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Montana State Senate District 43 candidate surveys, 2022
From Ballotpedia
This article shows responses from candidates in the 2022 election for Montana State Senate District 43 who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
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- Click here to see Candidate Connection survey responses.
Candidates and election results
General election
General election for Montana State Senate District 43
Incumbent Jason Ellsworth defeated John Schneeberger in the general election for Montana State Senate District 43 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jason Ellsworth (R) | 67.6 | 7,868 | |
 | John Schneeberger (D)  | 32.4 | 3,766 | |
| Total votes: 11,634 | |||
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Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
Survey responses from candidates in this race
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Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
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Our system of self-government is under attack because of actions taken by our former President. He has undermined faith in our elections with concocted claims of widespread fraud and a stolen election. Spurred by this lie, his supporters are now harassing and undermining the work of honest, hardworking election administrators across Montana, and here in Ravalli County. The former Presidents supporters have already made voting harder in Montana, and they plan more disruptive legislation. Our elections can always be made more secure and accurate. The solutions these people propose, however, will only make them less secure, less accurate and certainly less fair. I believe in common sense reforms to our election system and supporting non-part
The housing crisis is an intractable problem causing a lot of pain in our community. Democrats like me need to be advocates for low-income people and renters, and I will work hard for these underrepresented members of our community. I have tried to learn about the housing crisis by talking to legislators, lenders, builders, renters, advocates for low-income people and city council members. There is still a steep learning curve ahead of me but here is what I have learned so far. In Ravalli County, roughly 50% of renters and more than 30% of homeowners are cost-burdened, this means that they are spending more on housing than they can afford, and this was before the dislocations caused by the pandemic. Assistance from non-profit organization
I believe that rapid climate change is a threat to the existence of our civilization and the lives of our children. The impact of catastrophic climate change is already on our doorstep, with waves of climate refugees to follow. We cannot remain unprepared and ignorant about this crisis.
The housing crisis is an intractable problem causing a lot of pain in our community. Democrats like me need to be advocates for low-income people and renters, and I will work hard for these underrepresented members of our community. I have tried to learn about the housing crisis by talking to legislators, lenders, builders, renters, advocates for low-income people and city council members. There is still a steep learning curve ahead of me but here is what I have learned so far. In Ravalli County, roughly 50% of renters and more than 30% of homeowners are cost-burdened, this means that they are spending more on housing than they can afford, and this was before the dislocations caused by the pandemic. Assistance from non-profit organization
I believe that rapid climate change is a threat to the existence of our civilization and the lives of our children. The impact of catastrophic climate change is already on our doorstep, with waves of climate refugees to follow. We cannot remain unprepared and ignorant about this crisis.
The most damaging action by our former President was his refusal to concede power after losing the election, that was judged free and fair by his own administration. We are in uncharted waters when a President of the United States incites his supporters to storm the US Capitol because he lost the election. This was a blow to the longstanding American tradition of the peaceful transition of power. The seriousness of this cannot be understated because it destabilizes our Republic. This danger is why my campaign slogan is “Defend the Republic”.
I respect Bernie Sander's integrity and willingness stand for principle. I appreciate Elizabeth Warren's economic positions and her willingness to explain it to the public. I admire Victoria Clark, the director of a small start up College in the Bitterroot Valley because she has been a champion of economic justice.
Elected officials must balance representation with leadership. People have a right to expect that their representatives reflect their concerns and interests. At times popular opinion may not track towards solutions that are in the best interests of electorate. At these times it is the responsibility of the elected to show leadership and explain, fully, why a different course of action is preferable. At no time should the elected try use obfuscation or deception to try to conceal what is being advocated. It is also essential, at all times, for the elected to be the champion of the common good.
I am a problem solver and oriented towards action and practical solutions.
That I was part of the solution.
It was the assassination of President Kennedy. I was 6 years old.
I joined a non-profit organizations called the Down Home Project in 1981 and helped start a seed company as part of that project. I was the director and then the owner of the seed company until 2000.
