{"id":21380,"date":"2018-02-08T22:37:12","date_gmt":"2018-02-09T05:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/?p=21380"},"modified":"2018-02-09T08:12:22","modified_gmt":"2018-02-09T15:12:22","slug":"gianfortes-challengers-introduce-themselves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2018\/02\/gianfortes-challengers-introduce-themselves\/","title":{"rendered":"Gianforte’s challengers introduce themselves"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Forum\"<\/a>

Martin Kidston\/Missoula Current<\/p>

Democratic candidates for Congress, from right, Lynda Moss, Grant Kier, Jared Pettinato and John Heenan listen to fellow candidate Kathleen Williams and wait their turn to speak during a forum Thursday night at the University of Montana.<\/p><\/div>\n

MISSOULA \u2014 Five Democratic candidates vying for the party\u2019s nomination and the chance to challenge freshman Rep. Greg Gianforte this November took turns on the podium\u00a0 Thursday night, introducing themselves to a packed house at the University of Montana.<\/p>\n

The lighthearted venue gave each candidate equal time to address voters. Some took the opportunity to discuss policy issues while others detailed the path that led them to enter the race.<\/p>\n

With several hundred people in attendance, few of the candidates mentioned their potential Republican opponent by name, though nearly all pointed to a dysfunctional Congress, which they contend has lost touch with Montana voters and the issues back home.<\/p>\n

Grant Kier<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Congressional candidate Grant Kier presented himself as a problem solver, willing to work through differences to find solutions for Montana \u2014 a place where the people have an \u201cextraordinary ability\u201d to get things done.<\/p>\n

Kier said the country needs those values in Congress, and not those of Gianforte, “a New Jersey Republican” who uses \u201cdivision and hate\u201d as a form of leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking across the urban-rural divide, we have extraordinary abilities in Montana to get things done,\u201d Kier said. \u201cOver and over again, we accomplish things we didn\u2019t think were possible. Our country needs that from us right now. We have so much to teach this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CapreAir_Variable\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>Kier entered the race last year after leaving his job as executive director of the Five Valleys Land Trust, a position that he said required him to find solutions between stakeholders representing different backgrounds.<\/p>\n

A scientist by trade, Kier said he knows the definition of hard work and has seen firsthand Washington\u2019s failure to invest in the nation\u2019s future, its people and its infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s more that unites us than divides us across the urban-rural divide,\u201d Kier said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have a congressman that understands that unity. He uses division and hate as his form of leadership. If he were listening to Montanans right now, he would hear what I\u2019m hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like the other candidates, Kier applied a personal touch to his pitch, saying he was raised by a single mother who was often forced to chose between buying groceries and paying rent.<\/p>\n

Kier was one of just two candidates to reference health care. He did so by describing the business owners he\u2019d met in his travels across the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cI heard the same story from an entrepreneur in the Fathead Valley, and I\u2019ve heard from our rural communities that a tax on Medicaid expansion and public service programs that fund our rural hospitals is threatening to close those rural hospitals and, along with it, destroy the integrity of our rural communities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

John Heenan<\/strong><\/h4>\n

John Heenan portrayed himself as an outside candidate who wasn\u2019t selected by the Democratic Party establishment in Helena \u2014 a fact of personal pride.<\/p>\n

Heenan said he\u2019s forgone the party\u2019s playbook and its insistence that he spend his time on the telephone calling wealthy donors, asking them to float his campaign.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not the establishment candidate in this race,\u201d Heenan said. \u201cNo one from Helena selected me to run. I\u2019m proud of that. We\u2019re trying a new playbook.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FDorum\"<\/a>

Martin Kidston\/Missoula Current<\/p>

Candidate John Heenan address the audience at Thursday night\u2019s forum.<\/p><\/div>\n

Heenan didn\u2019t mention his potential Republican opponent by name, though he referenced Gianforte as the state\u2019s \u201conly representative in Congress.\u201d Heenan said he\u2019s dealt with \u201cguys like this all day long\u201d in his line of work as an attorney.<\/p>\n

\u201cArrogant executives, greedy CEOs and people that bend the rules or think they\u2019re not accountable because of power and money,\u201d Heenan said. \u201cI hold them accountable, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m running.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heenan opened his six-minute presentation by detailing several cases he\u2019s worked on over the years representing clients he referred to as underdogs. They were families wrongfully foreclosed upon by powerful banks and women who lost their husbands to impaired drivers, only to see their insurance company shut the doors when it came time to pay the claim.<\/p>\n

In each case, Heenan said, the clients were wronged by powerful corporations, banks and insurance companies \u2014 institutions that prey on Montanans who don\u2019t have the means to fight back.<\/p>\n

