Our View: Candidates have lots of questions to answer

As the staff at the Havre Daily News have been interviewing candidates for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, it is becoming more clear that the decisions that affect the everyday lives of Montanas are more often made in Helena, not Washington.

Despite condemnations of federal overreach, many important decisions are made on the state level.

That’s why the elections for Hill County representatives and senators are so vital.

Hill County is lucky in that the races for one House district and one Senate district will get statewide attention. The House district that includes Havre and the sprawling Senate district that includes much of Hill, Liberty, Chouteau counties and part of Cascade County have heated contests that should be very interesting. They are competitive races.

A lot of topics will be discussed by candidates in coming months. At coffees, town meetings, forums and in media interviews, the candidates will address many important issues.

Here are some issues we’d like to hear the candidates talk about:

• Climate change, is it real? Scientists seem to believe that it is. If so, it will affect all of the state, especially farming. Do candidates believe that it is man-made? What do they think should be done at the state level to curb it?

• Everyone seems to agree that Montana’s future involves education of our young people. Should Montana put its faith in public schools or should it experiment with charter schools, aid to private schools or alternative ways of educating our young people. How is our university system working in educating college-age and older students? What changes should be made.

• The federal government is the boogeyman in much of Montana, although millions of dollars flow into our area to provide services in areas ranging from reservations to health care. What should the relationship between the state and federal government be? Some candidates have suggested that the state take over federal lands in Montana, maybe even Glacier National Park. Is this the way to go?

• What can the state do to revitalize the Hi-Line’s economy? Should the state provide funding to make U.S. Highway 2 four lanes? What incentives should there be to encourage industries to locate here. What can be done to take advantage of the Bakken oil and gas boom while maintaining our rural quality of life?

• Land and stream access to hunters, fishermen and hikers has been hot-button issue. Let’s hear what the candidates think of these issues.

• Public opinion seems to be switching in favor of same-sex marriage. Should Montana’s constitutional ban on gay marriage be retained? What if federal or state courts rule in favor of same-sex marriage? Should the attorney general’s office be encouraged to appeal such decisions? Should there be a state law banning discrimination against gay people?

• Bison have been a part of the Montana landscape for thousands of years. Some farmers and ranchers are afraid that return of the bison will cause irreparable harm to their lifestyles. Many Natives feel expansion of bison herds hould be encouraged. Where do the candidates stand?

• Montana will likely be flooded with “dark money” in the coming election. Is this as awful as some people say? Or is dark money just another way for people to express their views?

There are at least a dozen other important questions we will be posing to candidates in coming months.

We hope to hear responses from all of them, It promises to be a very interesting election year.