Janine Coole 4 Laurel
Hello, My name is
Janine Coole
for Montana
House District 54
About Me
I want Montana to stay the absolute best place to live. That means our kids should be able to graduate here, find work here, and afford to raise their own families here. It means the outdoors stays at our doorstep. And it means our town stays safe for the people who live in it.
I’m a normal everyday working person, same as most Montanans. I served in the Air Force. I worked for Lockheed Martin on the Skunkworks F-117 and U-2 programs. For the last 27 years I’ve been a railroader in the Laurel Yard. I know what a shift feels like and I know what a paycheck has to cover.
What pushed me to run was watching decisions get made about Laurel by people who don’t live in Laurel. The forensic facility. Our power bills. Our property taxes. Every one of those came at us from somewhere else, and every time, we were told after the fact.
I’m not a politician. My purpose is to serve this community to the best of my ability, and to keep my word once I get to Helena. That’s the whole job.
Our Town
Our Bills
Our Word
endorsed by:
Where I stand
Every day, I'm in our community helping people in our community stand for what's right.
Safety and the Laurel facility
I opposed putting the state’s forensic facility next to our schools and homes, and I still do. The state decided in June without the consent of the people who live here. Construction runs through 2028, and every year of it needs someone in Helena asking hard questions.
Power bills and data centers
NorthWestern’s entire system peaks around 1,300 megawatts. The three data centers it’s courting could reach 2,250 by 2030. Somebody pays to build that, and it shouldn’t be the family in Laurel opening a power bill.
Fair taxes for working families
Property taxes have gotten away from working people while the biggest new arrivals get the best rate on the books. Data centers sit at one of the lowest rates in the state. That’s backwards, and I’ll work to flip it.
Health care that doesn't disappear
Medicaid expansion covers about 77,000 Montanans and keeps rural hospitals open. New federal verification rules start this year, and how Montana implements them decides whether eligible people stay covered or get dropped over a form. I’ll be watching that closely.
Standing up for workers
Twenty seven years in the yard taught me what most bills about working people get wrong. They’re written by people who’ve never worked a night shift. Crew staffing, fatigue, rail safety, and the right to organize aren’t abstractions to me.
Clean elections and independent courts
Montana has elected judges without party labels since 1935, and 71 percent of Montanans want to keep it that way, including 61 percent of Republicans. A judge’s job is to follow the law, not a party. I also want to know who’s spending millions to buy those seats.
