Plain Talk

North Dakota has three candidates running for the United States Senate. Incumbent Senator John Hoeven, who was first elected to that office in 2010, is facing a challenge from Democratic-NPL candidate Katrina Christiansen and independent candidate Rick Becker. On this episode of Plain Talk, all three candidates met for the first time to debate issues ranging from spending and abortion to carbon capture and support for Ukraine. My Wednesday co-host, former Democratic-NPL executive director Chad Oban, moderated the debate along with me. The candidates differed sharply on the issues. Christiansen accused Becker and Hoeven of belittling the importance of the abortion issue for women. Becker accused both Hoeven and Christiansen of being supporters of big government and big spending. Hoeven, for his part, defended his track record in the Senate and argued that both Becker and Christiansen have distorted it. Click above to listen to the full debate, or subscribe to Plain Talk on your favorite podcast platform to listen on another device.

Minot, N.D. — Members of North Dakota's Public Service Commission serve staggered six-year terms, meaning that one of the three members of the commission is on the ballot every two years. This year, however, there are two PSC seats up for grabs. Commissioner Julie Fedorchak is running for re-election at the end of her six-year term, while Sheri Haugen-Hoffart, a Republican who was appointed by Gov. Doug Burgum to finish an unexpired term, is running per state law to have that appointment confirmed by the voters. Challenging Haugen-Hoffart is Democratic-NPL candidate Trygve Hammer. Both Hammer and Haugen-Hoffart joined this episode of Plain Talk to debate the issues in their race, from grid reliability and climate change to rail safety and pipelines. I moderated the debate, and asked the questions, along with my co-host Chad Oban, a former executive director of the Democratic-NPL. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Click here to subscribe - it's free! - on the podcast platform of your choice.

An opposition group has formed with the mission to defeat a ballot measure on North Dakota's ballot which would legalize recreational marijuana. This group is making a number of claims about the ill that would befall our state if legal pot is the law of the land. They're talking about increased crime. Increased addiction. Easy access to the drug for children. On this episode of Plain Talk, Fargo-based defense attorney Mark Friese, who is the treasurer for the pro-marijuana campaign, and who had a hand in drafting the measure itself, spoke to some of those criticisms. Also, guest co-host Jamie Selzler and I talk about a recent incident where Bismarck School Board member Emily Eckroth allegedly urinated in the back of a police car, and what that incident says about how willing the public is to tolerate bad behavior from elected officials. We also discussed the controversy around U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker, and the emerging opposition to a term limits ballot measure that's also on the statewide ballot. Want to be alerted when new episodes of Plain Talk are published? Click here to subscribe listen - for free! - on the podcast platform of your choice.

Last week North Dakota's two largest agriculture groups, the North Dakota Farm Bureau and the North Dakota Farmer's Union, came out against a term limits proposal that's on the statewide ballot. On this episode of Plain Talk the president of one of those groups, Mark Watne from the North Dakota Farm Bureau, joined to discuss why his group is opposed to the proposal. Watne argued that it would diminish the amount of experience and seniority in the legislature, leaving the state's law-writing body more susceptible to influence from lobbyists and the bureaucracy. He also noted that, in some complex areas of policy making, arriving at the right decision for the state can be the work of multiple legislative sessions. An example he cited was the tension between farmers and ranchers and the hunters who want to access their lands. State officials have grappled with that divide between hunting interests and property rights for years, with several key lawmakers working closely with both sides to find an accord. If we had term limits, some of the lawmakers working on the issue may have left office before they had a chance to see the issue through to the end. Watne also said his organization has opposed term limits for some time, and that the position comes from the group's rank-and-file membership which includes farmers from around the state. Click above to listen to the full interview! Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Subscribe - for free! - on the podcast platform of your choice.

