I Represent You!
Dave Kesler
for Montana House District 76 Republican
My Legislature Goals
Tax Cut Proposals
I have several ideas that would help limit the property tax rates in Montana and will work with anyone with a realistic solution to the rate increases.
The legislature does allow the property tax increase, whether you call it mills or dollars. I’d like to present a bill that caps property tax increases at the same rate of increase the county budgets are allowed to be raised… 1/2 the inflation rate average over the last three years. My opponent voted (for HB481) to double this tax increase rate during the last Legislative session.
Another option would be a permanent, standardized rate of no more than 1% of the actual purchase price of the property, until it changes hands and then the same rate be assessed on the new purchase price.
I would also like to end the tax on Social Security our Seniors are paying now. That’s money they’ve already paid taxes on, it’s insane to think they have to pay taxes on it again simply because the State benifited from holding it for them! My opponent is dead set againts ending the tax on Social Secutity income.
If we don’t have funding for government programs, we need to find ways to cut programs or budgets instead of taxing our neighbors out of their homes!
AUDIT THE STATE
If you look at the State Checkbook you’ll find that there were “confidential payments” of $1,997,826,268.87 in fiscal year 2023. Google says Montana took in $2.1Billion in Property taxes. We need HUGE audits of our State agencies! It’s inconceivable that our State employees can “confidentially” pay, or pay off anyone, especially to the amount of nearly our entire Property tax base!!
Accountability for Government Agencies
In response to the latest lies from my opponent, (What else could you expect from the guy that voted against the “clean campaign act”?) I FULLY SUPPORT, RESPECT, AND BACK OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT, FIRST RESPONDERS, AMBULANCE, EMT’S, ETC. AND BELIEVE 100% THAT THEY DO NEED IMMUNITY FROM FRIVOLOUS PROSECUTION! ANYONE WHO PUTS THEIR LIFE ON THE LINE FOR MY/OUR SAFETY DESERVES PROTECTION FROM PERSECUTION DISGUISED AS PROSECUTION!! I believe Qualified Immunity should be limited and should exclude intentional acts or omissions which cause undue hardship or harm to the individual’s Constitutional rights.
There are government agencies with unelected employees that operate under full immunity from the consequences of their actions. I’ve worked with victims and witnessed situations with willful, blatant violations of Constitutional rights. I’ve discovered State agencies which keep private files on you that you cannot ever see, contest or clarify. These agencies will allow a legislator to view the files, with written request, but ONLY after the Legislator signs a gag-order. The legislator can’t discuss, testify about (even under subpoena), or disclose the contents of the file. They have an Ombudsman who cannot be subpoenaed, who’s reports are inadmissible in court and has who no authority over the agency. This is NOT what our forefathers intended.
It’s my understanding that Montana taxpayers are funding the Montana State Hospital with an ADDITIONAL $40 million dollars a year OVER THEIR EXISTING BUDGET in attempt to regain the $7 million the Fed suspended because the hospital wasn’t up to standards. Spending $40mil to get $7mil? Why are we funding this when most of Montana’s mental hospital patients are sent out of state to PRIVATE hospitals for treatment?
We NEED a hospital for the mentally ill or indigent, and we have that capability in Warm Springs, but it needs to be operated in a rational manner. I would propose an audit of the Montana State Hospital be conducted by the private hospitals that are already caring for Montana’s mental patients and an operating plan be drafted by them and implemented. I would be open to private management or even privatization of the State Hospital if the State can’t manage it feasibly.
Integrity and Standardization in Court Reporting
I have written a bill draft which would clarify MCA 3-5-603 to require a Court Reporter to provide the audio recording of any court of record, in it’s complete, unedited form.
As a child and family advocate for the past 30 years, I’ve witnessed State Courts issue oral rulings, heard witness exchanges, and whole conversations that were missing from the written transcript. This bill would establish 100% integrity in Court Reporting and transcript records instead of the “Transcribe it, sanitize it, give it to the Judge for edits, then send it to the requestor” instructions the National Association of Court Reporters recommends. Why bother having Court Transcripts if they’re not 100% accurate? We need accurate accountability, not another layer to protect protect the judiciary.
Our Veterans deserve better!
After a recent visit with a local Veteran, I wrote a draft Bill that would give retired Veterans a tiny bit of the much-needed respect they deserve. My bill would, in short, give a retired Montana Veteran a free, lifetime license plate for his/her primary vehicle, a free annual Montana hunting and fishing license, property tax relief and suspend State taxes on their Veteran’s retirement payments. Our Veterans signed a blank check on their lives, I believe this is a very small, well deserved and much needed recognition of their commitments to our Nation and State. My Grandfather, who I was named after, was a WW2 Veteran. I have a very deep respect, sense of gratitude and admiration for all of our veterans and will do all I can to help and protect them at home and abroad!
