Money is the theme of the Montana House District 6 election. 

The district covers much of the northeastern section of Flathead County, up the U.S. 93 corridor north of Kalispell and south of Whitefish. It covers West Valley and as far north as Olney, but stops at the Lincoln County line.

Early voting starts Monday for the Nov. 4 general election.

For incumbent Carl Glimm, a Kila Republican, the number one issue should he be re-elected is be to get back on the Appropriations Committee and avoid needless spending taking money from taxpayer pockets.

Challenger David Fischlowitz, a Whitefish Democrat, is disgusted by the corporate influence in politics and wants the people, not businesses, to have a say in their Legislature.

This comes to a head most pointedly over proposals to cede federal forest lands to the State of Montana.

Glimm said he thinks that’s a real possibility and the lands could be better managed by the state than by the federal government. He said environmental groups are putting the squeeze on jobs and taxpayer money.

“We need to be actively managing that forest so we won’t have catastrophic fires,” he said. “We’ve been lucky, real lucky. We need to be harvesting timber. Environmentalists want to lock everything up and really aren’t for a healthy environment.”

Fischlowitz, a self-described “redneck Democrat,” said he wants to keep public lands public and believes pushing for state control will subvert that. 

“I’m running on keeping public lands public, because they are absolutely the most extraordinary resource we have in Montana,” he said. “My opinion on the push for state control is that it is a surreptitious effort to privatize lands to benefit the rich. Those lands should be for everybody, not for those who can afford it.”

Glimm said that’s a common refrain from opponents of the land transfer but has no basis in reality, but Fischlowitz said a former Texan he was speaking to told him about the failure of land transfers in Texas.

The U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management alone control about 25 percent of Montana’s land.

The two candidates have very different approaches to health care as well.

“The bottom line, I think we should have expanded Medicaid,” Fischlowitz said. “I spoke with both hospital CEOs, who worked really hard to put in a list of fixes needed in health care. As a legislator I plan to work really hard with people in the trenches to make that right.”

He said the expansion would save taxpayers money in the long run and would allow for health care for the state’s most vulnerable citizens.

Glimm said the solution for uninsured people comes from elsewhere.

“Expanding Medicaid right now comes with a cheap price tag, so it looks tempting,” he said. “But with a federal deficit of $17 trillion, there will eventually be cutbacks and Montana can’t afford that burden.”

He said the solution is to invigorate the economy and diversify jobs so people can afford to pay for good health insurance of their own.

On the proposed water compact with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Glimm balks.

“It’s not that I don’t think the reservation shouldn’t have water rights, but how come this one is so different from any other compact?” He said. “A lot of what people are talking about is fear. Fear that if this goes to courts it could be bad. I’m curious how much worse it could get.”

Fischlowitz said it was a complicated issue, but one he thinks is extremely important.

“The Supreme Court established providing native water rights in 1908 in Winters v. United States and I think we should keep our word,” he said. “At a glance, I support the compact. Look at how issues over the Whitefish doughnut have languished in the courts. We should settle it amicably.”

The Democrat is running because he wants to help push corporate money out of politics. He wants to form a broad coalition that listens to the voters of Montana and not internationally owned companies, which he feels are a direct threat to democracy. His goal will be increasing citizen input into the Legislature.

Glimm said he is running for his children. He knows that any law passed could have ramifications well beyond his term and wants his son, Matthew, and daughter, Rylee, to grow up, go to school and stay in Montana, the Last Best Place.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.