You can't really talk about the history of North Dakota's initiated measure process without talking about Kent French. The Bismarck-based businessman was legendary in the 1980s and 1990s for his many initiated measures and referenda targeting issues like taxes. And, yes, term limits. We're debating term limits again this election cycle - there's a ballot measure that would prohibit lawmakers and governors from serving more than 8 years - but you may not realize that North Dakota already has term limits law on the books. That's thanks to Mr. French, who backed an initiated measure to limit the amount of time North Dakota's congressional delegation could serve in office. That law isn't in force, because the Supreme Court ruled that state-based term limits for members of Congress aren't constitutional, but it was supported by a strong majority of North Dakota voters at the time. But it may surprise you to learn that French doesn't back this current term limits proposal for state-level elected officials. He joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss his objections. "You always want to be on the right side of an issue," he told me. "Not just the winning side, the right side." He mentioned polling, released by the term limits campaign, which shows a strong majority of North Dakotans backing their proposal, but French thinks the more voters learn about it the less they like it. "They have that until the people of North Dakota learn what this does." French says he sees a distinction between people who hold state-level elected office, and those who serve in Congress. "We have the right of referral" in North Dakota, French noted, referencing a law that allows voters to collect signatures to put a law the legislature doesn't like on the ballot for a possible veto by the people. He also noted that voters could recall to the ballot any state-level elected official voters don't like. "I think that's the route people should take," as opposed to term limits. He described this term limits proposal as "anti-North Dakota" and promoted by people who are just seeking chaos. "I don't know that this gives the state the stability it has had in the past," French said. Listen to the full interview. If you'd like to be notified of future episodes of Plain Talk consider subscribing - it's free! - on the podcast platform of your choice.

We're all in campaign mode right now, but just a couple of months after election day North Dakota will have a new legislative session. Lawmakers at that session will be hearing about two competing tax cut plans. One would flatten the state's income tax brackets, and eliminate the tax for most of the state's filers. The other would leverage interest revenues from the state's Legacy Fund to buy down the portion of your property taxes that goes for schools. Rep. Craig Headland, and Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus, appeared on a previous episode of Plain Talk to make the case for the income tax proposal. On this episode, Rep. Mike Nathe joined to make the case for the property tax plan. Nathe, who serves on the legislature's audit committee, also responded to questions about the scandal over a lease for office space for departments within the attorney general's office that went to a building owned by a state lawmaker. Nathe said he wants to hear the lawmaker's side of the story - that's Rep. Jason Dockter, a Republican from the Bismarck area - but his view of how that deal went down is far from positive. Asked if he could describe what benefit accrued to the taxpayers from moving parts of the AG's office to that office space, he said he couldn't. Also on this episode, Wednesday co-host Chad Oban and I discuss the congressional races. We talked about the four polls that have been released in the House race between incumbent Republican Kelly Armstrong and independent challenger Cara Mund, as well as the dynamics in the U.S. Senate race between Republican incumbent John Hoeven, Democratic challenger Katrina Christiansen, and independent Rick Becker. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk drop? Subscribe - it's free! - on your favorite podcasting platform.

In North Dakota, we elect a lot of people. That's not a bad thing, but sometimes once you get down to the bottom of your ballot, past higher-profile candidates for state and federal office, you begin to see some names you might not be very familiar with. Names that are often all alone in their races, representing candidates are facing no opposition. One of those names this cycle is Ben Hanson. He's a former state lawmaker, and a Democrat, though he's now seeking a non-partisan office on the Cass County Commisison. He is facing some opposition - former Republican state Senator Tony Grindberg is running against him - but he has an interesting story to tell about the struggle to get the public interested local races. It's a paradox, given popular ideas like "local control" are. Local officials handle policy and appropriations that intersect with many of the electorate's top priorities - from the economy and jobs to mental health and crime - yet these races are often not competitive and overlooked. Also on this episode, Sen. Kevin Cramer joined to talk about the recent headlines over text messages sent to him about the 2020 election from current Attorney General, and then U.S. Attorney, Drew Wrigley. He also talked about the Senate passing a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown, the importance of permitting reform here in America in the context of Russia using its energy market share to bully the rest of the world, and the financial industry's efforts to try and track gun purchases. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Click here to subscribe.

