Candidate Name:
Melissa Smith
What office are you running for?
Legislature House District 20 MT
With which party are you running for office?
Democratic Party
Election Date
November 3, 2020
Why are you running for office?
I’m running for office because I want all Montanans to thrive. To achieve this as a legislator, I have three main areas of focus: the conservation and preservation of our public lands, including developing clean energy infrastructure, habitat restoration, and easement access; a quality public education for all Montanans including public pre-school; and re-imagining public safety in order to restore the common good, by supporting our police and first responders, providing protections for our most vulnerable populations, increasing food security, restoring faith in public health officials, and expanding mental health services.
What is the biggest issue facing your community and how do you propose helping?
I am passionate about clean air and water. We are in a climate crisis – I believe largely caused by human activity, therefore humans must modify their behaviors in order to sustain a habitat suitable for life. My main focus as a legislator will be on protecting our water, developing clean energy projects, and holding polluters accountable for cleaning up their messes. New clean energy projects will provide revenue and the legislature must increase the clean-up bonds for resource extraction companies. Also, Montana has a childcare crisis. There are not currently enough facilities to meet the demand for childcare. Incentivizing employers to provide onsite daycare, and making it easier for licensed childcare workers to open childcare facilities, will enable more Montanans to work and care for their families.
How do we fix the partisan divide in our country and start working together again?
We must have bipartisanship and compromise, otherwise we are not governing. It is vital to represent our constituents, who after all do not claim allegiance to any one party. By listening to dissenting opinions and views, providing ethical and moral leadership, and avoiding ideological approaches, we can identify and implement solutions that benefit all Montanans.
Who is your hero?
Elizabeth Warren
What are your hobbies?
Reading, cooking, decorating
What is the most recent book you read?
Soul Full of Coal Dust by Chris Hamby
How can our readers get involved in your campaign?
Postcards to voters, phone banking, boosting social media posts, and donating
What question do you wish we’d asked, and what is your answer?
How do we engage people disenfranchised from the political process? I’m trying to communicate to my district in as many different ways as possible and to run a campaign that is coming from a place of positivity. I want Montanans to thrive and to restore the common good. We work to restore the common good as we conserve and protect our public lands, provide a quality public education, and reimage public safety to include funding for our police, but also addresses mental health issues, food security, and protections for our most vulnerable populations. I am open to everyone’s suggestions on constituent engagement.
Post created from answers submitted by candidate to our Meet the Candidate survey.
