With years spent in the Capitol's halls as a child and a young man, along with a 14-year career as a deputy county attorney, Democrat Mike Menahan believes he has the experience and knowledge necessary to serve House District 82 in the Montana Legislature.

"I think that there aren't many people that are running as a freshman who have my experience with the legislative process, but in my workaday world, I have a pretty good understanding of the stuff that comes before the Legislature," he said in a recent interview.

Menahan is running against retired state administrator Matt Cohn in the June 3 Democratic primary for the district, which includes western Helena neighborhoods and extends to the Continental Divide. They're running for the open seat now held by Rep. Hal Jacobson, who is barred from re-election by term limits.

The son of Red Menahan, who represented Anaconda in the Legislature for 30 years, Mike Menahan grew up attending floor sessions and hearings and served in various aide or clerical roles for three sessions in the 1980s.

As a lawyer, he has a working understanding of the state's constitution and statutes, and as a deputy county attorney he handles all of Lewis and Clark County's involuntary commitments to mental-health facilities, which has spawned one of his main goals for the coming session -- addressing the growing population at the Montana State Hospital and the lack of acute-care crisis facilities in Helena and in towns across Montana.

Menahan also touched on energy, education, the economy and citizens' right to privacy.

Though Montana is taking in more money now because of high oil prices, Menahan remembers the 1985 session, when legislators laid out the state budget based on $30-per-barrel oil prices, only to see the price drop by 50 percent the following year.

"It was a very difficult, painful session, because the legislators had to come in (during a special session) and make cuts to programs," he recalled. "I think that's something the state needs to prepare for. There's a lot of factors that affect (oil prices) but that could have a huge effect on the state of Montana."

While he supports the tax incentives already in place to subsidize alternative-energy development, he wants to see government set an example for other large consumers by implementing energy audits and conservation measures.

"I think state government should do that, universities should do that, schools should do that," Menahan said. "There are a lot of places where government can take an active role in reducing its overall demand on energy, which would ultimately save tax dollars."

And though he knows state government can support economic development by adjusting the tax code, he plans also to focus on the other way government can attract business: by encouraging a young, skilled work force.

Higher education costs have risen in recent years, ensuring student-loan debts for most graduates. Those young workers -- faced with rising costs of living in Montana -- often leave the Big Sky State for greener pastures. Part of the solution, Menahan said, is to ease the costs of higher education.

Montana is unique, he said, because its constitution includes a guaranteed right to privacy for its citizens. If elected, Menahan would propose a resolution urging Congress to draft a similar amendment for the U.S. Constitution.

"There's so many ways by which private information ... can be accessed by (anyone)," he said. "These days, people are very worried about how that is going to be used.

"I think Democrats should be the champion of individual rights, and that's something I want to do in the Legislature," Menahan added.

In the second-most-expensive primary in the state, Menahan has raised $17,902; spent $6,048 and had $11,853 remaining as of May 17. He gave his campaign $100 and received a $100 donation from the Montana Game Wardens Association and a $160 contribution from the Progressive Democrats of Montana. The rest of his funds have come from individual donors, with 120 people giving him $35 or more.

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