two years.

Mitchell said his No. 1 legislative priority this session is to return at least some of the $1.5 billion in state surplus revenue back to the taxpayers.

“I’ll commit to not voting for any spending bill until (the funds) are returned,” he said. Mitchell was one of 53 lawmakers who called for a special session to deal with the surplus immediately — a measure that ultimately did not receive enough votes to succeed.

Another priority is stop taxing Social Security benefits for older folks. He didn’t know the fiscal note on this measure, as it would likely be phased in over a number of years. He also would like to see a bill that requires financial literacy course work in high schools.

He said he’d also support laws that stymie “activist judges” and has previously said he supports judges running in partisan races.

He said he opposes a statewide sales tax and he opposed the Columbia Falls resort tax, even though he conceded it’s gone to good use, such as bolstering the city’s fire and police departments while cutting city property taxes.

“I’m against all new taxes,” he said.

On the subject of affordable housing, he said one way to combat it is by lowering inflation and blamed Democratic spending for causing it. He said affordable housing was the responsibility of the private sector.

On abortion he said he opposed taxpayer funded abortion and opposed the procedure at any time after the fetus feels pain.

That date has been debated, however. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a fetus cannot feel pain until the third trimester, which begins at around 27 weeks. Some studies, however, have shown fetuses respond to pain stimuli earlier, at 16 weeks or so, even though the brain is not fully developed.

Mitchell noted he was personally abused as an a child and was later adopted.

He noted the Republican Party could end up with a super majority, which would allow them to offer amendments to the Constitution.

Those amendments would still require voter approval.

Without naming specifics, he said “I think there are things that need to be worked on and fixed.”

As far as debating his opponent, he said he was open to a debate hosted by the Daily Inter Lake.

But beyond that, not much.

He claimed the district was polling 65% Republican.

“I see things only going one way,” he said.

Andrea Getts

Age: 26

Occupation: Works as outreach coordinator for Land to Hand Montana

Education: Graduated from Columbia Falls High School in 2014 and Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s in psychology and a minor in family life in 2018

Getts said her top legislative priorities are housing, education and public lands. On housing, she hopes to get the elderly renter and homeowner tax credit, which helps older folks on fixed incomes through tax breaks, updated.

The credit hasn’t been updated since 1999, she claimed and could help older folks stay in the homes they lived in all their lives.

She’d also like to see lawmakers come together with ideas on how best to address housing in Montana.

“We need to work together to solve these problems,” she said.

Like Mitchell, she said she supported returning part of the budget surplus back to taxpayers. Property tax relief, she noted, is another way to make housing more affordable.

On education, she claimed the state is changing standards, especially for children with special needs, and not for the better. She said public schools need to be held to high standards. She also said she supported more trades programs in schools, like what Columbia Falls has now.

Columbia Falls currently has welding and building trades programs at the high school, where students can get a welding certification before they graduate. They can also learn valuable building skills through a program that builds structures for Glacier National Park. That program is partially funded by the Park Service.

“I’d like to see (trades) expanded,” she said.

She said that would help local businesses find employees.

She’d also like to see state funding be more flexible, so schools could use funding for better teacher pay.

But it all comes down to housing, she noted.

“It’s hard to find teachers if there’s no place to live,” she said.

On public lands she said she’d like to see changes in state policy that are pushing game animals onto private lands, where it can be difficult to get permission to hunt.

She also noted that access has become an issue, even on public lands, because of checkerboard patterns of ownership and the problems associated with “corner crossings.” She said she’d advocate for solutions to those problems, so people can access and enjoy public lands.

As far as game management, she said it was important to listen to biologists and experts.

“We should listen to experts in the field rather politicians,” she said.

This is Getts’s first time running for office and she’s taken a unique approach, with volunteers hand writing letters to voters. She’s also hit the streets.

“I’ve tried to hit all the neighborhoods in Columbia Falls,” she said.

She’s also been attending almost every Columbia Falls city council meeting in the past year or so and has been attending meetings in the Canyon. In the Canyon, folks are saying they need more help with drug rehabilitation services, something she supports.

She opposed partisan races for justices.

“It’s a totally separate branch. I don’t think we should bring parties into it,” she said.

On abortion she said “I believe everyone should have bodily autonomy and control over their own medical decisions.”

Getts said lawmakers need to work together.

“We need to elect people who are team players and will reach across the aisle and work for what’s best for House District 3 and Montana,” she said.