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In the News:Kaufmann true progressive
4/25/08
Christine Kaufmann clearly has the leadership and experience to remain the state senator of District 41.Supports Kaufmann
04/23/08
I’m supporting Christine Kaufmann for the Montana Senate because she says what she believes in and stands up for those values in the Legislature.Vote for Kaufmann
04/21/08
Not very often do voters get a chance to vote for a courageous, progressive leader, but voters in SD 41 will be that lucky this coming June 3rd.School group: $260M more needed
04/18/08
The state should increase its share of public-school funding by $260 million a year, phased in over time, if it wants to adequately finance a quality education for Montana kids, an education official told lawmakers Thursday.Kaufmann files for re-election
02/02/08
A stout human-rights activist and longtime Helena legislator has filed for the chance to once again represent the Queen City on the state Senate floor.
Sen. Kaufmann Files for Senate District 41
01/18/08
Senator Christine Kaufmann has filed to run for the seat she currently holds representing central and west Helena. Kaufmann served the 2007 legislative session in the Senate following her appointment to the seat vacated when former Senator Ken Toole won his bid for Public Service Commissioner.MLK day brings race issues into spotlight
01/20/08
As the Missoulian news staff gathered to plan coverage of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we bumped into an uncomfortable fact.Your Turn: Remembering Martin Luther King’s lesson
01/20/08
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.Hate-crime rally in Missoula
11/26/07
Two recent instances of alleged anti-gay violence in Missoula have given three dozen local organizations incentive to hold a community rally aimed at promoting tolerance and awareness.Fixing what ails American healthcare
10/28/07
Potential fixes for the nation’s ailing health-care system will get a full airing in Helena next week, as more than 200 people gather for a forum that features reformers from across the country.Talk addresses lobbyists, corporate accountability
10/08/07
Corporations wield enormous influence with the Montana Legislature, and citizens need to pay particular attention to whom they elect if they want their interests represented, members of a panel discussion said Monday.No clear solution for coverage
08/07/07
For the 7,500 people who get health coverage under the “health trust’’ sponsored by the Montana Contractors Association, things couldn’t be simpler.Immigrants are people, too
07/01/07
As we approach the July 4th holiday, it’s appropriate to consider the question “Who is an American?”Eminent domain limit in place
05/22/07
We commend sponsor Sen. Christine Kaufmann, a Democrat, and strong supporter Sen. Dave Lewis, a Republican, for their work on a bill that should ensure that at least one sort of stealthy anti-government measure won’t make the ballot again.Law limits eminent domain
05/18/07
Gov. Brian Schweitzer signed a bill Thursday that aims to limit the eminent domain power of government in Montana.CHIP expansion on House floor
04/26/07
The bill expanding the Children’s Health Insurance Plan in Montana to cover at least 2,000 additional kids finally made it to the House floor Wednesday, setting up a vote this week on whether to approve it.Illegal-immigration bills all but dead
04/23/07
Efforts to target Montana companies that employ unlawful immigrants are all but dead this legislative session, and one Republican legislator says some members of his own party who ‘‘sold out’’ to business groups are partly to blame.Panel stuffs tax measure with 14 bills
04/17/07
Over Republican protests, the Senate Taxation Committee on Monday crammed 115 pages of amendments, including 14 different tax bills, into a single measure that would offer tax relief to Montana individuals and businesses.Senate votes to expand CHIP; outcome unclear
04/13/07
The state Senate on Thursday voted to expand the Children’s Health Insurance Plan in Montana, as supporters said there is enough money to cover thousands more children from low- and moderate-income working families.Sponsor wants to revise tax credit bill
04/10/07
The sponsor of a bill offering a tax credit to Montanans who buy their own individual health insurance said Monday he’d like to amend it so the credit applies only to low- and middle-income families.Senate kills gambling tax bill that would fund kid health care
04/03/07
The Senate effectively killed a bill Monday to raise gambling taxes to provide health care coverage for all children, but it may not be the end of the issue.Senate endorses bill to lower coal tax
04/01/07
A reduction in the state coal tax drew support of the Montana Senate on a 25-24 vote Saturday.Senator wants to raise gambling taxes for health insurance for kids
03/31/07 Helena Independent Record
Montana could afford to extend health care to all children if the Legislature would raise the tax on certain video poker and keno gambling machines, a Helena lawmaker said Friday.Beer industry criticizes higher tax
03/24/07 Helena Independent Record
Anheuser-Busch Cos. joined retailers and distributors from around Montana Friday in opposing a bill to more than double the state excise tax on beer produced by large breweries.Local delegates review session
