Local legislators bring differing perspectives

When the Montana Legislature convenes January 7, representatives of Jefferson County will bring very different views to the debate.

While both Senate Democrat Edie McClafferty of Butte and House Republican Greg DeVries of Jefferson City agree education and taxation are among their top focuses, they come from vastly different angles on those topics.

McClafferty, starting her sixth term in the legislature – four in the House and two in the Senate, is a school teacher by profession. She will hit the ground running. More than five weeks before the session opens, she already had nearly a dozen bills that she is sponsoring or requesting.