Personal Accountability
I will commit to be accountable to the residents of my district and State. I will represent our wishes to the best of my ability. I further commit to transparency and will answers questions and concerns in as direct and timely a manner as is possible. I NEED input from you, my constituents and neighbors, to fully represent you! If you’ve got questions about me or my votes I’ve got answers! I won’t need to hide or lie about my votes as my opponent does! I live here, this is MY home too and I’ll do all I can to protect it!
Give me a call and let’s talk. I won’t lie to you or blow smoke anywhere. I won’t make a vote I can’t defent rationally and I’ll gladly take whatever consequences are appropriate for my votes. I’ll work with anyone to try to find the best solution to every problem for our District and State!
Past Bills I’ve Worked on.
Although I don’t remember all of the bills I’ve testified on or against, co-wrote, or have given input on here are a few that meant a great deal to me to see get passed.
SB400, Parental Bill of Rights guaranteeing parents the right to parent their children and granting recourse for violations of that right.
HB90, Required a hearing within 5 days of child removal by CPS instead of the previous 90 days.
HB37 would have required a Warrant to remove a child from it’s family in a non-life threatening situation. (My opponent was one of only 2 in the entire House that voted against this. He HATES the idea that our kids can’t be taken from their homes for no reason.)
SB 249 would have required CPS to have a “treatment plan” in place within 20 days of removing a child from their home and require them to actually follow the law that requires every attempt to safely preserve the family unit. My opponent voted against this bill too. Kinda looks like he wants the State to own our children instead of our families.
SB250 would have implemented the Federal “Kayden’s Law” that would have prevented forced re-unification of a child with their abuser. Kayden’s law has been adopted by every State that has had the chance so far. Montana could have been the first but will now be one of the last thanks to my opponent’s “NO” vote. It also came with a Federal grant of $20Million to be divided among the States that adopted it. Montana would have received the biggest chunk of that had Fitzpatrick voted yes. This link is from the UN meeting describing Kayden’s law a little bit.
My opponent is as crafty a liar as they come. Please reach out to me for clarification on anything you hear, negative or positive. I’d like the chance to clear up lies or misconceptions and also the chance to represent WE THE PEOPLE!
Good policy can’t come from bad legislators.
When we opened our tax bills we all found out what the wrong Representatives can do. We’ve seen that blocking a special session and refusing to seek out solutions hurts us all. I will work with anyone with a realistic idea that lowers both long- and short-term taxes. We don’t need pay raises for Government agencies at the cost of taking food from Montana tables. We need common sense in legislation, not broken promises and lobbyist double-talk.
“The cost of local government services are pre-eminently personnel costs and when a budget has to be trimmed by more than just a smidgeon, it usually means layoffs, no pay raises, or a reduction in employee benefits.”
Rep. John Fitzpatrick” No wonder taxes went up, he’s voting for 4% pay raises for State employees while the rest of us suffer.
“MTAFLCIO” ranks my opponent at 76% (71% for votes and +5% for being their ally). 2023 Legislative Scorecard – Final (mtaflcio.org)
The “Montana Conservative Alliance” ranks Fitzpatrick at 9% Republican values.
The Montana Property Owners of Montana rank John at 56% 2023-UPOM-Legislative-Scorecard.pdf
The Montana Human Rights Network (LGBT, abortionists, etc.) on page 10 you can see John voted FOR 14 out of 16 of their bills (87.5%) MHRN+Legislative+Summary+2023+Landscape.pdf (squarespace.com)
Montana Conservation Voters (enviro-groups) rank John at 57% after voting for 4 of their 7 bills.(page 10) MCV_LegScorecard2023_final.pdf (mtvoters.org)
With ratings like this it appears he should have run on the Dem ticket! We can’t expect a lifetime-career lobbyist to look out for the average Montanan like you and me. A Leopard doesn’t change it’s spots, and his voting record proves it!
Below is a list of some of John Fitzpatrick’s voting record for the 2023 session and some of his donations from the last election: (My comments/bill summary in Italics) I would have voted the opposite of his votes here.
Supports and refuses to discuss eliminating taxes on Social Security payments received by the Elderly.
“No way! That would cut $100 Million from the State revenue!”
Voted NO 2 out of 3 times HB816 (Passed) Created property and income tax rebates.
Voted YES HB481(Failed) Doubled the rate the County can raise property taxes.
Voted NO On Legislative Special session to address and lower the property tax hike.
Carried and voted YES HB13 (Passed) Gave State employees a 4% pay raise and bonuses, costing taxpayers $66.9 Million the first year alone. (We’re struggling to make ends meet and he’s handing out bonuses to his buddies!)
Voted NO 2 out of 3 times HB234 (Passed) Protects our children by keeping queer and other pornography out of schools.
Voted NO HB196 (Passed) Increased transparency and accountability for vote counting, poll watchers, etc.
