Olszewski looks to bring new attitude, focus to governor's office

Editor’s note: This version corrects that Olszewski is an orthopedic surgeon.

Being born and raised in Montana, said state Sen. Al Olszewki, R-Kalispel, he knows the state well, and, with his life-long experiences and work, can make a positive difference as governor.

"What I see is we need a governor that's really going to work hard to protect Montanans from our own government and that's to regain management and control over the agencies and make sure that they also follow the law," he said.

Olszewski was in Havre for the annual Hill County Reagan-Lincoln Day Dinner fundraiser Sunday. He and his Lieutenant Gov. candidate, state Sen. Ken Bogner, R-Miles City, came into The Havre Daily News to speak about their campaign.

On the Republican side of the ticket, Montana Attorney General Tim Fox and U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., have also announced their candidacy. 

Olszewski and Fox, who is running with lieutenant governor candidate Jon Knokey, are the only gubernatorial candidates who had filed in the race as of this morning.

Fox and Gianforte also were at the Reagan-Lincoln Day Dinner Sunday in Havre.

Olszewski said what motivated him to run for governor was that during his time as a state legislator he saw a number of state agencies had started working against Montanans. He said that these agencies and directors have developed a culture where they do not serve Montanans but rather feel as if they have authority over the people under the rule of the current governor's office.

"The legislative oversight that we're supposed to be able to provide through our interim committees has no enforcement mechanism," Olszewski said.

He added that the balance of power between the governor's office and the Legislature has been slowly eroding for decades.

He said that one of his constituents, Kendra Espinoza of Kalispell who is in litigation in the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the use of tax credits in private religious schools, should not have to fight for her religious liberties and her right to have tax credits. He added that the tax credits were guaranteed to her through the Legislature and was allowed by the governor.

"An agency, the Department of Revenue, took it upon themselves to just say no and the governor should have stopped that a long time ago," Olszewski said.

If elected, he would like to bring a new attitude to the governor's office, he said. He would like to work with the legislative body as an equal partner and develop, sign and pass laws which give true legislative oversight that can be enforced, he added.

"It's time to start a new culture in the agencies where you remind them that they are public servants and they need to serve Montana," he said.

Most of the people who work in the agencies on the front lines are fine, but it is the directors of these agencies who have an agenda, he said, adding that if elected he would like to bring a completely new line up of directors.

Olszewski said the top priority for the governor is to manage the state's agencies and ensure that they execute the laws created by the Legislature, not act in their own interests.

Bogner said the role of the lieutenant governor is to make sure that the governor's agenda is accomplished and to make sure what the governor wants to get done gets done.

He said he was born and raised in Miles City and understands the importance of services in rural and eastern Montana and how these regions are underserved. If they are elected into the governor's office they will make it a priority to represent the rural and eastern parts of the state, he said.

He added that he has a wealth of education and experience himself in the political field. He said that after high school he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps., serving two tours in Iraq. After he came back from the military he attended college at Columbia University and later graduated from Middlesex University in London with a master's in public policy. He also interned for U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and was an aid for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnnel, R-Ky., in 2017 before being elected as a state senator from Miles City.

Olszewski said that while they have been traveling around the state, the number one concern that has been brought up to him from the people of Montana is a concern about property tax. He added that property taxes have been steadily increasing and it is forcing people out of their homes, especially older, retired people who live on a fixed income.

"Our plan is to disconnect K-12 public education from property taxes and fund them through natural resources," he said.

He said that 70 percent of a person's property tax is public education and by lowering that amount it would give more money to cities and counties to use for infrastructure projects as well as keep property taxes from increasing.

Montana needs to maximize the use of natural resources, he said. For example, regarding timber the industry is beginning to return investments the Legislature had made and President Donald Trump's Good Neighbor Authority Program, a program first started in the 2001 U.S. Department of the Interior appropriatoins. He said because of the investments made in the timber industry six new foresters were hired in 2019, and the state expects to cut 15 million board feet of lumber.

"We know it works," he said.

He added that Idaho cuts five times that much lumber and Montana needs to be able to be competitive in the market. He said that the governor's office and agencies need to be pro-timber.

Copper is another natural resource that Montana has, Olszewski said. He added that with 21st century mining techniques mining is safer, creates higher paying jobs and is better for the environment. 

The money made from the state utilizing its natural resources can be put toward education funding and funding infrastructure projects across the state, he said.

"We have a robust infrastructure program, but unfortunately it seems to go toward government buildings in Helena Bozeman and Missoula," he said. "What we really need to do is change that priority picture so that the Hi-Line and eastern Montana get a fair shake on the priority list. A lot of these infrastructure projects are political in nature and we need to take out the political lens and look at it through a Montana lens."

He added that one project he would like to see get funding is work on U.S. Highway 2, widening it to a four lane highway across the state. He said it is not an impossibility and can be done within the next 20 years.

Another issue that needs to be addressed across the state is funding for cities and counties, he said. He added that the counties and cities have to send all of their tax revenues to the state. The revenue is then returned with strings attached and the state retaining a big portion of the funding. 

Something needs to be done, he said, adding that a conversation needs to happen between the state, the counties and cities.

"Under our administration we can have that conversation with the counties," he said. "I believe we need to have strong robust county commissioners and strong cities. We need to drive the government as locally as possible."

He said another thing he is concerned about is affordable health care.  

Olszewski said that he has been an orthepedic surgeon for 22 years and while serving in the U.S. Air Force served as a flight surgeon and rapid mobility trauma surgeon in the first Gulf War. He said he has also been a strong advocate for affordable health care and has carried two bills in the Legislature to cut cost of prescription drugs and make health care more affordable.

"Health care is not a right, it is a privilege, it's a service, but if we decide as a people that it's a common good, then we should find a way to provide at least the basic service to everyone," he said.