Youth Versus Experience in House District 1 – Flathead Beacon

Three-term Republican lawmaker Neil Duram is running for reelection to represent northern Lincoln County in state House District 1 –– a newly-drawn district that was formerly House District 2 before the state’s decennial redistricting process took place last year. Duram is facing a challenge from Dakota Adams, a 26 year-old who has gained notoriety as the son of Oath Keepers militia founder Stewart Rhodes.

During the 2023 legislative session, Duram carried three successful bills pertaining to emergency response and motor vehicle laws with bipartisan support through the Legislature. Previously, he also championed a bill that requires school buses in Montana to have an extended stop sign arm on any routes where students have to cross a street, which came after an elementary school student in Whitefish was struck by a car after getting off her bus.

“My skillset is public safety,” said Duram, a former Montana Highway Patrol trooper and current chief of the Eureka Police Department. “My whole lifetime has been about Montana Title 61, Title 45 and Title 46 codes. Those are the ones I know, and that’s where I bring experience to the capital.”

Montana Code Annotated (MCA) Titles 45, 46 and 61 are the laws pertaining to “Crimes,” “Criminal Proceedings,” and “Motor Vehicles,” respectively, areas that Duram has focused on during his three terms in office.

Among the bills Duram was unsuccessful in carrying through the House in 2023 was one that would have established an “election security team” to oversee a post-election hand count of all ballots cast in Montana. The bill prompted much debate among lawmakers and died in committee.

“Intense debate, that’s how we figure out what ideas are good and bad. We brainstorm about ideas in committee and on the floor and if they get batted down and don’t get the votes to move forward, then we know it’s not what we need to be doing,” Duram said.

If sent back to Helena for the 2025 session, Duram has several bills already top of mind. On property taxes, Duram said he hopes to make all tax levies approved by voters subject to reapproval after 10 years, similar to how the Legislature must reauthorize the 6-mill levy for the Montana University System every decade.

“I think 10 years strikes the balance point for predictability of local government to be able to plan their budgets,” he said. “Of course, the point that I think is missed when we talk about property taxes is that they fund local government. Maybe not necessarily your local government — Lincoln County gets more than we contribute — but it’s still vital to remember what property taxes pay for.”

Duram also suggested raising the threshold for voters to approve initiatives and local levies above 50%.

On public safety, Duram wants to add an automatic check to see if a person is on probation when law enforcement conducts a check on an individual or license plate. He said it will bring accountability to probation programs to ensure interactions with law enforcement are reported to probation officers.

In addition, Duram talked about a bill that passed in 2023 criminalizing the use of date rape drugs, which he tried unsuccessfully to amend to include giving someone any mind-altering substances without their consent.

“I couldn’t believe it wasn’t against the law to give someone a drug without their knowledge,” he said, adding that there are clear differences when talking about a medical setting. “It’s my position that if you’re giving someone a drug, you need their consent, including marijuana and alcohol. It’s my intention to bring that portion of the bill back.”

Duram ran unopposed in 2018 and 2022, and beat Democratic challenger Lori Ramesz by 60 percentage points in 2020.

A first-time candidate, Adams lives in Eureka, where he works in construction, takes classes at Flathead Valley Community College, and serves as a rural volunteer firefighter. He said he decided to run to make sure that there is a choice for voters on the ballot in a district that is often written off by the Democratic Party.

 “Coming up on this election, I’d been advocating for a while that more ordinary people should become involved in politics and sign up to run for something to fill out the ballot, whether they think they have a good shot or not,” Adams said. “Then I had to follow through, or else I would have been one more hypocritical voice on Twitter. I decided I was going to lean in and commit as hard as possible.”

Adams acknowledges that he is a long-shot candidate “running as a progressive Democrat in maybe the second most conservative county in Montana,” but has been surprised at the reception he’s received while campaigning.

“It’s struck me with how often starting a conversation with ‘I’m a down-ballot candidate here to talk about Montana issues, not anything national’ leads to better conversations,” he said. “I’m talking to them about how I’m applying for a job and explaining my positions on things, and overall people are so sick of politicians dodging uncomfortable questions that I think they’re interested in actually talking.”

Adams endorses the property tax reform policies put out by state Democrats earlier this year, emphasizing that this will be a primary focus for all lawmakers. He hopes property taxes will “be addressed immediately upon the opening of the next legislative session.”

There’s also the “crusade against civil rights” Adams said took place during the 2023 legislative session. He hopes to push back against bills restricting LGBTQ+ rights and abortion rights.

“I see so many politicians attacking our civil rights, but doing so under the cover of being ‘against the woke agenda,’” he said. “I’m somebody who’s suspicious of any government authority over people’s lives, any power of the state to determine how people live. I don’t have a blind eye to that, and I won’t let the state keep it up.”

Adams also wants to focus on bolstering local economies and supporting local manufacturing, a counter to northwest Montana’s reliance on recreation tourism.

“If we can support the broad spectrum of Montana small businesses and entrepreneurs, and remove the chokepoint that’s keeping upstart businesses form succeeding, I think local economies will be in a better place,” Adams said. “We should support places tied to local people who want to build their American dream.”

House District 1 comprises Eureka, Rexford, Troy and Trego.  View the district map here.

The general election is on Nov. 5. Absentee ballots are sent out Oct. 11. Read more about the candidates running for Legislature in the Flathead and Tobacco valleys here, and find out what legislative district you live in here. Check your voter registration here.

[email protected]