Heenan said he\u2019s also fought similar battles against state Republicans, including Art Wittich, who was found guilty of violating Montana\u2019s campaign laws.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an issue that\u2019s of paramount concern to me \u2014 dark money in politics,\u201d Heenan said. \u201cMy background is different. I\u2019ve fought for working Montanans my entire career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lynda Moss<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Lynda Moss, a former state senator from Billings, evoked the spirit of Mike Mansfield, his blue-color background and his rise to the U.S. Senate. She also noted Elouise Cobell, Joe Medicine Crow and other groundbreaking Native Americans.<\/p>\n

Medicine Crow, she said, was one of the last Crow chiefs who told stories of counting coups as a soldier in World War II.<\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThese stories are stories of leadership and success,\u201d said Moss, who spoke little of policy, focusing instead on unity. \u201cThere have been convenings across the country in Montana, in Seattle, in Minneapolis, to bring together communities in our region \u2014 communities from Indian County, leaders of Native nonprofit organizations to work on remarkable projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through such meetings, Moss said, great ideas \u201cbubbled up.\u201d Contrasted with the \u201cdysfunctional nature\u201d of Washington, D.C., she asked the audience to remember the remarkable things happening in Montana and the world.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, Moss added, she traveled with a group of Cheyenne students to New York and Argentina, forming friendships that spanned cultures and countries.<\/p>\n

The students served as ambassadors, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are brothers and sisters and we can come together,\u201d Moss said. \u201cWe can do remarkable work together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moss said she also served as a private adviser at the United Nations when the Declaration of Indigenous Rights was read to the assembly. It was, she said, a powerful moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have an opportunity to do good work,\u201d she said. \u201cStudents, families, friends, neighbors and policy makers can come together to achieve remarkable projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kathleen Williams<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Describing herself as the daughter of a World War II veteran, former state representative Kathleen Williams outlined her journey from her home in Oklahoma to the U.S. Navy and, eventually, Montana.<\/p>\n

Along the way, she she also drove home a message of powerful women, including Montana\u2019s own Jeannette Rankin, the first American female elected to federal office.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s give Jeannette Rankin her long overdue successor,\u201d Williams said. \u201cThe path against Greg Gianforte is clear. Let\u2019s nominate the candidate with the strongest progressive record, who can also work across the aisle, roll up her sleeves and get things done for Montana.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams traced her path to public office, going back to her mother, who lost her memory and died when Williams was a child. She would later focus her studies on resource economics before landing a job in Montana, a place she described as home.<\/p>\n

Williams served several terms in the state Legislature, though she and her husband chose to take time off. Shortly after making the decision, he died in a skiing accident.<\/p>\n

Recounting the story, Williams highlighted her legislative record, saying she was the right choice for the Montana Democratic Party and its looming campaign against Gianforte.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spent three years in the state Legislature where I worked to improve health care access and affordability, protect our lands and water, and create opportunities for Montana\u2019s working families,\u201d Williams said. \u201cWe expanded Medicaid, fought for women\u2019s rights, and non-discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jared Pettinato<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Stanford Law School graduate and former U.S. Department of Justice employee Jared Pettinato detailed his goals for the office, highlighting opportunities found in the state\u2019s wind and timber resources.<\/p>\n

Conjuring images of Montana\u2019s outdoor economy, Pettinato described a vision he dubbed \u201cthe wind and the trees,\u201d each capable of creating jobs and energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, this race isn\u2019t about us \u2014 this race is about you all,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s about Montana and moving Montana forward. I have ideas about moving Montana forward and bringing good jobs into Montana, expanding the infrastructure and bringing Montana into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

To do so, Pettinato pointed to the state\u2019s wind resources. Washington and Oregon both have renewable energy targets and Montana\u2019s wind could serve as the \u201cnext treasure the Treasure State has to offer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can bring that money to rural Montana and create good-paying industrial jobs that will help lift up rural Montana,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s new technology that allows us to move energy. That will help Montana wind farms and wind energy compete with energy sources in Washington and Oregon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tapping the state\u2019s wind potential would go far in expanding the state\u2019s economy, putting money into Main Street businesses, Pettinato said. He also noted the state\u2019s forest economy, though he admitted it was more complicated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can use the money that grows on trees to manage the forests to reduce high severity wildfires,\u201d he said, citing the 2017 fire season. \u201cIt grows jobs, cleans up the forest, makes the forest healthier for the trees, the wildlife and the people who want to use them. We can do this all without spending taxpayer dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on\u00a0Missoula Current<\/a>, an independent online newspaper, of which\u00a0Martin Kidston is the founding editor.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MISSOULA \u2014 Five Democratic candidates vying for the party\u2019s nomination and the chance to challenge freshman Rep. Greg Gianforte this November took turns on the podium\u00a0 Thursday night, introducing themselves to a packed house at the University of Montana.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":97,"featured_media":21381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[6740,6741,6256,6742,686,6743,6416],"class_list":["post-21380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-montana","category-news","tag-congressional-race","tag-democrats","tag-grant-kier","tag-jared-pettinato","tag-john-heenan","tag-kathleen-williams","tag-lynda-moss","prominence-category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/97"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21380"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21387,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21380\/revisions\/21387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}