GRAND FORKS — A challenger for the District 18 Senate seat believes work must be done in the child care sector if North Dakota ever hopes to ease the state’s workforce shortage. The incumbent says the focus should be on enhancing tech centers and job-specific training in state university curriculums.
Republican Scott Meyer, the incumbent, faces a challenge from Kyle Thorson, a Democrat, in the Nov. 5 election. Both are from Grand Forks. District 18 includes parts of central and downtown Grand Forks, following I-29 northward to Manvel.
Thorson and Meyer outlined their plans and concerns in a questionnaire distributed to the candidates by the Grand Forks Herald.
In recent years, media reports and officeholders have outlined North Dakota’s difficulties with workforce, specifically the state’s numerous job openings. For instance, in a meeting in Grand Forks last month, U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong – the Republican candidate for governor – noted that the trend continues.
“I am the first candidate in my lifetime from either party that is not campaigning on jobs, jobs, jobs. That’s not where we’re at right now,” Armstrong said. “We have 15,000 to 30,000 open jobs in the state of North Dakota.”
So what to do about it?
Meyer believes it starts with an “all-the-above” approach.
“This begins with funding CTE centers for our youth, our colleges and universities focusing on programs that will graduate students to fill our multiple career openings, and marketing our state by showcasing what makes this state special,” he said. “In my career, I meet people from across the country and they quickly recognize the positive momentum of this state. We need to be better at telling our state’s story.”
Thorson’s approach would include increasing child care openings.
“Child care cost or availability challenges are one of the most commonly referenced barriers by parents debating about whether to take a job. Some progress was made last session, but the Legislature can do more. Investing in pre-kindergarten would be another option to solve both for some child care needs while creating a structured learning environment for kids to grow and thrive,” he said. “Lastly, the Legislature should stop pushing extreme laws in Bismarck and disenfranchising workers. With bills to ban books, writing new laws or amending existing laws to criminalize professionals like teachers and doctors, restrict reproductive healthcare, and multiple bills targeting LGBTQ people, Republican lawmakers have made it clear that some people are not welcome here in North Dakota. As we continue looking for ways to grow our economy, we need to focus on attracting and retaining a talented workforce not just with financial incentives, but also with quality of life. Extremism on either side of the aisle will do nothing for our image and keeping workers in North Dakota.”
In other portions of the questionnaire, both Meyer and Thorson further discussed workforce and their concerns about child care issues.
Below are their answers to other questions posed in a Grand Forks Herald questionnaire.
Occupation: Director of engagement, GrandSky.
Political affiliation: Republican.
Legislative or other elected office experience (years in office, if applicable): State senator, eight years.
Q: If elected, do you expect to introduce or sponsor legislation in the coming session? If so, please explain your plans.
I take the same approach of meeting with community and business leaders entering each legislative session when determining bills to sponsor, but as I’ve shifted into an appropriations role, I find myself working on funding needs more than policy needs. Some of these include the new Twining school (at Grand Forks Air Force Base) and funding necessary infrastructure projects in Grand Forks. I do plan to sponsor policy and as the civilian chairman of the Legislative Military Caucus, we’re currently vetting quality-of-life policy for our service members, veterans and their families.
Q: What is the state’s biggest legislative concern at the moment? What should be done about it?
Workforce is our state’s biggest legislative concern. The state currently has thousands of job openings, but we are needing more workforce to fill those positions. I believe an all-the-above approach is needed to help solve this issue, and this can be done by funding career and technical education, colleges & universities, continuing to pursue autonomy to fill company needs and addressing our state’s child care issues.
Q: Where do you stand on Measure 4, which would effectively end traditional property tax payments for North Dakota property owners? If it passes, where do you envision the future funding to come from?
I oppose Measure 4. Regardless, if this measure passes or fails the Legislature will have to take a hard look at property tax reform. If this passes, every project the state funds will have to be reviewed to see if we can afford to continue funding. Since our state constitution requires a balanced budget, policy will likely be discussed to increase fees in other areas. Let’s hope it doesn’t get to that point. I’m hopeful this measure fails because it’s too broad without enough guardrails. Keep this tax local.
Q: The technology sector has seen great growth in North Dakota (GrandSky, the UAS sector, Grand Farm, etc.). Do you believe that growth should be maintained, and how do you suggest doing it? (Example: New incentives, new ideas to promote the state and its business climate, etc.)
