This is part of a series of stories on local legislative races in the general election. Early voting begins Oct. 9; Election Day is Nov. 6.

Three people with lifetime local ties — but very different points of view — are vying for a seat in  House District 3, which serves Columbia Falls and a large area to the city’s northeast.

Republican incumbent Jerry O’Neil, a Kalispell native, is running on the need for fiscal responsibility and on his experience, with four sessions in the Montana Senate and another in the House.

He is concerned that the state maintain a healthy fiscal environment, no matter what happens with the federal government.

“I want to protect the people in Montana,”  he said. “No other nation in history has ever gotten this far into debt and survived, and Montana’s sitting pretty nice compared to the U.S. government.  How can we in the legislature protect you if the bottom falls out of the dollar?”

Zac Perry, a Democrat, brings a history of community involvement in his hometown of Columbia Falls to the campaign. He especially hopes to be an advocate for the Montana Veterans Home.

 He said any push toward privatization of the veterans home, as was proposed in the 2011 Legislature, is a threat to the well-being of the facility.

“This facility provides 180 quality jobs for our community, which we highly value,” he said. “Most importantly, this facility provides a high level of care and comfort to 114 veterans. We cannot allow corporate profits and bottom line to become the priority of this institution.”

Shawn Guymon, the only Libertarian candidate running in Northwest Montana, is strongly focused on workers compensation reform for the state.

He said he believes the system draws too much money from employers to the point they are unable to hire more workers, yet at the same time doesn’t protect the victims of workplace accidents.

O’Neil does not want to approach this session with the idea that there is a state surplus, even though the general fund balance at the end of June was $457 million — $268 million more than the 2011 Legislature projected when it developed its two-year budget.

“I don’t think we have one,” he said when asked how he would like to use the state surplus. “We have a $3 billion unfunded liability retirement account; I’d like to see us get solvent.”  

He said the governor has suggested increasing contributions from employees and the state to generate more money for the retirement account, but “I’m not sure that’s where I would go. Maybe we could raise the retirement age a little bit.”

Guymon said spending needs to be tempered even if the government is in the black.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” he said.

Perry advocates approaching the surplus “with the same common sense Montana families use in approaching their budgets. We should invest some of the money and put the rest in the bank.

“If we are able to give tax rebates, let’s make sure middle-class families benefit first.”

Along those lines, Perry said the federal Affordable Care Act can be a benefit to Montana’s middle class, with “positive elements,” such as the pre-existing condition exclusion regulation and the coverage of children under their parents’ insurance until age 26.

“We need to tailor some areas and gut others, but action was and continues to be needed to make health care affordable,” Perry said.

O’Neil said the federal government should not have a say in Montana’s health care, and the state can figure out its own solutions to provide better care for less money. He prefers free-market solutions; he has advocated in past legislative sessions that Montanans be allowed to buy health insurance from out of state and agrees with Gov. Brian Schweitzer that Montanans should be allowed to purchase their pharmaceuticals in Canada.

Guymon says that if the will of the people is against the Affordable Care Act, then the Montana Legislature should follow.

On the issue of taxes, Perry is concerned by efforts he sees from certain industries, such as telecommunications and oil, to cut their own property taxes.

It would, he said, “shift a huge property tax increase on homeowners, small businesses, farmers and ranchers. It is imperative that we stand firm and make sure these out-of-state and multinational corporations pay their fair share.”

O’Neil advocates for careful expenditures of property tax dollars, mainly on education.

“We need to be vigilant that we get the best education for students with the least waste of money,” he said.

Guymon would like to see a flat tax on income plus a cap on property taxes.

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or by email at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.