03/04/07
While wrangling over the budget has hogged the spotlight at the Capitol, lots of bills of special importance to Helena — and the several thousand state workers who live here — advanced through the Legislature during the first 45 days of the session.State-funded birth control faces final Senate vote
02/28/07
The Senate endorsed a bill Tuesday that would allow a state-funded health insurance program to buy birth control for children.The cost of care
02/27/07
Dr. Rocky White considers himself an unlikely proponent of universal health care.Cross-county annexation measure still alive
02/24/07
The Senate Local Government Committee late Thursday tabled two competing zoning bills sponsored by local lawmakers and approved a controversial bill addressing cross-county annexations.Panel approves lifting CHIP birth control ban
02/24/07
A Senate panel Friday endorsed lifting the ban on using the State Children’s Health Insurance Program to pay for birth control.Kaufmann: All residents should have a say in zoning rules
02/21/07 Helena Independent Record
The debate over Lewis and Clark County zoning regulations again found its way to the Capitol on Tuesday, and folks on all sides of the issue again said the discussion has consequences for all of Montana.Cell phone bans failing to take hold this session
02/21/07 Helena Independent Record
People who like to talk on their cell phones while driving can take heart: The Montana Legislature looks unlikely to place any restrictions on them during the 2007 session.Kaufmann: All residents should have a say in zoning rules
02/21/07 Helena Independent Record
The debate over Lewis and Clark County zoning regulations again found its way to the Capitol on Tuesday, and folks on all sides of the issue again said the discussion has consequences for all of Montana.Lawmaker pitches tax credit to help state’s working poor
02/08/07 Helena Independent Record
The federal earned-income-tax credit has been one of the best anti-poverty programs Congress has ever passed, and it’s time for the Montana Legislature to enact its own tax credit to help the working poor, a Helena legislator said Wednesday.Advocates revive legislation outlawing gay discrimination
02/03/07
Gay rights advocates, whose efforts to enact a law that would outlaw discrimination against gays and lesbians failed two years ago, are reviving the issue.Helena legislator introduces bill outlawing bias against gays
Associated Press Writer
Gay rights advocates, whose efforts to enact a law that would outlaw discrimination against gays and lesbians failed two years ago, are reviving the issue.Bills take aim at insurance coverage for cancer patients
01/31/07
Billings doctor James Burke was treating a 50-year-old man with incurable skin cancer.Senate endorses restrictions on funeral demonstrations
01/25/07 Helena Independent Record
The Senate endorsed legislation Wednesday that would make it a crime to demonstrate near a funeral or memorial service despite concerns it violates free speech and assembly rights.Gallik: Pay plan will set the tone
01/01/07
How quickly and cooperatively a closely divided Legislature deals with the state worker pay plan for the coming two years will go a long way toward setting the tone for the upcoming session, in the view of one Helena lawmaker.Area legislators look ahead to issues of local impact
12/31/06 Helena Independent Record
Helena-area legislators have been talking about their solutions to some of the state's big-ticket issues, such as education funding, tax rebates, health care, state pension funding and energy development, since they filed for election.Christine Kaufmann to take Toole's Senate seat
12/19/06 Great Falls Tribune
The Lewis and Clark County Commissioners appointed state Rep. Christine Kaufmann of Helena to take Ken Toole’s seat in the state Senate Tuesday.
Marriage issue is focus of gay rally
6/13/04 Helena Independent Record
MISSOULA (AP) — Same-sex marriage was Saturday's rallying cry as at least 200 people gathered for this year's gay and lesbian Montana Pride Celebration.State drops plans to revamp funding of wildfire fighting
3/10/04 Helena Independent Record:
HELENA - The Martz administration has abandoned its effort to come up with a new way to pay for fighting wildfires, after a committee studying the issue was unable to agree on who should pay more.2/27/04 Helena Independent Record
Activists will wait for election
Supporters of same-sex marriage in Montana said they'll wait for the outcome of this year's election before deciding whether to introduce a marriage equality bill in the state legislature.Christine Kaufmann, D-Helena, said it's too early to predict whether such a bill would find its way into the next legislative session. More...
2/24/04 Helena Independent Record:
Kaufmann announces state House re-election campaignChristine Kaufmann is eager to hear from new voters she'll be asking to re-elect her to the Montana House of Representatives.
Kaufmann, a Democrat, is running for House District 81, which includes the downtown and Carroll College neighborhoods and was expanded into a sliver of the Helena Valley. She said she's already raised $5,000 to aid her in the legislative race. More...