I think it’s important that we continue to diversify our economy, so we aren’t as dependent on our energy and ag industries. Autonomy is one such industry. Whether we are building the farm of the future or recruiting defense contractors to test in North Dakota, we must continue to be a leader in autonomy. North Dakota is uniquely positioned by not only having funds in our accounts, but also having our federal delegation in leadership positions in DC that can assist these projects. We, as a state, need to continue leading in this ecosystem.
Q: North Dakota potentially has a future in the carbon capture industry. Do you feel the state should push forward with investment in this industry? Why?
Yes, I believe we should pursue carbon capture while also being mindful of private property rights. As the oil play in the Bakken slows down, carbon will be needed for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The oil and gas industry supplies over 50 percent of our state’s revenue, we need to make sure the oil and gas industry can continue to extract oil from the Bakken. This in addition to the world-renowned research done at the EERC will hopefully keep North Dakota relevant in the oil and gas industry for decades to come.
Occupation: Senior manager, HR business operations and strategy, Amazon.com. Owner, Archives Coffee House.
Political affiliation: Democrat
Legislative or other elected office experience (years in office, if applicable): N/A
Q: If elected, do you expect to introduce or sponsor legislation in the coming session? If so, please explain your plans.
I’m running for the Senate to bring a clear sensible approach to our politics in Bismarck. I was appalled at the extreme bills being passed and considered in the past session and believe we need more moderate legislators in our government. If elected, I would sponsor legislation and support bipartisan approaches to make North Dakota public education the best in the country, including: 1) at- or better-than-market teacher salary to increase retention and educator quality, 2) state investment in school infrastructure to reduce local property tax burdens, 3) continued investments in teacher retirement funds to improve retention, 4) free lunches and food for all children in North Dakota.
Q: What is the state’s biggest legislative concern at the moment? What should be done about it?
I’ve named several key bills related to education and investing in the long-term future of our children and state. I would also suggest that people in North Dakota need help with investments in essential services that help reduce the burden on families. For example, we all know that child care is expensive and has long wait times to get in for families. I would love the Legislature to consider additional tax relief through a child income tax credit and tax incentives designed to grow the number of licensed child care providers/facilities in areas with the most need.
Q: Where do you stand on Measure 4, which would effectively end traditional property tax payments for North Dakota property owners? If it passes, where do you envision the future funding to come from?
We need to address property tax in North Dakota, but Measure 4 is a terrible idea. Property tax is an important income stream for cities and counties to fund essential services like schools and roads. It increases local control and I, like many North Dakotans, value decisions like these being made closer to our communities. Elimination of property tax would either severely limit services offered or merely push the income sources to fees, sales tax, or other “taxes.” As the Legislature has cut investments to these services, property taxes have risen accordingly already; let’s address the root cause of the problem and do better to fund requests from our county/city leaders at the state level when asked.
Q: The technology sector has seen great growth in North Dakota (GrandSky, the UAS sector, Grand Farm, etc.). Do you believe that growth should be maintained, and how do you suggest doing it? (Example: New incentives, new ideas to promote the state and its business climate, etc.)
I love the idea of growing the technology sector in North Dakota, but we need to do it right. Incentives for businesses may get initial commitments to get jobs here, but we all know that open, aging job postings from these technology companies don’t offset the investment. And while flying in workers from other corporate locations does result in some spending, I believe the intent of the incentives is to grow our population and people living here in the state. Technology workers want to have vibrant, diverse communities that support their families. Yes, our cost of living is one of the best in the country, but we also need to keep investing in schools, roads, childcare, the arts and supporting small businesses who ensure a diverse set of opportunities outside of work.
Q: North Dakota potentially has a future in the carbon capture industry. Do you feel the state should push forward with investment in this industry? Why?
I am interested in learning more about these opportunities, and also have a healthy dose of skepticism for whether carbon capture is effective at reducing greenhouse gases, is economical compared to alternatives, and its long-term impacts in the state. The issues relating to the granting of easements to the main and feeder pipelines needed to move CO2 from ethanol plants to the injection sites must be equitable for the landowners, and not rely on “eminent domain” to accomplish. There are several projects which have seen significant investment, but have yet to produce sustainable results. I am aligned with the intention to improve the environment and leave our land “better than we found it” so that our future generations can enjoy this great state and its beauty.
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Publish date : 2024-09-25 00:49:00
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