Hill - Running for a third time for the same reason as the first

Former Rep. Ed Hill, R-Havre, said he is back in the ring to try for a seat in the Montana Legislature basically for the same reason he first ran in 2020 - He sees a need for his candidacy.

"The reason I I ran again, I guess just just to just the need, and realizing that, well, it is a thankless job and nobody else was chomping at the bit and wanting to do it," he said.

Hill won the election in 2020 to represent Havre in the Legislature, but lost to Democrat Paul Tuss in the 2022 election.

He now is challenging Tuss in the Democrat's bid for a second term.

Hill said his previous term definitely would help if elected this November.

"I just figured well, I, you know, I could be a lot more efficient, and, I guess, effective, you know, being ... more responsive to the constituents," he said.

Hill said the biggest issues for him are what he is campaigning on, what he has listed on his literature, haven't changed.

"What I stand for, what I'll fight for, is gun rights, Christian values, election Integrity, energy Independence, keeping boys out of girls sports," he said, adding that his motto is less government, more responsibility.

He said another issue for him is constitutionality. The state and federal constitution are his guide on all of his decisions, Hill said.

He said he doesn't have many driving issues he wants to push for in the Legislature - although energy independence is a key issue for him - but something he saw in the 2021 session is a lot of bills come up, and a major job of the Legislature is killing bad bills.

"There's already so many bills there and so many laws. We don't need more laws," he said. "We don't need a law to enforce a law. So, That would be more of a driving factor for me would be to just make sure that the bad bills are filtered out."

He said a major issue for him is fiscal responsibility. Just like he and everyone else have to watch their budgets during this time of high prices following high inflation, so do the local and state governments.

He said people - and governments - like he has, only have two choices, increasing income or cutting back expenses.

He said one thing he wants to see is the state gain more revenue by becoming energy independent. He said part of that could be through green energy, like increasing hydroelectricity and things like geothermal power or even looking into nuclear reactors, but, he said, NorthWestern Energy's recent acquisition of another unit at Colstrip could be another boon. The state has to transition away from fossil fuels, Hill said.

He said the state also could be a better steward of the public money.

For example, he said, welfare programs are needed and he supports them, and he also want to see more of a way for people to transition off of assistance instead of having their benefits cut, like a fiscal cliff, when they reach a slightly higher income, but programs have to have sunsets and sideboards so they don't last forever, and so that programs like state assistance don't create perpetual poverty.

He said that idea is a contrast with his opponent. He said Tuss, in his job at Bear Paw Development Corp., does a wonderful job in economic development, but it boils down to money.

"I believe that businesses, getting businesses, are the backbone of America. You've got to help," he said. "... But ... there has to be sunsets on programs. There has to be sideboards on how much and the qualifications.

"... I think there needs to be less government, and with government there comes more spending, more taxes. ... We have to slow it down."