Voted NO HB356 (Passed) Prevents discrimination by banks or government against firearms entities/manufacturers.
Voted NO HB361 (Passed) Allows a student to call another kid by their birth name and gender without prosecution
Voted YES HB271 (Failed) Would have required Legislators to sit in alphabetical order. (With all we needed to accomplish John was the only Republican to co-sponsor this bill to require alphabetical seating.)
Voted YES HB288 (Failed) Would have broadened the definition of “Indian” giving out more free money while discriminating against whites.
Voted NO HB468 (Failed) Would have required job-attached unemployment recipients to seek work as non-job-attached recipients are.
Sponsored and voted YES HB375 (Failed) John tried to get $500k to pave part of the road to Lost Creek Park. Philipsburg needs $5Mil for a new water filtration plant, $7mil+ for a sewage plant so why pave the road for a pet project for his buddy?)
Voted YES HB380 (Failed) Would have given State grant money to expand homeless shelters and have DPHHS involved in management. Essentially opening the door for State sponsored shelters and government housing for anyone.
Voted NO HB544 (Passed) Requires State funding of abortion only when medically necessary, to save the mother’s life or in cases of rape or incest.
Voted NO HB372 (Failed) Would have recognized the Constitutional rights of Montanans to hunt, fish and trap.
Voted NO HB393 (Passed) Guarantees equal rights and access of special needs children to schools.
Voted YES HB539 (Passed) Loosens restrictions on alcohol licenses, locations and hours of service, etc.
Voted NO HB551 (Failed) Would have clarified and strengthened our right to keep and bear arms
Voted NO SJ31 (Passed) Basically starts the process of stopping crooked lawyers regulating crooked lawyers.
Voted NO SB397 (Passed) Stops facial recognition and surveillance without a warrant.
Voted NO HB29 (Passed) Prevents the involuntary committed for elderly suffering from Alzheimer’s.
Voted NO SB250 (Failed) Common sense law that would have protected children from child abuse, prevented brainwashing in “reunification” camps, etc by adopting the Federally passed, “Kayden’s Law”. The Fed would have given Montana about $5mil for adopting this.
Voted NO HB37 (Passed but vetoed) Requires a warrant prior to removal of a child from their home in non-emergency situations. (Only 2 no votes in the entire house, even the Dems voted for it!)
Voted NO SB159 (Passed) Limits what “Eminent Domain” can be used for, excluding “trail systems”, etc.
Voted NO HB604 (Failed) Would have required Federal agents to notify local Sheriff prior to conducting raids in the County.
Voted YES HB837 (Failed) Would have required schools to allow parents to know what they’re teaching their children.
Endorsed by: Montana Freedom Caucus PAC “Republican Dave Kesler is running for House District 76 to clean up the government waste, overreach, and excess taxes we’re all enduring. Kesler has worked with legislators in Helena for the past several years and has helped pass vital bills and kill legislation that was not in the best interest of the people. Kesler admits he supported his opponent in the last election, but his voting record reflects the values of big business, anti-Second Amendment, pro-trans, raising taxes, anti-free speech, and left-wing ideologies. He believes it’s time we did better. Kesler will support smaller government, more freedom, lower taxes, family values, and common sense. Kesler is endorsed by Gun Owners of America, the Montana Shooting Sports Association, and the Montana Conservative Alliance. The choice is very clear: vote for Conservative/Republican Dave Kesler for House District 76 in the June 4th primary.”
Endorsed by: Montanans for Limited Government http://mtflg.org.
Endorsed by: The Outdoor Heritage Coalition outdoorheritageco.org
“Dave, The Outdoor Heritage Coalition is proud to endorse you for your bid for HD76. The Outdoor Heritage Coalition is comprised of 9 sportsmen organizations throughout the state and Idaho. You have our permission to put our (OHC) endorsement on your flyer mailers. Good luck in your Race! We need people like you in Helena.
Jeff Darrah
VP Outdoor Heritage Coalition”
Endorsed by: Montana Shooting Sports Association http://www.mtssa.org/ “All of these candidates are worthy of your support, especially the ones local to you. However, if I had to pick just one candidate, I’d really like to see win his Primary, it would be Dave Kesler in HD 76, Phillipsburg. If you can do something to help Dave, with a financial donation or volunteer time, please do. Contact anyone you may know in the Phillipsburg area and let them know that Dave is endorsed by MSSA.”
Endorsed by: Motana Conservative Aliance “Montana Conservative Alliance strongly supports David Kesler in the HD 76 Republican primary, as a genuine and trustworthy conservative, who will be continually guided by constitutional principles and a love of liberty. These qualities are rare in politics today – and desperately needed! We believe David will always stand strong in the Montana legislature, fighting for freedom, free markets, family values and better – not bigger – state government. We are honored to give him our endorsement.
