HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – Democrat Krystal Steinmetz is campaigning to represent Havre in the Montana Legislature as the representative for House District 28.
A former journalist and community planner, Steinmetz currently works as the marketing and special events coordinator for the Boys and Girls Club of the Hi-Line.
Although this is Steinmetz’ first time running for political office, she says her experience has given her an understanding about what it means to be an effective legislator.
“As a reporter, you have to be objective, you have to be someone who can listen to both sides so you are able to see all sides of the story and are able to make an educated opinion based on that. And I think tha I do that well. It’s also something I had to work with as a community planner, to be able to get people with differing ideas at the same table and then to agree on something. Again, one thing I always remember is to find consensus…It’s trying to find something that works for a group. You can accept it, and you can live with it. That’s kind of what government is. And I have a proven reputation of doing that, both in work and in personal life.”
When it comes to the current pandemic, Steinmetz says there is cause for concern regarding rising infection levels locally, but many are following the guidelines.
“Where we’re located, obviously we live in a rural state and a rural part of the state. So we’ve been isolated, I think from a lot of the impacts. And people were being I think pretty safe in the beginning. It’s really disheartening now to see where our levels are at, and to be out and about in the community, and seeing how many people aren’t taking the mask mandate seriously. That has been concerning. I think that we are trying to hunker down now and encourage people to wear masks or stay home. It’s not just the businesses that are trying to enforce it and it shouldn’t be just them. It’s also community people turning to their neighbors and saying, ‘Hey. This is serious now.’ We don’t have to wait for a hundred body bags to know that this is a serious public health concern. And enough is enough now. I do think that more people here are taking it seriously and doing the right thing.”
In her interview with New Media Broadcasters, Steinmetz responded to her opponent, Republican Ed Hill, not wearing a face mask at recent school board meetings.
“I’ve been wearing a mask since March and I have not been going out nearly as often as I would like. We haven’t had vacation plans. We have limited travel. We haven’t seen family members, because it’s not safe. I would hate to ever be…it’s not that I’m living in fear, but I don’t ever want to put somebody else’s health at risk because I’m maybe upset that I can’t go shopping or go the concert or the baseball game that I wanted to. Right now, I’m just concerned about our community. And it does concern me that Ed Hill does not seem to prioritze public health and the importance of it. Frankly just not following a Governor’s mandate, I think is unconscionable. Especially for someone who is running to represent us in the legislature. And I know from the hundreds upon hundreds of voters I’ve talked to in the past few months that healthcare is incredibly important to them, and they are taking COVID seriously. So I think it’s a mistake not to listen to the community and take this public health risk seriously.”
In light of the pandemic, Steinmetz says she continues to stress the importance of affordable healthcare.
“It’s always been important, but right now it’s really highlighted how important it is and how much improvement we have to make. I want to make sure that our medicaid expansion stays in place and looking at how that impacts our area. If the (Affordable Care Act) goes away, we will have a direct impact on healthcare on our town. We will lose a number of hospital beds, we will not have as many people insured. Those are the things that I think are going to be even more important this next legislative session when we are continuing to deal with what is a real public health pandemic.”
Steinmetz adds that one healthcare-related issue that has been a problem in Havre since before the pandemic is making sure people have quality and affordable access to mental health care.
“My sister is a therapist in town. I’ve also talked to a lot of mental health practicioners in town. And frankly, we just don’t have enough practicioners. We have people who need help, but we don’t enough people even to help them, or the funding to help. So what I would love to see the legislature do is put together a group that looks at this more and to see where we are missing people, where there are gaps. And I think part of that is talking to the mental health practicioners, to really talk to the people who are on the ground working with people to see what improvements need to be made. They have a whole list of them. I’ve talked to several people, so I think it would be exciting. Especially now, again, this is one thing, maybe a silver lining that could come out of the focus on this public health pandemic with COVID, is to really look at mental health services to see how we can improve them. And I think there’s enough interest right now where that’s something we can look at definitely with the legislature.”
Other issues Steinmetz says are priorities she will take to the legislature include investing into public schools, including creating a state-funded preschool program, protecting public lands, and working on infrastructure.
“My time working at Bear Paw Development, I realized how much infrastructure is deteriorating in our area and also how expensive it is to replace it. It’s interesting to see those projects from beginning to end, where you talk with a municipality about what they want. You know maybe it’s a sewer system improvement, and then they have to apply for grants and go to the state legislature and convince the legislature that their project is good and needs (to be) funded. I’m really excited to look at projects like that if I’m elected, because they are so important. Just having safe, reliable infrastructure is key to Montana continuing to thrive.”
Steinmetz says she has received endorsements from the AFL-CIO, the Montana Federation of Public Employees, Future Now, as well as three railroad organizations, which she says she’s most proud of.
“I’ve received endorsements from the brotherhood of locomotive trainmen and engineers, the Smart Union, which is the (United Transportation Union) with the railroad, and also my newest endorsement now is from the Brotherhood of Maintenance Way, which is an exciting endorsement to receive as well, because my opponent is a retired railroader. And all of those union organizations have chosen to endorse my candidacy, because they know how hard I’ll work for Montana working families. My dad was a railroad engineer, and he worked his tail off to give our family a really good life,and I know how important those union workers are and what they do, and I’ll do whatever the heck I can to work for them and support them in the legislature.”
Steinmetz concluded her interview by stating that her main reason for entering this race is her desire to help the community.
“I’m just excited to be running in this election. It’s been a tough campaign because of everything that’s been going on in the world, but I really want to help my community. That’s led me to every professional decision and career choice I’ve had in life, just a real passion to help.”
The House District 28 seat is currently occupied by Democrat Jacob Bachmeier, who decided not to file for re-election.
Stay tuned to New Media Broadcasters for more election updates.
