State Legislature 2020: Ryan Thomsen

I aspired to run for office as soon as I saw that not everyone is being represented at the state or national level. So many decisions are made that impact our lives on a daily basis without the input of all residents. Everyone needs to be heard. I would like to bring a level of civility to help make the changes that should be made to take care of ALL Montanans, this includes affordable healthcare, early childhood education, more resources towards mental health, protecting public lands, good paying jobs through infrastructure, and much more.

My top policy priority is making sure our educators and students have the resources they need to be successful. This includes early childhood education, proper nutrition, and more advanced programs for our youth NOT fewer. This priority includes helping to change the antiquated funding mechanism so Yellowstone County doesn’t get left behind. Another policy priority is addressing expanding healthcare With Covid ripping through our communities it’s never been so important to make sure ALL Montanans are covered through expanded health care. The impact of expanding healthcare during a national health care crisis is crucial to making sure we don’t have Montanans going bankrupt due to contracting Covid. Finally, protecting our public lands is a top priority as well. We cannot let outside influencers decide how we use our lands.

Making government policy is often reliant on being an optimist as always striving to implement policies that will have a long term positive affect on society. There will always be short term decisions that will need to be made but it’s important to always consider the long term implications. Thinking for the long term will be my approach on my decision making. Having a balance and discipline between short term and long term decision making is essential.

I see myself as a delegate. I believe that if I’m elected by my constituents then I should listen to them directly to guide me in my decision making. I already have connections through door knocking and phone banking with constituents in my district from both parties and have made arrangements thru email or calling them directly to see how they feel on topics that will arise during the legislative session.

I do believe bi-partisan solutions and compromise as a legislator is essential. Without compromise nothing bi partisan will ever get done so I think reaching across the aisle to get things done is essential to a successful legislative session. As a Realtor for the last 17 years I’ve had to bring people together with different opinions for the greater good of getting a deal done where everyone is happy and satisfied. I am able to put my own opinions aside and work for the benefit of the buyer and seller to reach a goal that works for both parties.

I think transparency in our tax systems is critical to finding out how the money is spent. I would be in favor of removing the business equipment tax to make Montana more competitive to attract new businesses. If getting rid of the BET is not an option then I would be in favor of increasing the exemption amount. I’m also in favor of a local tax authority in consultation with local business owners. Making sure the majority proceeds from a local tax authority stays local would be important for me to be in favor of this tax. If we are going to tax people who come through the immediate area then we should receive the proceeds for local infrastructure and jobs.

A company’s main concern should be their employees. If a business is more worried about their bottom line than the health of their employees then I believe they should be liable. In contrast, if a company follows all the health regulations and an employee still files a frivolous law suit then I think the company should be shielded from such liability. So I would be in favor with requirements and exemptions.

I would support full funding for the Medicaid program. There should not be any undue roadblocks for coverage. Without proper health care, people will choose substandard care which can result in increased healthcare costs for businesses and the state of Montana.

This question actually affected me directly. I was running a rehabilitation home in 2017 and this decision to cut funding for mental health and addiction treatment was the mitigating factor on why we had to shut our doors. Our city needs more treatment programs not less and by shifting the costs from state to local this created less treatment options. I would be in favor of attacking these issues at the state level and not relying on the local governments to fund these programs. Our immediate local government is having issues funding many programs and adding to mental health and treatments programs to their budget is not realistic.

Bringing jobs or job opportunities to the biggest city in Montana is essential for our community to keep growing. With the money One Big Sky could generate long term could be very impactful to the community and state. One Big Sky is the type of project that can keep young people working in Montana rather than leaving to work in another state.