Teacher and union board member Matt Bell entered the race for House District 94 in Missoula this week.
Bell, who bills himself as a “Bernie Democrat,” looks to unseat incumbent Democrat Kim Dudik.
“I decided it was time to give voters a progressive choice,” Bell said in a statement. “People back home are watching our elected officials. They need to be held accountable. I am the solid voice for Missoula’s values.”
Bell teaches at Willard Alternative and Big Sky High schools and is an at-large board member of the Montana Federation of Public Employees. He was born on the Hi-Line and is an enrolled member of the Nakoda and Aaniiih Nations of Fort Belknap.
Bell criticized Dudik’s votes on the environment.
“As a statewide board member for our teachers union and a voter committed to clean air and clean water, I was keenly aware that my representative was the only Missoula Democrat who voted for coal trucks to continue to travel through our community, and this frustrates me as a new father and Native American who stands in protest of the pipeline,” Bell said.
Republican Dean Rehbein has also filed to run for the seat.