The Problem

Montana families are being taxed out of their homes. Property taxes have skyrocketed — not because government is delivering more services, but because home values have surged and the legislature has failed to decouple assessments from market speculation. Seniors on fixed incomes, young families trying to build equity, and ranchers whose land has been in the family for generations are all paying the price.

Meanwhile, the state has run budget surpluses while continuing to expand government programs. Career politicians in Helena treat your tax dollars like their own — finding new ways to spend every cent instead of giving it back to the people who earned it.

The LC4 Position

Every LC4 candidate is committed to meaningful property tax relief — not temporary patches, but structural reform:

• Oppose property tax increases tied to inflated home value appreciation — your tax bill shouldn’t spike because speculators drove up prices in your neighborhood
• Return budget surpluses to taxpayers instead of growing government
• Advocate for minimal taxation at every level — Montanans know how to spend their money better than Helena does
• Oppose expanding government programs unnecessarily when current spending hasn’t been audited for waste

The Problem

Montana’s justice system should protect victims and hold offenders accountable. Too often, it does neither. Repeat offenders cycle through the system while victims are left without answers or restitution. Judges operate with limited oversight. And law enforcement officers — the men and women who run toward danger — face growing hostility from politicians who’ve never worn the badge.

Here in Lewis & Clark County, residents see the consequences firsthand: property crime, drug-related offenses, and a system that prioritizes process over outcomes.

The LC4 Position

Several LC4 candidates bring direct experience in law enforcement and the courts — this isn’t theory for us, it’s personal:

• Ensure the justice system is fair, accountable, and protects victims — not just the rights of the accused, but the rights of the people they harmed
• Promote judicial transparency and accountability — judges should answer to the communities they serve
• Back the badge — fully support and fund law enforcement officers on the front lines of public safety
• Drive reform from experience — our candidates’ backgrounds in law enforcement and the court system inform real solutions, not partisan talking points

The Problem

Parents are losing control over their children’s education. Across Montana, curriculum decisions are being made behind closed doors by bureaucrats and special interest groups, not by the families whose kids sit in those classrooms. Homeschooling families face unnecessary regulatory hurdles. And school choice — the idea that funding should follow the student, not the institution — is actively opposed by the same career politicians who send their own kids to the schools of their choice.

Montana’s constitution guarantees the right to a quality education. It doesn’t say the government gets to decide what “quality” means for your family.

The LC4 Position

LC4 candidates include homeschooling parents and education advocates who live this issue every day:

• Support school choice — families should pick the school that fits their child, whether it’s public, private, charter, or home-based
• Defend homeschooling families from unnecessary government regulation and reporting requirements
• Require curriculum transparency — parents have the right to know exactly what their children are being taught
• Oppose government control of education decisions that belong to parents, not politicians

The Problem

Every session, gun control proposals surface in the Montana legislature — firearm registries, “red flag” laws, ammunition restrictions, and buyback schemes that treat lawful gun owners like criminals. These proposals are driven by out-of-state money and national gun control organizations that don’t understand Montana and don’t respect our way of life.

In Montana, firearms aren’t just a constitutional right — they’re a way of life. Hunting, self-defense, and responsible firearm ownership are woven into who we are. Any legislator who doesn’t understand that shouldn’t be writing our laws.

The LC4 Position

This is non-negotiable for every LC4 candidate. No compromise. No exceptions:

• Uncompromising support for the right to keep and bear arms — period
• Oppose all firearm registries and government databases of lawful gun owners
• Oppose gun buyback programs and any legislation that treats legal ownership as a problem to be solved
• Defend the right to armed self-defense in your home, on your property, and in your community

The Problem

Montana is in a housing affordability crisis — and government is a major reason why. Zoning restrictions, permitting delays, and regulatory red tape have made it nearly impossible to build affordable housing where it’s needed most. Young families who grew up in Helena can’t afford to buy here. Workers commute an hour each way because there’s nothing they can afford closer to town.

At the same time, private property owners face growing threats from eminent domain overreach and government agencies that treat your land like a public resource they can regulate into uselessness.

The LC4 Position

• Defend private property ownership as a fundamental right — not a privilege granted by government
• Remove regulatory barriers to affordable housing development — cut the red tape that drives up costs
• Oppose government overreach through excessive zoning restrictions that limit what you can do with your own land
• Protect against eminent domain abuse — your property is yours, and government should have to prove extraordinary need before taking it

The Problem

Montana’s public lands are managed overwhelmingly by federal agencies — bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. making decisions about land that Montanans use, protect, and depend on every day. Federal mismanagement has contributed to catastrophic wildfires, reduced access for hunters and anglers, and regulations that ignore the needs of the communities closest to the land.

At the same time, out-of-state interests — both environmental groups locking up access and developers exploiting loopholes — are changing the character of the places we love. Montana’s outdoor heritage belongs to Montanans.

The LC4 Position

• Support state management of public lands — Montana knows Montana better than Washington, D.C.
• Protect access to public lands for hunting, fishing, hiking, and recreation — access isn’t a privilege, it’s a right
• Balance conservation with responsible use — we can protect the land and still use it sustainably
• Defend Montana’s outdoor heritage from both over-regulation and irresponsible exploitation

The Problem

Montana voters approved term limits in 1992 for a simple reason: they didn’t want career politicians. They wanted a citizen legislature — regular people serving their community, then going home. But career politicians found the loophole: serve 8 years in the House, then jump to the Senate for 8 more, then wait out a cooling period and start all over again.

The result is a permanent political class in Helena. Lobbyists become legislators. Politicians who spent decades advocating for special interests simply move to the other side of the table and start writing the laws. The revolving door never stops — and the voters who demanded term limits are left wondering why nothing changed.

Right here in Lewis & Clark County, we’ve watched it happen: career politicians rotating between the House and Senate for over a decade, and former lobbyists running for seats they used to lobby, trading one kind of influence for another.

The LC4 Position

This is the issue that brought the LC4 together. We exist because government accountability has failed in Lewis & Clark County:

• Citizen legislators, not career politicians — every LC4 candidate is running to serve, not to start a political career
• Close the revolving door — support legislation requiring meaningful cooling-off periods between terms in different chambers
• End the lobbyist-to-legislator pipeline — voters deserve representatives who answer to their district, not to the special interests that funded their previous career
• Full transparency in campaign finance, legislative votes, and committee proceedings — Montanans have a right to know who’s influencing their government
• Serve and go home — LC4 candidates are committed to term-limiting themselves, honoring the spirit of what Montana voters demanded