Endorsed by: Big Sky Worldview Forum https://www.bigskyworldview.org/library “HD 76 Dave Kesler vs John Fitzpatrick from Phillipsburg/Anaconda. John is the incumbent but scored a 66% (second worst Republican in Montana) on the Family Foundation score card signaling weakness on conservative values. That alone is reason to replace him. Vote Kesler.”
Endorsed by: Gun Owners of America GOA | The only no compromise gun lobby in Washington (gunowners.org) “Congratulations! Gun Owners of America will be endorsing you as the no compromise Second Amendment champion for Montana State House District 76.”
Frequently Asked Questions
How long have you lived here?
I’ve been a Montana Resident all my life. I’m the 3rd generation in my family on the same ranches in the Philipsburg and Deer Lodge valleys. My daughter is the 4th generation here. She’s a high-honor roll student attending the same school her Grandparents did. This district is my home and my livelihood. This is personal to me.
Why are you running?
I’m running for office to clean up the Governmental waste, overreach and excess taxes we’re all enduring. I’ve worked with Legislators in Helena for the past several years and have helped pass some very important bills and helped kill legislation that was definitely not in the best interest of the people.
I’ve heard and seen horror stories too horrific to tolerate that were caused by our rogue State agencies and can sit still no longer. I have no aspirations of political power, simply a driving sense of the need for justice to right the wrongs. My Grandfather was a WW2 Veteran. He Joined the Army to give his life in defense of our freedom if necessary. The least I can do is stand for our freedom at home.
I supported my opponent in the last race but his voting record reflects the values of big business, anti Second Amendment, pro-trans, raising taxes, anti-free speech, left-wing ideologies. It’s time we do better. I will support smaller government, more freedom, lower taxes, family values and common sense. I may not always speak delicately but I will always speak honestly.
Why should I vote for you?
I would be honored to receive your vote! I will stand up against big government that is trying to dictate our way of life and work for the best interests of everyone. Government is supposed to work for the people, not against them. Our traditions last primarily because they work, and work well. I’ll work to preserve our way of life and long-standing traditions of freedom, integrity, work ethic, accountability and strong family values. I will protect Montana’s hunting, fishing, trapping, mining, logging and ranching heritage and do all I can to support these traditional industries.
If you’re looking for double talk, support of the latest alphabet/gender-fad, or violation of our rights to appease the “woke” I’m not your candidate.
Paid for by Kesler for Montana, PO BOX 42 Philipsburg, Mt. 59858 REPUBLICAN
How do I schedule you to meet with my organization?
To schedule a meeting with your organization please call me at 406-491-2650 or email me at [email protected]. My schedule is filling up but I’ll try to fit meetings in as soon as possible. I’d really enjoy getting to know and listening to those who want me to represent them!
How can I help your campaign?
Campaign contributions are welcomed and are an investment in our future. State regulations require no more than $450 per individual person, per vote cycle. The regulations also require I document your; full name, address, phone number, employer and occupation (or “retired”) along with your contribution amount.
Contributions can be mailed to: Kesler for Montana, PO Box 42, Philipsburg, Mt. 59858
Volunteers are always welcome! There is always a need for people to pass out fliers, knock doors, call potential voters, or even just offer a place to put up a campaign sign.
Where do you stand on the tough issues like abortion and LGBTQ?
There is no greater gift on all of God’s green earth than parenthood. I do not support abortion. Abortion for convenience is murder. I would not vote to fund abortions with tax dollars or Medicaid, etc., as my opponent did (HB544).
The LGBTQ issue may seem complex on the surface but it’s simpler than it’s portrayed. This is a mental condition that needs help to heal, not promoted. The lgbtq is a group who possess the highest rates of diagnosed mental illness of any group in our nation, egged on by the “woke” participating in the latest social contagion, pandering for relevance. The lgbtq suicide rates, anti-psychotic med use, mass-shooters, drug use, etc. prove this gender dysphoria to be a tragic symptom of mental disorder. Promoting mental disorders is NOT the right path for our State or Nation!
“Transitioning” is fast becoming a multi-billion dollar mutilation industry while more and more peer review studies are proving that surgeries and hormonal treatments do nothing to lessen the disorder and in fact further damage the patients. We don’t put anorexics on diet drugs, or pass out loaded guns to the suicidal or tell schizophrenics the voices in their heads are right, so why are we encouraging these other disorders? Archeologists can only identify male and female. All the other imaginary genders are mental disorders.
How will you vote on Second Amendment issues?
I’m not sure what part of “..shall not be infringed” is so hard to understand. As an active shooter, hunter and sportsman I’m solidly pro 2A. I will vote to recognize Hunting, fishing and trapping as Constitutional rights. I will vote against any form of firearms registration or restriction and will support local law enforcement in protecting the rights of Montanans to exercise our 2A rights.