In House District 26 Democrat Helena Lovick is running against Republican Jeremy Trebas. Here is the Trebas response and profile.
Ms. Lovick didn’t respond to our request.
Background information
I am 36, am married to Hannah, and have 3 kids, Ryan, Kaylyn, and Aidan. I have been working for the Great Falls Rescue Mission as the controller (accounting and human resources) for over 8 years, since April 2012. I am a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and have a small tax and accounting business too. I’ve been in the Legislature before, for a two year term that covered 2017-2019. In that role I served on the “Business & Labor”, “Local Government”, and “Transportation” standing committees.
Why are you running for the office?
I’m running because I believe being involved in setting good state policy is important, and it is so important to me that I have ran, and am now running again to be directly involved in its formation. The protection of everyone’s rights as citizens often hinges on the decisions made by the State Legislature. It takes active involvement as citizens and “citizen Legislators” to preserve our Republic.
Why are you running as a Democrat, Libertarian or Republican?
I am running as a Republican because I believe in their (the State GOP) platform of ideas including the right to bear arms (reiterating the 2nd Amendment), their philosophy on economic development including natural resource extraction for jobs, energy, and royalty taxes, and supporting law & order among citizens, within communities.
I believe in due process and the right of people to protest (1st Amendment) but also know it needs to be balanced when things get out of hand such as with the riots and arson occurring in other cities, essentially turning the right to protest into an unlawful occupation of many neighborhoods and downtowns across the nation.
Further, beyond those constitutional topics, on the issue of taxes I want to highlight three positions. One, I’ll support broad and low taxation that is fair. I’ll support the repeal of income taxes on your social security income, and I’ll always oppose a sales tax.
What are a couple of issues in the state legislature that you could work on to help Great Falls and Cascade County grow and prosper?
Right now top of mind for me is getting government out of the way. That could be overly complicated regulations (think about the building code for example), overbearing property tax rates, and bureaucratic processes and departments that slow your progress as a citizen and business down from doing what you would like. I’ll always be open to suggestions about how to cut the “red tape” of bureaucracy while balancing the need to protect the general public.
What makes you the best candidate in the race?
I like to answer this sort of question by simply saying, if the voters think I’ve been listening, and am proposing the right ideas, some of which are highlighted above, they’ll determine whether I’m the best candidate in the race for them. I believe the community needs to solve some problems to move forward, and I’ll do my best to be a part of that in the scope of a state legislator if given the chance.”