2/24/04 Helena Independent Record:
Area Dems voice disapproval over Nader's campaignLocal Democrats on Monday echoed the national party's disappointment that Ralph Nader is again running for president, but most don't think the consumer advocate will steal too many votes from the eventual Democratic nominee. More...
2/02/04 Helena Independent Record:
Conservative coalition leaders joining up with national groupSeveral former board members of the Montana Family Coalition have left the conservative lobbying group to head a new Montana non-profit affiliated with the powerful national organization, Focus on the Family. More...
1/21/04 Helena Independent Record:
State responds to hate groups"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.'' The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., 1963.
On a day reserved to honor the civil and human rights of every American citizen, nearly 200 Carroll College students and Helenans gathered in the Carroll Campus Center late Monday night to learn more about hate groups in Montana. More...
1/08/04 Helena Independent Record:
DNRC ponders tax plans to cope with cost of fighting wildfiresA host of new taxes, as well as higher tax assessments on privately owned forest land, should be adopted so the state can meet the ever-escalating costs of fighting forest fires, a committee of the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation said recently. More...
12/18/03 Helena Independent Record:
Kaumann will seek re-electionRep. Christine Kaufmann will be seeking re-election in newly drawn House District 81, located in central Helena.
Kaufmann, a Democrat, served as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, which builds the budget for funding public services. She said she hopes to continue on that committee if re-elected and use her influence to make education and human services top priorities. More...
11/14/03 Helena Independent Record:
Returning the gift of radioBuy a politician, get a free lunch.
There will be several opportunities to do just that during the 16th annual Public Radio Auction to benefit the Last Chance Public Radio Association in Helena. More...
11/11/03 Helena Independent Record:
Extension agent takes heat for political bent of columnThe agricultural extension agent from Liberty County is accused of using his public office as a pulpit for politics, and his bosses at Montana State University-Bozeman say one of John Maatta's recent newspaper columns, which mentions both gardening tips and gay marriage, goes too far. More...
10/7/03 Helena Independent Record:
Kaufmann, Toole share top honorKen Toole and Christine Kaufmann, co-directors of the Montana Human Rights Network and legislators from Helena, are winners of a 2003 Leadership for a Changing World Award. More...
05/9/03 Helena Independent Record:
Helena legislators give bad marks to sessionPerhaps not surprisingly, the heavily Democratic Helena area legislative delegation didn't have much good to say about the recently concluded session.
In an 80-minute roundtable with the IR's editorial board, the area's six Democratic legislators and Republican Dave Lewis offered their thoughts on what was - and wasn't - accomplished over the 90-day session, with special attention on the plight of Helena's 6,000 state employees. More...
04/27/03 Helena Independent Record:
Helena comes up short at sessionThings could have turned out better on Capitol Hill for Montana's Capital City, lawmakers said as the 2003 legislative session wrapped up Saturday.
"We got screwed,'' said freshman Rep. Jill Cohenour, D-East Helena. More...
04/27/03 Helena Independent Record:
Budget falls $105M shortThe next state budget was finally balanced Saturday when lawmakers agreed to roll back state agencies another $7.4 million over fiscal 2004 and 2005. More...
04/16/03 Helena Independent Record:
Kaufmann tobacco plan scuttledThe Senate Finance Committee killed a bill Tuesday that would have retained voter-approved funding levels for statewide tobacco prevention programs. More...
04/15/03 Helena Independent Record:
Future of SB407 still in doubt after approval by 51-49 marginIt took three separate votes Monday after some marathon debates and a voter tally board left open extra long for one lawmaker to switch his vote for the House to finally pass what may be the lone surviving major revenue bill by a 51-49 margin. More...
04/4/03 Helena Independent Record:
Abortion measure failsA bill that would ask voters to decide if Montana should declare a compelling state interest in fetuses fell 21 votes short of passing in a preliminary vote in the House on Thursday. More...
03/29/03 Helena Independent Record:
Tobacco prevention program funding OK'd by HouseMost members of the House agreed Friday to fund tobacco prevention programs that 65 percent of Montana voters approved in November. House Bill 756, sponsored by Rep. Christine Kaufmann, D-Helena, implements Initiative 146 as voters approved it at the polls. More...
03/23/03 Helena Independent Record:
Tobacco prevention funding may come at services' expenseThe chairman of the House Appropriations Committee told tobacco prevention activists Tuesday that he'll try to grant their wish for $9.3 million for prevention programs. But he warned them to be careful what they wish for. More...
