Martinsdale, MT 2018/03/12
Kathryn G.H. Nicholes is a legislative candidate for Meagher and Wheatland*
Longtime Meagher County homeowner Kathryn G.H. Nicholes is the Libertarian candidate to be District 30's representative to the Montana House.
In the 1980s, her interest in organizing for efficiency led her to write one of the first small business office computer programs. She helped many people who had never before used a keyboard appreciate how much a computers can do.
Kathryn has been a home school parent, substitute teacher, and 4-H leader. She currently serves in the leaders' group of an online Unitarian Universalist congregation. Kathryn is a partner in two small businesses - Concise Logic provides computer services, and Volectar makes special electric guitars. She has produced a music video, and she wrote her campaign website, kghn4mt.com.
Kathryn has been frustrated that topics important to her have not been well addressed by candidates. Like most Libertarians, she wants the minimum restrictions placed on individual freedom and privacy that are compatible with a healthy society and orderly marketplace.
When encouraged to run, she took hold of the opportunity to work toward ending the drug war, addressing justice and health issues, renewing our transportation infrastructure, and building a system of sustainable energy sources. Kathryn G.H. Nicholes says that the planning we do now to modernize our laws and economy will mold our children's lives for decades to come.
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*Montana House District 30 includes Meagher, Wheatland, Golden Valley, and Judith Basin counties, plus the east edge of Cascade County, and the west edge of Fergus County.
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2018/04/19 and
2018/05/24.
Meagher County News,
Harlowton Times-Clarion,
Judith Basin Press.
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Martinsdale, MT 2018/05/20
Kathryn G.H. Nicholes attended the Montana Libertarian convention
Montana House district 30's Libertarian candidate Kathryn G.H. Nicholes participated in the 2018 Montana state Libertarian convention in Butte on May 19th. Voting as a representative at large, she helped revise the Montana Libertarian state party platform.
Candidate Nicholes and the other convention delegates elected Dr. Roger Roots, currently running for Clerk of the Montana Supreme Court, to be the Montana Representative to the National Libertarian Party Platform Committee this year.
Candidate Nicholes also attended informative talks, including a history of conscientious acquittal (jury nullification) by Kirsten Tynan (fija.org), and a lecture about non-regulatory free market strategies for protection of our environment, given by Holly Fretwell, former MSU economics professor and current director of outreach for the Property and Environmental Research Center (PERC.org).
The event was crowned with a talk by Nebraska's district 32 state Senator Laura Ebke, a Libertarian member of the Nebraska legislature.
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2018/06/28 -
Meagher County News,
Harlowton Times-Clarion,
Judith Basin Press.
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2018/07/18 -
Lewistown News-Argus.
2018/07/19 -
Meagher County News,
Harlowton Times-Clarion,
Judith Basin Press.
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2018/08/29 -
Lewistown News-Argus.
2018/08/30 -
Meagher County News,
Harlowton Times-Clarion,
Judith Basin Press.
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2018/09/19 -
Lewistown News-Argus.
2018/09/20 -
Meagher County News,
Harlowton Times-Clarion,
Judith Basin Press.
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2018/10/10 -
Lewistown News-Argus.
2018/10/11 -
Meagher County News,
Harlowton Times-Clarion,
Judith Basin Press.
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The Billings Gazette asked Kathryn G.H. Nicholes some good questions
Martinsdale, MT 2018/10/19
The Billings Gazette published their Voter Guide November 2018 on October 12th. Local candidate Kathryn G.H. Nicholes answered the five questions and was included - read it here:
Kathryn G.H. Nicholes - Libertarian
Age: 61
Occupation: Self-employed, computer services (software, hardware, websites) as Concise Logic since 1983; also making Volectar electric guitars since 2010.
Family: Father is a retired Physics professor, mother is a retired reference librarian, two siblings. Married since 1984, two grown children.
