Two vie for Montana Senate District 14: Russ Tempel

Republican Incumbent Russ Tempel is looking to keep his seat in the Montana Senate for District 14, a position he's held for six years.

Tempel said he spent 18 years as a Liberty County Commissioner and that experience, coupled with his time in the Montana Senate has taught him a lot about government and he feels that experience is what qualifies him for the position.

"I want to continue to do good things for the community," he said.

Among the first things the 2023 Legislature looks slated to address is the current budget surplus, on which some legislative Republicans tried unsuccessfully to hold a special session, with many saying the money should go back to the taxpayers.

Tempel said he agrees that at least some should go back to taxpayers but he did oppose the special session, because he felt handling it that way would make it difficult for the public to voice their opinions on the matter and they should leave it for when regular session resumes.

He said there are other things they could use the surplus for, like paying down some bonds the state has, but those kinds of details would have to be hashed out when the session resumes.

Another issue that seems slated to be high on the priority list next year is abortion rights and reproductive health care.

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned earlier this year, Republicans across state legislatures have called for abortion bans, many of which have been implemented.

The Montana Supreme Court has long held that the right to an abortion is covered under the state constitution's privacy protections but many in the House and Senate have called for legislation to change that.

Tempel said he wouldn't voice support for any bill on abortion until it's been drafted, but he did say some are looking for a total ban without exceptions, which he disagrees with.

He said, whatever bill ends up being drafted, there should be exceptions for rape, incest and the safety of the mother, and he will push for that.

Another health care issue that has become a prominent issue for people in the state and the U.S. is access to gender-affirming care for trangender people.

Republicans across state legislatures have been pushing for more restrictions on certain health care procedures and public services for trans people.

Montana recently passed a law restricting people from having their gender on their birth certificate changed unless they had a "surgical procedure," a law that was recently struck down by the courts.

When asked what he thinks the state should be doing regarding trans people's right to and access to health care services, Tempel said he doesn't think the state should be assisting with such things.

He said he recently visited a jail where an inmate was receiving hormone therapy that was partially covered by the state and he will not support anything like that.

Tempel also talked about recent efforts by Republicans to change the way Montana Supreme Court justices are voted for, with many advocating that they be voted for district by district, instead of the whole state voting on all of them.

He said he didn't support these efforts and sees no reason to change the way things are.

However, he did criticize recent rulings from the courts regarding a trio of laws passed to address election security in the state.

The bills would have eliminated same-day registration, imposed new identification requirements on students and restricted third-party ballot collections, bills that were struck down by a judge earlier this week.

Tempel has said he believes Montana's elections are secure, but supported these bills as getting ahead of potential problems.

He accused the judge of "legislating from the bench" and said he was wrong to strike the laws down.

As for the subject of climate change, Tempel said he doesn't know if the state should be doing anything about it, or if responsibility should be taken by the people.

"It's obvious there's been some global warming, but we've been seeing global warming since the ice age, it's just something we have to deal with," he said.

Tempel also commented on the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which he said was probably as good as they could have done, given the information they had at the time, threading the needle between two extremes.

"Washington went plum berserk, Wyoming didn't do a thing, Montana was kind of in the middle," he said. "They did what they felt they had to do, and it was probably right at the time."

He said he also thinks the legislature could look into improving communications and relations between the state and public health, which dealt with a great deal of the pandemic.

Public health had its powers curtailed significantly in the last legislative session with bills voted for by the Republican majority.

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Age: 75

Secondary Education: Joplin High School

College Education: Certificate in Welding and Auto Mechanics, Associate Degree in Business (Northern Montana College)

Military Service: 2 years in U.S. Army

Previous Political Office: Liberty County Commissioner (18 years)