During her first foray into legislative campaigning, Republican Jean Barragan hopes to draw on her strengths as an “open book” willing to hear both sides of the issues and as a longtime Lakeside resident with deep ties to House District 11.

She’s running for her party’s nomination for the soon-to-be vacated seat of Rep. Al Olszewski, R-Kalispell, who represents a district extending north from the Flathead-Lake county line along the west side of Flathead Lake to south Kalispell. It includes Lakeside and Somers, along with part of the Lower Valley west of the Flathead River.

“I don’t believe that state legislatures should be operating with the old establishment. State legislatures should be a cross-section of Montana citizen legislators that come from all walks of life,” she said in an interview at her house overlooking Flathead Lake. “I have a background in education that helps the process of understanding where the money goes, where it should go.”

That draws a contrast with her primary opponent, Derek Skees, a one-term former House representative, who has so far campaigned on experience and the specific policy proposals he plans to enact.

“I’m a much more open person, because I don’t have preconceived notions about every argument,” Barragan added.

Barragan said her 44 years in the district aligns her with issues of importance — property taxes in particular — to the district’s constituents.

“The people of Lakeside and Somers are on Flathead Lake, so our tax base is very high,” she said.

Barragan declined to name specific policies or reveal her general positions she would embrace, saying she would be hesitant to do so until seeing the precise language in a bill.

“At this point in the campaign, I’m not looking at that,” she said. “If I’m the candidate after June 7, I need to get into the arena and I need to make a commitment to four or five things I really would need to look at.”

She said she likely would support eliminating the business equipment tax, but referred generally to the Republican Party and proposals offered by gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte as her guidance on further tax reform.

“I need to see both sides of the argument and I need to see the dollar amounts on them,” she said.

Barragan was disappointed by the infrastructure bill’s failure to pass during the last legislative session. She said she could support a similar initiative in 2017, and didn’t rule out using bonding or including some funding for buildings.

“They left it sitting there for two years and the money was left untapped while the state has needs,” she said. “I view infrastructure, public lands and public education as the primary duties of the Legislature. So I question how they could have walked away and left it.”

A self-described fiscal conservative, Barragan would like to increase transparency in state-funded grants, especially in education.

“There needs to be an entirely transparent accountability on did the money go where we appropriated it?”

She also said she wouldn’t rule out authorizing a local option sales tax for the city of Kalispell, but noted that she would listen to her constituents on the issue, adding, “Not one person is saying we’re in favor of that.”

Barragan did, however, say the state should have a role in combating Flathead County’s epidemic of drug-fueled crime.

“I’m not likely to be a person voting against a grant that is established to either study or do law enforcement with drugs,” she said. “If Flathead County was coming to the state Legislature with something … I think it’s a key issue, and I have to be supportive of more [drug] treatment centers.”

She added that natural resource management is an important issue in her district. She has yet to establish a stance on the proposed transfer of federal public lands to state jurisdiction, but said she would listen to both sides.

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.