03/23/03 Helena Independent Record:
Church group meets to advocate for the state's poor and vulnerableThe lyrics, "Someone's crying, Lord," from the song, "Kum Ba Yah" echoed through the Capitol rotunda Friday as leaders of Montana's churches assembled to ask lawmakers to protect the state's poor, vulnerable and voiceless. More...
03/21/03 Helena Independent Record:
Capitol site of protests, arrestsHolding white balloons, 300 anti-war protestors gathered on the south lawn of the Montana State Capitol on Thursday, little more than 17 hours after the opening volley of a second war with Iraq. More...
03/20/03 Helena Independent Record:
HCT funding bill stays alive
No opposition surfaced Tuesday in a House Appropriations Committee hearing on a bill that would authorize funding for a new building for the University of Montana-Helena College of Technology. More...
03/16/03 Helena Independent Record:
HB2 offers relief for human services, but some lawmakers say education pays too high a price
Class sizes will grow. Advanced placement courses will be eliminated. Special education classes will be scaled back and teachers educated in Montana will continue to flee for better-paying jobs across state lines.
At least that's what education advocates believe will happen if K-12 funding loses $10 more million to the Department of Public Health and Human Services in fiscal 2004 and 2005. More...
03/13/03 Helena Independent Record:
House Dems rip GOP rep for tactics on University system funding amendment
Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee called for an apology Wednesday from a Republican lawmaker who they said "deceived" them into voting for a motion that attempts to eliminate the environmental studies program at the University of Montana.
Rep. John Witt, R-Carter, sponsored an amendment to House Bill 2 Monday that diverts $600,000 from the university budget to fund grants for students and the dental hygiene program at the College of Technology in Great Falls. The amendment called for another $200,000 for the Montana Library Commission. More...
02/27/03 Helena Independent Record:
Bill to abolish death penalty defeated
Lawmakers on Wednesday defeated a bill to abolish Montana's death penalty. The bill received nine more "yes" votes than a similar bill did last session.
Proponents and opponents across party lines pleaded with their colleagues to "vote your hearts" on House Bill 529, sponsored by Rep. Christine Kaufmann, D-Helena. The bill failed, 55-45.
"I probably cannot imagine the grief and the rage that victims' families feel," Kaufmann said. "But I ask myself again, ‘Is it the role of the state to carry out that rage, that revenge in the name of those families and in the name of all of us with our tax dollars?'" More...
02/21/03 Helena Independent Record:
Under penalty of death
Marietta Lane of Three Forks said she long ago put behind her any notion of revenge against the man who kidnapped, raped and dismembered her 7-year-old daughter three decades ago.
An opponent of the death penalty, she told the House Judiciary Committee that executions should be outlawed as "premeditated, barbaric, state-sanctioned killing."
"Every time we use it, we become what we deplore — people who kill people," Lane said Thursday. More...
02/19/03 Helena Independent Record:
Tabled
A bill that would require health insurance companies to pay for prescription contraception for women was tabled Monday.
Rep. Christine Kaufmann, D-Helena, sponsored House Bill 526. She said mandating insurance companies to pay for prescription contraception is a matter of gender equity.
Opponents of the bill said that the mandate would increase the cost of health care for everyone and would have forced employers with religious objections, such as Catholic hospitals, to offer contraception coverage to their employees.
02/13/03 Helena Independent Record:
Religious groups, insurance firms rip birth control bill
Rep. Christine Kaufmann, D-Helena, called on lawmakers Wednesday to require health insurance companies that offer prescription drug coverage to cover prescription contraceptives for women.
House Bill 526 would ensure women equality under the law, Kaufmann said. Churches opposed to contraception would be exempt from the mandate. More...
02/12/03 Helena Independent Record:
We want it to feel like it's one campus'
Every time he has to change classes, student Senate President Joe Clark travels between the University of Montana-Helena College of Technology's Poplar campus, out by the airport, and the Donaldson campus, located near Helena High School. More...
01/17/03 Helena Independent Record:
Citizens rally against war on Iraq
Anti-war demonstrators rallied Thursday on the south lawn of the Capitol, urging state lawmakers to consider the cost a U.S. war in Iraq would take on Montana's economy.
Calling war a coward's escape from the problems of peace, nearly 175 demonstrators braved the frosty air, hoisting signs and cheering speakers who included state House and Senate Democrats from Missoula and Helena, a Buddhist monk, and a professor from Carroll College. More...
12/28/02 Helena Independent Record:
Kaufmann: More at ease with second session
Democratic Representative Christine Kaufmann, whose 53rd legislative district covers much of central and south-central Helena, expects to be busier this spring as she enters her second term in office. More...
