Williams holds virtual meet-and-greet in Hill County

With COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing limiting live events by political candidates this year, U.S. House Democratic candidate Kathleen Williams held a meet and greet via a Zoom call with residents from Hill County Wednesday.

In the Democratic race to try to take the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, Williams, a former state representative from Bozeman, beat state Rep. Tom Winter of Missoula 89 percent to 11 percent.

She now faces state Auditor Matt Rosendale, who won the Republican primary, and Green Party candidate John Gibney, who was unopposed in the primary.

Williams said she likes to talk to the voters.

"My favorite part of these and any meetings with voters is to really hear what you guys care about," she said.

She said her U.S. House race was added to the Red to Blue List 10 days ago, which is a recognition of the Democratic congressional campaign committee of how competitive it is.

Only six races in the nation were added in this last round, she added.

"We can do this," she said. "I wouldn't have gotten back in if I weren't confident again with all of your help and the help of so many others. We can get our message of honesty, integrity, statesmanship, and results out to Montanans and get across the finish line and really have this seat work for Montana rather than just have a benchwarmer in it."

She said there are a lot of differences between her and Rosendale.

He is trying to reinvent himself, she said, adding that the state needs to clarify his record.

"I look forward to you all helping me remind Montanans of those contrasts and ensure that we keep the record straight on both mine, his and the differences," Williams said.

She said she is the daughter of a World War II veteran, the youngest of four daughters and has a 37-year career in natural resources and conservation with a speciality in water.

She said when someone works in water that means they have to weigh in on very complex issues and make sure they can bring in diverse interests together to collectively develop creative long-term solutions.

She was involved in the St. Mary Working Group when it first began in 2003, she said, adding that she looks forward to working in Congress on some of the infrastructure issues that are important to the communities, agriculture sectors and the Native communities.

"I am a three-term state legislator and, so I took those problem-solving skills and that arch to be able to wind my way through that sort of partisan environment and find solutions," Williams said. "I think that's what we need in Congress is someone that will be a true, independent representative that will be working for all Montanans not just special interests and who has a history of and a reputation of getting things done."

She said issues that Montanans talk to her about most often is fixing the patchwork of the health care system they have.

That is a personal issue to her, she said, she was a caregiver with her father for her mother.

When she was 11 years old, she said, her mother was diagnosed with early onset Alzhiemer's disease and lived with it for eight years, adding that she knows what a health care crisis can do to a family.

"I've taken that with me all my life," she said. "Worked on health care issues in the Legislature and some of that work is saving lives, reducing costs and increasing access. I want to continue working on that in Congress and that's what Montanans are telling me this is especially important to them."

The pandemic has shone a bright light on the health care system and the difficulty of people finding opportunities to feed their families, putting a roof over their head, having good jobs and the ability to craft and pursue their American dreams, she said.

She is all about trying to get the economy back on track and figure out how the nation comes back better on the other side of this challenge, she said.

"I did the same when I was first elected into the Legislature. It was right as we're coming out of the Great Recession, and I got to work right away," Williams said. "Working to grow, diversify our economy and create opportunities. Just one of my bills created over 200 businesses and over 3,000 new Montana products in just three years."

She said she is ready to hit the ground running in Congress because the state is going to need champions, and going to need people who are creative that can get things done for the economy and for the businesses as well as for workers.

The other thing she is hearing from Montanans, she said, is about outdoor heritage, clean air and water, public lands both access and management, and responding to climate change.

She said another thing she has on her plate when stepping into office is equal pay for women and people of color.

A photo of Green Party candidate John Gibney was not available.