Hutchinson, Kassmier face off in primary - Joshua Kassmier

Six months after he fell three votes short of winning the Fort Benton mayoral election, Joshua Kassmier is running to represent House District 27 in the Montana House of Representatives.

House District 27 stretches from the Canadian border in Liberty and Hill counties west of Havre down to just outside of Great Falls.

A farmer and crop adjuster from Fort Benton, Kassmier will go up against Darrold Hutchinson, a farmer and aviator from North Hingham, in the June 5 Republican primary.   

The winner will face Democrat Dan Nelsen, a retired school administrator who lives in Fort Benton. in November's general election.

Incumbent Jim O'Hara, R-Fort Benton, decided not to run for re-election. He instead has made a bid to unseat Chouteau County Commissioner Robert Pasha in the Republican primary.  

Kassmier said he decided to run for the seat in January because he wants to reverse the trend of small towns shrinking and young people leaving the state because of a lack of jobs.

He said that, if elected, he wants to work to help create a better climate for businesses to attract more good jobs to Montana. Kassmier also said he wants to help address the issues of crime, the opioid crisis and improving education.

The state government needs to be operated more like a business, he said.

Kassmier said his work in agriculture and business and study of politics and policy will all be useful to him in the Montana Legislature.

He said that, if elected, he will take the time to research the issues and the bills that come before him.   

Less-than-expected tax revenue and a historically bad fire season led to a budget shortfall that was the top issue during the 2017 legislative session.

Lawmakers made cuts to state agencies to balance the state budget, first during the regular legislative session and then again during a special session in October.

Kassmier said that to generate more revenue, Montana must become a  more business-friendly state, attracting and expanding businesses by easing the burden of regulations, high worker's compensation costs and high property taxes.

Montana's Medicaid expansion is set to sunset next year unless the Legislature votes in the next session to keep the expansion in place.

Kassmier said it will be difficult to continue the expansion given the state's current fiscal condition, but he would vote for a bill that does so if it includes provisions that require able-bodied Medicaid recipients to have a job if they want to keep receiving benefits.

Bonding to pay for infrastructure projects is something Kassmier said he does not outright oppose, but he would have to see the details of an infrastructure bill and how much could be bonded before he knows how he would vote.

Transfers of federal land within in Montana to state or private ownership is something that Kassmier said he opposes because the state does not have the money to effectively manage it. However, Kassmier said, the state needs to be able to have more of a say in how that land is managed.

Voters will decide this November whether to continue a 6 mill levy that helps fund the Montana University System.

Kassmier said he will vote to continue the levy because the state needs to fund its higher education system.

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Joshua Kassmier

Born: Jan. 22,1981; Fort Benton

Education: Fort Benton High School, 2000; Bachelor of Science in political science and public administration from Carroll College, 2004

Family: Chelsey Kassmier, wife; two daughters, one son

Work history: Crop adjuster; farmer

Political experience: Fort Benton mayoral candidate in 2017, volunteered on the 2006 re-election campaign and paid intern and aide to Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont.