Steinmetz announces candidacy for HD 28

Someone who has experience covering elections is moving to the other side of the coverage.

Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line Marketing and Events Director Krystal Steinmetz of Havre, a former news reporter, news director, graphic designer and freelance writer, has filed as a Democratic candidate for House District 28.

Steinmetz said her desire to help people and her community is what led her to journalism and to run for office.

"I am hoping I'm a unifier and a consensus builder," she said. "... I think to be a public servant you really have to just want to help, and I really want to help our community. We've put our roots down here. We'll be in Montana and in Havre for the rest of our lives and we really want to make sure this is still a great place to work and live."

Incumbent Rep. Jacob Bachmeier, D-Havre, announced Sunday he is not running for a third term this year.

Steinmetz is the first candidate to file for the seat as of print deadline this morning.

Steinmetz is a lifelong Montanan, growing up in Missoula and graduating from the University of Montana with a bachelor's degree in journalism. She worked as a television reporter in Missoula and Kalispell before she moved to Havre in 2004 to start working for the Havre Daily News, first as a reporter then as a graphic designer. She then worked as a news director for New Media Broadcasters before switching careers and taking over as the director of community planning at Bear Paw Development Corp.

She worked that job for seven years before working as a free lance writer from home while caring for her children. She and her husband, Steve, have two children, Moriah, 9, and Sam, 6.

Steinmetz also is a member of the Montana State University-Northern Community Orchestra and served on the Hill County Planning Board and boards of United Way of Hill County, North Central Montana Transit System and the H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum.

She said this morning that she decided to run for the Legislature after talking with Bachmeier. She added that when she met with Bachmeier she assumed they were going to discuss him running for re-election, but after he informed her he would not be running, he asked her if she would be interested in running for the vacant seat.

"This has been a desire of mine when I was younger, that I would serve as a public servant in some capacity in government," Steinmetz said. "But it was something I had put on the back burner because I went into journalism."

She added that as a journalist she could not publicly voice any political opinion, but now she is in a different place in her life and she is excited to run for office.

"That was honestly the first time that I've considered running for the House seat," she said.

Steinmetz said that the timing is right. Both of her children are in school full-time and her husband is willing to spend more time with their children while she is campaigning and if she is elected into office.

Bachmeier said in a press release he enthusiastically endorses Steinmetz. 

"Krystal would be a great representative," he said. "I'm happy to endorse her campaign, and I'm confident she would represent our community well in Helena."

Steinmetz said she is a good listener and has strong communication skills. She added that while she worked at Bear Paw Development a big part of her job was acting as a liaison between people and businesses and the state government, and she hopes to take that skill with her into the Legislature.

One of the biggest issues facing Montana and the Hi-Line is infrastructure, she said. From her time working at Bear Paw, she also understands the infrastructure needs in the area and how important those projects are for the livelihood of the people. She added that the Legislature always has a number of infrastructure projects brought to its attention, but often does not have enough money to work on the projects. 

She said that she also wants to work with her constituents and fellow legislators to continue to invest in public education, public schools and public universities in the state. She added that another issue she is looking into is health and mental health care, for which the Hi-Line is in a great need.

It is important for her to keep in contact with her constituents and articulate the wants and needs they have, she said. She added that she wants to be able to reach across the aisle and work with people, so no one is losing.

"It's just a real ability to try to work together and build some consensus," she said. "I think that ability to reach across the aisle or to work with all different types of groups is vital, especially today."

Steinmetz said that she is excited to start campaigning and is working with Bachmeier, Bear Paw Development Corp. Director Paul Tuss - who ran for state Senate in 2018 and lost a close race to incumbent Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester - and the Hill County Democratic Central Committee to create her own platform and see what will work best for the people in the area. The first step is seeing what is in people's hearts and minds, hearing them and moving forward from there, she added.

She said that when she thinks about Montana values, she thinks family values and tight-knit communities which help each other out regardless of names and backgrounds. Steinmetz said that these are the values she safeguards, and she wants to help people in the community. 

It is important that legislators have empathy for people and what people are going through and work toward improving everyone's lives, she added.

"I do think I have that," she said.