Election integrity is a hot-button issue. Rancor continues around the outcome of the 2020 election, with many claiming that, at least nationally, former President Donald Trump was cheated out of another term in the White House by fraud. North Dakota election officials have been flooded with open records requests from people seeking information to prove conspiracy theories about the election. As it happens, North Dakota's top election official is on the ballot this cycle. Long-serving incumbent Republican Al Jaeger isn't running for another seat. State Rep. Michael Howe, a Republican, and Mayville State University administration Jeffrey Powell, a Democrat, are running to replace him. They joined this episode of Plain Talk for a debate about the issues in this campaign, along with my co-host, former Democratic-NPL executive director Chad Oban. An independent candidate, Charles Tuttle, has filed signatures to be on the ballot in this race. I made the decision not to include him in this discussion because it's my feeling, given his long history of erratic behavior, and the probability that he'll draw a very low number of votes, his participation wouldn't have been a productive use of our time. "We haven't seen any problems with the integrity of our elections" in North Dakota, Howe said during the debate, though he said that whoever wins this election needs to "gain the public's trust back." "People get caught up in the cable news cycle. They see things that aren't related to North Dakota," Howe added. Powell agreed though he pressed Howe on the fact that much of the questioning of election outcomes is coming from the right. Howe responded by pointing out that Democrats have questioned election results in the past as well. Both candidates agreed that many aspects of the Secretary of State's online services - from accessing campaign finance reports to making business filings - need to be modernized and made more user-friendly. Powell said that while much of the information on things like voting and running for office on the Secretary of State's website currently was accurate, it's presented in an out-dated way. Asked if they would support more rigorous reporting requirements for candidates, Powell said he would require that candidates leverage online tools to make reports almost real-time. "I want it to be live and accurate," he said. Howe was more non-committal. "I don't know if it's going to solve any problems or if we're going to glean any new information, but sure," he said. The candidates also discussed what it's like to campaign in a very angry, divided political environment, the controversy over a term limits ballot measure that was dismissed from the ballot by the incumbent before being restored by the state Supreme Court, and some of the Secretary of State's other duties, such as serving on the Land Board and the Emergency Commission. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Consider subscribing on the podcast platform of your choice.

Minot, N.D. — It's been a circuitous route to the ballot for a ballot measure implementing term limits for North Dakota's lawmakers and governor. State officials maintain that the signature collection process behind it was riddled with fraud, but the state Supreme Court put it on the ballot on a legal technicality, finding that the Secretary of State lacked the authority to disqualify it. However you or I might feel about how the measure got there, North Dakota's voters will be confronted with a decision about it. Should lawmakers be limited to no more than eight years in a legislative chamber? Should the governor be prohibited from running for more than two four-year terms? Does limiting the amount of time lawmakers can serve create a disparity in balance of power between branches of the state government? And why shouldn't voters get to keep voting for the same candidates over and over again if that's what they really want? We talked about those questions and more on this episode of Plain Talk. Mike Motschenbacher and Dustin Gawrylow, two long-time conservative activists in state politics (the former is currently campaigning for a seat in the state House in District 47 as a Republican), joined to discuss the issue. Gawrylow is for term limits, while Motschenbacher, like me, is against. Want to be notified of new Plain Talk episodes as they're published? Subscribe, for free, on the podcast platform of your choice. Forum Communications Company is proud to be a part of the Trust Project. Learn more at thetrustproject.org.

Work around politics long enough, and you'll hear everything. Including a Democratic candidate for statewide office saying you ought to vote for the Republican. Fintan Dooley, who was endorsed by the North Dakota Democratic-NPL this spring to take on three-term Republican incumbent Doug Goehring for Agriculture Commissioner, says you ought to vote for the incumbent. "I'm not smoking any pot," Dooley said on this episode of Plain Talk, which featured a debate between the two candidates. "He's actually accomplished what he says he's accomplished," adding that he's even gotten permission from Goehring to hunt on his land. But that's not to say that the candidates don't have areas of disagreement. Dooley, who has worked as an attorney in North Dakota since 1976, has been a passionate activist for lands impacted by oil and gas development, including so-called "salted lands" that have been harmed by brine spills. Goehring argued that the spills happened in the past, under old EPA regulations that were predicated on now-outdated science, but Dooley rejected that argument, saying the state has to do a better job of protecting the land going forward, restoring land already harmed. But in many other areas, the two candidates were very much in alignment. Goehring weighed on the controversial sale of farm land to tech industry billionaire Bill Gates, saying he understands some of the consternation given Gates' sometimes hostile attitudes toward production agriculture, but that ultimately private land owners have a the right to sell to who they wish. Goehring says the bigger problem is the number of North Dakota landowners who are selling out to out-of-state buyers who only want to use that land for recreation and take it out of agriculture industry entirely, something Dooley agreed with. Both candidates want North Dakota's corporate farming ban rolled back. At least for animal agriculture. Dooley said he's aware of family-owned dairy operations that may have to close down because the latest generation of the family isn't interested in the business, and it's illegal to bring in outsiders. "They should be able to incorporate" and get investment from non-family members, Dooley said. Both are skeptical of high-profile efforts to bring carbon capture and sequestration to the state. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Subscribe, for free, on the podcast platform of your choice. Forum Communications Company is proud to be a part of the Trust Project. Learn more at thetrustproject.org.