Tranel talks housing, bridge, forests in Noxon

Democratic congressional candidate Monica Tranel was back in Noxon last week, making a campaign stop to chat with about 30 people at the Noxon Senior Center.

"I'm asking you to hire me to represent you," Tranel told the community members as she discussed the Noxon bridge, housing and other topics for over an hour last Tuesday. "I know rural Montana and I understand it."

Tranel said that as an attorney, she thinks of herself as an advocate, joking that it was not her lifelong dream to be a politician. She talked about how Noxon suffered a devastating fire in February and the community came together. "Ultimately we all are a community." She said she committed to the campaign in order to have hard conversions in communities. She told of how in Eureka, she went up to a group of men in Trump hats and talked to them, trying to figure out where they could come together. Tranel noted that her mother, who passed away a few weeks ago, told her "'Love is showing up.' I have tried to live that value. Our work is to show up and there's a lot of work to be done."

Tranel said she had recently read the report on the Noxon bridge reviewing the options for replacement and repair. She said if elected, she would commit to work to find federal dollars to help with the project. Tranel said that U.S. representatives are given about $30 million to spend in their district however they see fit. "As your representative, I would commit to allocating a portion to the bridge," she expressed. She also stated that applying for grants can be daunting, but that her staff could help with the process.

Tranel encouraged people to vote for people, not parties, calling Montana "a purple state. That's the state I grew up in and why I'm here today."

Susan McFarland of Thompson Falls asked if Tranel had a sense of the western district now versus when Tranel ran for the new seat in Congress in 2022. "In 2022 people were talking about housing, but now it's acute. It's here. It's sheriff's deputies living in campers, teacher positions going unfilled and small businesses struggling to hire people," she said, adding that child care and rural health care availability also come up a lot.

Jim Nash of Noxon asked about the wood products industry, and Tranel said, "I believe that we have to commit to having wood product industries in this state and keeping them operational. We have to take steps to figure out how to guarantee supply. We have to talk about active forest management." Mindy Ferrell of Trout Creek asked Tranel about the national deficit. "I'm financially very conservative," Tranel replied. "It's important as a country to live within our means."

As the meet and greet came to a close, Tranel stated, "I know how to be a team player. The most important thing is serving the interests of Montanans."