Tempel, Brewer face off in Senate public forum

Candidates for Montana Senate District 14, incumbent Russ Tempel of Chester, a Republican, and Dave Brewer of Havre, a Democrat answered questions about a number of state-level issues at a candidate forum sponsored by the Havre Daily News Monday.

The district includes Havre and western Hill County as well as Liberty and Chouteau counties and the northwest edge of Cascade County.

Both candidates touted their experience in their respective communities with Tempel talking about his time on the Liberty County Commission and his interactions with the various groups of people there, as well as his time in the state Senate.

He also introduced his family and thanked everyone for the support they've shown.

Brewer talked about his time in various local organizations like the Hill County United Way Board, the Havre Government Study Commission, as well as his lifelong membership in Veterans of Forign Wars and the fact that he is the commander of the American Legion Post 11.

He also talked about helping veterans get their benefits, his time as an EMT and fighting fires.

Among the issues the candidates were asked about was the state's projected budget surplus which Tempel said he's heard from various people should be used to either pay off bonds or be given back to taxpayers.

He said he would need to see a bill before he makes any serious decisions on his position, but he was opposed to Republican attempts to call a special session earlier this year to deal with the surplus.

He said it's well over a billion dollars and having a special session would have made it harder for the public to observe the process and make their voices heard, so he opposed the session. "I couldn't support that," he said.

Brewer agreed with Tempel that the session was a bad idea but did not say how he thinks the money should be spent.

Another subject the candidates agreed on was the matter of how Montana Supreme Court justices are voted for, with some conservatives in the Legislature advocating that they be voted for by district instead of by the whole state.

Tempel and Brewer both said they see no reason to make this change.

The two were also asked about the matter of abortion rights, which could be near the top of the priority list in the next session.

Brewer said he supports the right of women to get the procedure under the Montana Constitution which the state's Supreme Court maintains is protected under its privacy policies.

"I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I have any right to tell a woman what she can and can't do with her body," he said.

Tempel said he can't say how he'll vote for any bill until he sees it, but whatever the bill looks like, he will not support it if it doesn't have exceptions for instances of rape, incest or the health of the mother.

On the subject of climate changet, Tempel said the climate has been changing since the ice age but the U.S. shouldn't be trying to solve the world's problems unless the rest of the global community helps.

Brewer said it is clearly a problem that needs to be fought and he's seen its effects first-hand fighting fires as fire seasons get worse and worse.

The candidates were also asked about the state's response to COVID-19 and Tempel said he thinks the state did about as well as it could have given the circumstances at the time.

Brewer said he more or less agrees, but he did think the state could have coordinated with local public health better.

When asked about tax reform and Gov. Greg Gianforte's proposal to increase the business equipment tax exemption Brewer said he thinks the governor's heart is in the right place, but he thinks the state should be focused on tax relief for property owners rather than business.

Tempel said he agrees with any effort to make the business equipment tax more manageable, especially now that the state has a surplus.

Brewer and Tempel were also asked about the separation of church and state, with many Republicans trying to divert public funds to private and religious schools.

Brewer said the Legislature shouldn't be giving public money to organizations like that, something he considers unconstitutional.

Tempel said he also doesn't support public funds going to religious schools and would never vote to have public money sent to private schools.

In his closing statement he thanked everyone for attending and for the support he's received.

Brewer did much the same, especially thanking the young people who decided to attend.