Can't please everyone as a legislator

Our first 45 days of the 66th legislative session have ended. We are in the transmittal break and catching up on emails and U.S. mail. I am going to change up my weekly report a bit.

As legislators, we are scored on all of our votes. Some scores come from the parties and others come from unions, groups, PACs, or whomever wants to give us a grade, A to F. In the past, I have not looked at that and still do not. Historically, I have not voted straight line party on all votes. I see polarized partisan debates that attract media and the public attention. Many of these issues are hyped by an individual wanting attention for an agenda they or a constituent are pushing. For the most part, the senator or representative knows full well this type of bill will not go anywhere. Looking at my Senate District 14, with the four counties I represent, no way can I vote to make everyone happy. As diverse as this state is, it is even tougher to balance votes. When I took my oath of office, I promised to uphold the Constitution of the State of Montana, which is always forefront. Then, I have and will continue to vote my conscience and to represent the voice of you, my constituents.

I’ll give a couple examples of divisive bills for District 14. There have been bills that deal with county taxes on older house trailers worth less than $10,000. It seems a couple of the counties in my district were in favor of the bill and the others could see no advantage. Hospitals big and small are another issue, we have rural critical care facilities and full-blown hospitals that some bills treat one or the other adversely. In those cases, I only hope that the least amount of damage is done.

Back to the loyalty scorecards, I would hope my work is not judged entirely by those giving out grades for this or that. As always, I welcome you to contact me if there is an issue or bill you would like to discuss. Again, be careful and stay safe in this winter weather.

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Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester, can be emailed at russ.tempel @mtleg.gov/.