McKenzie County Farmer - Latest News

Steve Hallstrom
Chris Larson
Special to The Farmer

The final debate between Congressman Kelly Armstrong and Lieutenant Governor Tammy Miller, who are facing off for the Republican nomination for Governor, took place Friday, June 7, in Fargo. The McKenzie County Farmer, AM 1090 The Flag (Tioga/Watford City), and AM 970 WDAY (Fargo) hosted the debate. Steve Hallstrom and Scott Hennen served as moderators for the debate.
The two candidates shared their views on the state and what they would do if elected to the office of Governor.
Unfair Tactics
The candidates were asked about the campaign trail and strong accusations and sharp attack ads. Miller called out Armstrong.
“Kelly started negative ads almost immediately after I announced my run on February 15,” Miller said. “And a lot of his ads have said that I am a liar. And it is really offensive to hear those ads.”
She said a liar would not be asked to serve as Lieutenant Governor.
Armstrong countered her comments, saying he was most disappointed with Miller’s claim that he “blew a hole” in North Dakota’s budget.
“As somebody who served in the legislature for six years, that’s a little concerning to me,” he said. “Every time we leave the legislative session, by law, we have to balance the budget.”
Armstrong said the budget was ‘blown up’ because of an analysis by Moody’s in the oil industry.
Conception
Both candidates were asked about their views on life beginning at conception, and whether or not they would support any exceptions in regard to abortion.
Both Miller and Armstrong agreed that life begins at conception.
“Every single thing we do about abortion policy should be to make sure we have less abortions tomorrow than we did yesterday,” Armstrong said.
Miller said her faith grounds her stance.
Both agree with exceptions.
“I’m okay with exceptions for life of the mother rape and incest because I think that’s where the North Dakota population is,” Armstrong said. “And I think that gets us in a position to have less abortions tomorrow than we did yesterday.”
Miller touted the state’s newest legislation when talking about exceptions.
“We do have a new abortion ban in the state of North Dakota that has very narrow exceptions and I completely agree and support those exceptions,” she said.
Legacy Fund
North Dakota’s Legacy Fund currently has a balance of approximately $10.55 billion. Five percent interest means the fund would theoretically generate about $530 million a year of spendable income for the state of North Dakota. Both candidates were asked how that money should be spent.
“I think we can use it for tax relief, and if we don’t use it for tax relief, we should be investing in long-term investments in the state of North Dakota that will be lasting and make a difference,” Miller said.
Armstrong said, whatever is being done, North Dakota residents need to know what the funds are used for.
“It’s the 21st Century,” he said. “The transparency of how that money goes is going to be really important.”
He said he feels the money should not be invested in anything that is competing with existing businesses.
“The last thing in the world you want to do is, being a private business that has somebody who’s in the same business as you are getting state dollars across the street, dealing with those types of issues,” Armstrong said. “So being able to invest it and making sure you can show the North Dakota citizens the value of it becomes really, really important.”
Federal Regulations, Rules and North Dakota Impacts
Armstrong said North Dakota is unique, with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) primacy with carbon capture.
He said the state could join litigation with other states, but sometimes it might not work.
“Joining with other states, combining resources, (can be appropriate) because it doesn’t matter if you’re in Wyoming, Montana, or North Dakota, when you have an EPA clean air emission, it affects all of us,” Armstrong said. “It just sometimes affects North Dakota a little differently. I think more importantly, we have to really, really work to injunctive relief.”
Miller said the answer is to get Donald Trump reelected.
“We see every day the regulations that are being pushed down from the Biden administration. Our teams are spending a lot of time pushing back to impact to see the impact on the state of North Dakota, how it’s killing our fossil fuels and agricultural industries,” she said. “And we absolutely will need to increase that budget if we don’t have a change in the White House.”
Summit Carbon Solutions
and Carbon Capture
A pair of hot topics across the state is the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline and carbon capture. Both candidates were asked if they support the projects.
“There is a demand for low carbon products,” Miller said. “This is a good opportunity for energy and agriculture in the state of North Dakota.”
Miller said her business leadership allows her to see supply and demand.
She disagrees with the approach with eminent domain.
“I firmly believe in private property rights. They should not be compromised for this capital opportunity,” Miller said. “We need to protect private property rights and would not support eminent domain to get a pipeline done.”
Armstrong supports all pipelines – saying it is “the safest way to transport anything.”
“I will vote against the repower provision and the production tax credit for renewable energy,” he said. “The problem is it’s going to get 218 votes in the House and 60 votes in the Senate.”
Advocating for Mental Health
A lot of discussion, in the state, surrounds mental health. There may not be an abundance of ‘concrete plans’ to help address the problem, but both candidates had ideas to address the issues.
Armstrong said telehealth needs to be expanded.
“We have to deliver these services with the services we have, not the services we wish we had,” he said. “And what I mean by that is they’re not enough people going to college right now to fill the open mental health addiction counseling, school counseling positions that exist in the entire country.”
Miller said challenges with mental health are being seen statewide, but especially within the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
“We have lots of addiction and mental health that are improperly dealt with in corrections versus in private facilities. I really believe that, first off, we need to look at licensure. I know of several people who are working in our state who need to work under supervision,” she said. “They have 20 plus years of experience and need to work under supervision to get a license in North Dakota to practice.”
Miller also said there needs to be universal licensure, which would address workforce challenges.
Covid Response
The candidates were asked if Governor Doug Burgum’s approach during COVID was too heavy handed, too light, or about right. Miller, as Lieutenant Governor, was a key part of the governor’s response team, saying that just five days after being named to her position she was embedded with the National Guard working on the COVID mission.
“We did our best to respond to the COVID pandemic,” said Miller, noting that every week the Burgum administration was on the phone getting perspective from Donald Trump’s White House. “It was a 100-year pandemic, and no one gave us a playbook. We had many, many citizens of North Dakota coming to the governor’s office asking for advice and asking us what to do. I think we had a real light touch of government. Some of our business closures and school closures were some of the shortest in the country, especially when we closed off high school athletics. That was extremely short because we heard from so many parents and community members about how important that was for the students and the community. In hindsight, in looking at the prosperity of our state compared to many others, I would say it was just the right amount.”
Armstrong said it would be the easiest pot shot to take, but he wouldn’t.
“The reason is, we didn’t know what was going on, particularly at the beginning of COVID, we didn’t know what was going on.”
He pointed out the varying responses to COVID in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, saying that Minnesota was “draconian”, South Dakota was hands off, North Dakota under Governor Burgum tried to play the numbers and did it in a very thoughtful way, and in the end infection numbers were very similar.
“When you’re a small-town business owner and you’re not allowed to have your business open, but you can go to WalMart or Target, we really created an animosity and lost faith in our institutions and our government. And I’m not blaming anyone on the front end, but civil liberties only matter when they matter.”
When pressed on his specific answer on Burgum’s approach, he said, “Fine at the beginning, but too heavy at the end.”
Editors Note: Video recordings of the Governor’s debate and the U.S. House Debate can be found on www.am1090theflag.com. Full results of the primary elections will be posted online and on our social media accounts with full reporting in next week’s edition of the McKenzie County Farmer.