Education; B.A. Philosophy from Michigan State University
Past Employment: artist, house renovator, Computer Sciences Corporation optimization programmer, business owner/manager/bookkeeper, computer services, mother, supply manager and dietician, home-school teacher, 2010 census worker, medical advocate
Past political experience: President of the Philosophy Club (senior year college), member of Leaders' Group of First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Second Life 2016-present
Online campaign info: facebook.com/kghn4MT2018
Website: https://kghn4mt.com
Email: Kathryn-G-H-Nicholes@kghn4mt.com
Address: In the district at 10 Jawbone Rd, Martinsdale MT 59053
Phone: 406-572-3323
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Q1: Should the 2019 Legislature address gun violence? Please explain your position on a proposal you feel most strongly about, either for or against.
A: Gun threats and tragedies have received attention far out of proportion to their prevalence. I find our current gun regulations tolerable. I feel strongly that trying to restrict 3-D printer files of gun components would result in either the evil of government surveillance over-intrusion, or the evil of unusual and irregular enforcement.
The 2019 legislature can have more positive and practical impact by addressing any of these issues: health care access, mental health care including residential rehabilitation programs longer than 30 days, better temporary living shelters, job education and search support programs, and road safety infrastructure improvements.
Q2: What budget changes should the 2019 Legislature make to align revenue with spending? Would you raise taxes? Cut public services? Please be specific.
A: Addressing budget funding, I support legalizing growth and use of medical marijuana and adult recreational cannabis. I support development of industrial hemp farming in our suitable climate. I support both bulk export, and made in Montana processing - for food, biofuel, textiles and construction materials.
Like alcohol and tobacco products, we can directly "sin tax" retail recreational cannabis sales. Our business tax base will expand if we grow, process, and sell legal industrial hemp. Workers in those new businesses would pay state income tax. This policy would add to the state's tax base, raising revenue without raising rates.
Q3: What would you do to secure funding for the infrastructure needs of Montana? Where would that funding come from?
A: Economic growth is key to sustainable infrastructure funding. Austerity and high taxes to prevent debt are a losing strategy. I prefer loans and judicious tax increases. Letting human and infrastructure resources deteriorate hurts our future.
Montana should have a state bank safeguarding the pensions of state employees, and potentially making fair loans for state projects. North Dakota's state bank protected that state's economy during the banking crisis, giving valuable stability.
Montana's electricity industry is significant. We export about half of our generated electricity. Enabling local ownership of grid-connected, distributed electrical generation will attract private investment for growth.
Q4: Funding for Montana's Medicaid expansion program extended healthcare coverage to 91,000 working Montanans earning up to $16,600 a year. The program is set to expire in June 2019. Already there's a ballot initiative to keep the program funded using tobacco taxes. Do you support continuing Medicaid expansion? Please explain your position. If you support continuing the program, how would you fund it?
A: Expanded Medicaid protects human resources. We should reduce Montana's expanded Medicaid expense by changing the ACA income cutoff.
Expanded Medicaid for ages 55-65 is NOT insurance, it's a long-term loan of the individual's medical bills, due at death. It doesn't spread the financial risk of illness or protect aging adults' assets.
We should let people 55+ use the Healthcare Marketplace, and receive the Federal subsidy, even if those subscribers expect income less than 133% of poverty line. This would allow many at medically higher risk to withdraw from the state's Medicaid responsibility, and buy subsidized actual insurance.
Q5: Name an issue important to your district and explain what you will do to address it.
A: The issue of right-to-repair affects farmers, ranchers, and rural residents disproportionately. It's not fair to let manufacturers force owners to use distant authorized repair centers, or to abandon repairable machinery the company chooses to no longer support. The ingenuity and skill of farm mechanics contribute to the profitability of our agricultural sector. I assert that owners should not be legally prevented from exploring and modifying machines they have purchased, including examining proprietary software. Our state legislature should make a formal request for alteration of Federal intellectual property regulations regarding end-user restrictions.
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Thanks for your interest. - Kathryn G.H. Nicholes, 21 October 2018
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