Civilized to Death: the Price of Progress - Christopher Ryan. This book challenged my assumption about the value of civilization and best described our present predicament.
Act of Faith - Stan Ridgeway
None of your business.
The powers of the executive and legislative branches are enumerated in the Montana Constitution. Governor Gianforte and the Republican controlled legislature are trying to usurp the power of the judicial branch through partisan judicial elections, partisan judicial endorsements, court district gerrymandering and unilateral appointments by the Governor. I believe the three branches of State government should maintain the separation of power and not try to usurp the power of other branches. The governor should enunciate its legislative agenda and its then up to the legislature to pass laws. The executive should faithfully enforce and administer those laws through its role as the head administrator of State agencies.
I think radicals in the Republican party are trying to undermine free and fair elections. Our system of self-government is under attack because of actions taken by our former President. He has undermined faith in our elections with concocted claims of widespread fraud and a stolen election. His supporters have already made voting harder in Montana, and they plan more disruptive legislation. Our elections can always be made more secure and accurate. The solutions these people propose, however, will only make them less secure, less accurate and certainly less fair. I believe in common sense reforms to our election system and supporting non-partisan election administration.
Rapid climate change is making the fire season longer and more dangerous and increasing severe weather, from heat waves to floods, impacting agriculture, wildlife and the sustainability of the ecosystem. The biggest impact from rapid climate change will be the influx of climate refuges from areas more severely impacted. How we cope with the social, economic and ecological impacts of this influx will define the quality of life in Montana in the next decade.
The benefits include savings money, especially if it reduces the number of legislators but increases the session length and the term lengths. This could possibly also decrease legislative mistakes that are made during a rushed 90 day session. It may also increase the competence of legislators because there would be more competitive legislative districts. Not having 2 year terms might lessen the accountability of legislators to the electorate.
Yes. Experience in business can be an asset but government is not a business. I think state legislators benefit from a wide experience in business. local government and non-profit organizations.
It is essential in our polarized political environment that human connections be established between people with opposing viewpoints. Civility and respect should always be afforded our political opponents because it is essential to accomplishing common goals and maintaining peace.
As far as possible, redistricting should conducted by non-partisan commission members. They should create districts of nearly equal population that are geographically compact but which provide representation for different communities. It is important that Montana Indian reservations are afforded robust representation because of their unique history. The commission should also make it a priority to create competitive districts to limit the power of the majority to dominate to a greater degree than their numerical advantage.
Business, Labor and Economic Affairs; Natural Resources
Senator Ken Toole
No
I work with an IT professional who overcame alcohol addiction to get his degree and reconstruct his finances but he still has to live in substandard housing because for the housing crisis. I would like to be an advocate for people in these circumstances.
I made this one up. Old Gus goes into his favorite watering hole with a mangey mutt and is immediately accosted by his friend the bar keep for bringing a dog into the bar. He tells them that its his service dog and the bar keep backs off but has a huddle with the other patrons. Not sure if it is polite to ask about such a thing, the bar keep finally says: "I've known Gus for 30 years, if their is something wrong with him I gotta know!" He gingerly approaches Gus and asks how he is doing but finally get around to asking him why the service dog. Gus says, well, I've been diagnosed with uncontrollable flatulence. The Bar Keep asks him how the dog helps that and Gus says "I blame it on the dog".
In divided government, compromise is the key to getting something done. As a partisan, I believe in strongly advancing the best solution and not bargaining away important proposals early in the legislative process. An example of this is the Affordable Care Act, which was based on a Republican initiative and enacted in Massachusetts by Mitt Romney. Instead of pushing for the best solution, Single Payer, the Democrats started with a Republican proposal and ended up with a watered down, complicated and expensive health care plan. I think the resulting legislation should have been a true compromise between what the Democrats , and their constituency, wanted and what the Republicans wanted. This assumes good faith on the part of Republicans in wanting to do anything about the health care access crisis. Democrats can't control that but we can at least bargain in good faith and not undermine possible solutions to real problems for partisan political gain.
See also
More about these elections:
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