Schreiner stumps in Havre Thursday for governor

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Casey Schreiner, D-Great Falls, House minority leader, said during a fundraiser in Havre Thursday that he knows the issues everyday Montanans face and has a proven track record of getting legislation passed in the state which benefits everyday Montanans.  

"I think it's important that the governor of the state of Montana knows what it's like to live like everyday Montanans, and I think it's important that Montanans have a fighter that's going to step up and fight for everyday Montanans," he said.

Schreiner said he comes from a blue-collar family, his family previously worked in mines, hospitals and schools. Before he got into politics he was a school teacher in Great Falls, and while serving in the Legislature he has worked to improve the educational system, health care and the economy, he said. 

As a father of three children, two of whom have autism spectrum disorders, he understands how critical health care is for families, he added.

Schreiner said he has a proven track record of getting things done in the Legislature. Since he has been in the Legislature, he has promised to protect firefighters and last session passed a bill securing health benefits for presumptive diseases for firefighters.

He said he also worked to pass an infrastructure bill, which will help create jobs as well as secure infrastructure for future generations, he said. He added that it was the first time in almost a decade, the Legislature has passed an infrastructure bill.

He also promised to pass Medicaid Expansion, he said, and after hard work and long nights working across the aisle they were able to pass the bill.

"Getting elected is not the accomplishment we all should be looking at, it's actually getting things done for the state of Montana," he said.

Schreiner said in an interview that Democrats know how to work across the political aisle to get things done because as the minority in the Legislature, every bill the party is able to pass has to be bipartisan.

"It's true," he said. "For us to accomplish things when you're in the minority you have to find a way to get enough people to vote that are Republican, who sometimes have a different value system than you. It means you actually have to do the hard work of being a legislator. You have to sit down and you have to discuss differences of opinion and values and perspective and come up with solutions that usually nobodys super happy with but everybody can live with. That's just the way that Montanans work, we figure it out. We decide what the problem is and find a way to get it done."

State Rep. Jacob Bachmeier, D-Havre, said Schreiner has been very successful in working with people across the aisle and is an example of how people are able to get things done.

Schreiner said that Montana is traditionally a split ticket between the Legislature and the chief elected officials, but it is important because it keeps Montana balanced.

"I think it's a necessity for the governor in the state of Montana," he said. "... I think that having a governor who has the ability to bring people to the table in a bipartisan way, in a respectful way but also has a record of accomplishment, is a necessity."

He said he would like to resolve a disconnect he perceives between the state, and county and city governments. If elected, he said, he wants to establish a bipartisan commission made up of locally elected officials from the state, counties and cities to work together to solve issues the state is facing as a whole as well as issues within small communities, such as infrastructure.

"At the end of the day, it needs to be a partnership of equality and as of right now I don't think that's the feeling that most of the city or county officials feel like we have," Schreiner said. "I think that's a necessity because that's how communities are going to thrive."

Local and state governments work better when everyone is on the same page and has the same goals, he added.

Schreiner told people at the fundraiser that he will continue to fight for affordable health care. He added that no family in Montana should be in fear of bankruptcy just because seomone is sick. 

He said he lost his father a year ago due to complications from Type 2 diabetes. He added that his father, because of the high cost of his medicine, had to decide every day whether he was going to take his insulin or have the quality of life to be happy.

"If you are making a decision between quality of life and quality of health, that's a disgusting choice that no Montanan should have to make," he said. "That's a priority that, I think, the governor of the state of Montana can get his or her hands dirty and actually make a difference."

He said that with three children of his own, he understands how supporting public education is critical and people have the right to a good education regardless of where they live or what resources they have available.

"It shouldn't be a lottery of where you are born to have those opportunities," he said.

Schools, such as colleges and universities, need to be inexpensive but also need to invest in innovation, he said. Montana is a leader in exporting energy and the universities need to capitalize on those opportunities. 

Schreiner said he also wants to focus on public lands.

"Every candidate says that, but to be honest with you we need to do better," he said.

People who block off access to public lands only receive a minimum fine, he said, and it needs to change because it is not enough of a deterrent.

"What happens is that it just allows people to use their wealth to buy public property," he said. 

He added that every Montanan has the right to public lands and enjoy the state.