12/07/02 Helena Independent Record:
Russian group to study federalism, democracy here
A who’s who of Helena and state government will play host next week to a delegation of five Russian visitors during their study of federalism in Montana. More...
11/06/2002 Helena Independent Record:
House District 53
Incumbent Democrat Christine Kaufmann emerged as the winner over Republican Bob Robinson by 2,097 votes to 1,175 votes.
Kaufmann is co-director of the Montana Human Rights Network. During her campaign, she said she favors increasing revenues to fund services for low-income seniors and children, as opposed to cutting more state programs. Those may include increasing taxes on cigarettes, gambling and alcohol sales, or possibly a sales tax geared toward out-of-state visitors.
11/06/2002 Helena Independent Record:
Local legislative races
Cooney, Kaufmann take big leads. More...
11/03/2002 Helena Independent Record:
Letter to the Editor:
Against Kaufmann
Christine Kaufmann's extremism threatens Montana families, tradition and posterity. In her pre-legislative days, Christine lobbied for the extreme left wing Montana Human Rights Network on homosexual issues and continues to co-direct the organization.
Fact: Traditional family values built the foundation that makes Montana prosperous and successful, and these values establish order, consistency, security and morality. Legalization of homosexuality will eradicate "family" by defining it by sexual deviancy. Two men, two women, master/slave and cross dresser/transgender to name a few. Study after study confirms that homosexuality is not a genetic condition. Consequently, thousands of homosexuals have woalked out the lifestyle after working through tough issues. The legislature is not the arena for homosexual issues, these need to be resolved on a personal level.
In addition, Kaufmann's extreme proclamation to demilitarize after 9-11 in order to fund the Department of Peace, and her extreme stance on government regulation of corporations and environmental preservation has marginalized her as ineffective at the legislature.
--Jenny Dodge
--Julie Millam
11/03/2002 Helena Independent Record:
Letter to the Editor:
Re-elect Kaufmann
Christine Kaufman has been a bright, articulate and compassionate advocate of working families, people in need, and the environment while serving in the Montana legislature. She is committed to fairness and justice, and courageously works for these values for people of her district and throughout Montana. While her Republican opponent has done good fundraising for Carroll College sports, other members of the Carroll family dedicated to Christian values of justice, equality of opportunity and care for creation look also at the broader picture. We worry about the Judy Martz-Republican Party agenda that keeps Montana wages low and harms Montana seniors. With a 0 million deficit looming in the next legislative session, the Martz party seems dedicated to the tired old Republican agenda of cut and hurt: cut taxes on the wealthy and their corporations, and hurt workers and their families. This "Robin Hood in reverse" philosophy contrasts sharply with a fair policy: tax the affluent and spend on community needs. If you value your family, if you want to meet family needs and promote jobs, if you want a legislator who will represent all people without exclusion, vote for a Democrat: re-elect Christine Kaufman.
--John Hart
11/01/2002 Helena Independent Record:
Letter to the Editor:
Re-elect Kaufmann
Getting Christine Kaufmann re-elected is one of the best things that can happen concerning the next session of the Legislature. She is one of the finest, most progressive and courageous representatives that Helena has had in the Montana State Legislature.
Please vote for Christine Kaufmann in House District 53 to assure that she will, as she has in the past, bring intelligent, compassionate, well-researched, practical and progressive perspectives to bear on the economic and social justice issues that have emerged in the face of the tremendous deficits in the state budget that are predicted. With Christine Kaufmann back in the Legislature, we will have a voice that will work to shape policies and a budget that will help create alternatives to the failed, ineffective actions and inaction of the current governor and her administration.
--Frank Kromkowski
11/01/2002 Helena Independent Record:
Letter to the Editor:
Support Kaufmann
The State Representative race between the incumbent, Christine Kaufmann and the challenger, Bob Robinson, is study in contrast. The recent letters to the editor, suggesting that Bob Robinson is a moderate Republican, a thinker and anything but the party-line soldier that he is, has really troubled me.
I worked at the Montana Department if Health and Environmental Sciences (now the Montana Department of Environmental Quality) when Bob was appointed director by Marc Racicot. I was in charge of the water programs enforcement functions of the agency, when Bob became director.
Our experience with Bob as director, was that he rarely could make a decision, leaving issue after issue hanging for months and even years, most unresolved when he was replaced and assigned to the Racicot administration governor's office.
Bob Robinson is not a centrist, a moderate or a thinker. He's political soldier, at best, and that's how he'll perform in the legislature.
My vote is for continuing representation of a proven, hard working representative, Christine Kaufmann.
--Kevin Keenan