In the race for Helena mayor, it’s a policy wonk versus a man about town

On paper, the two Helenans vying to be the city’s first new mayor since 2018, Emily Dean and Andy Shirtliff, are quite similar: two incumbent city commissioners with roots in Democratic politics, day jobs in public policy and general agreement on how the city should approach everything from housing affordability to the relationship between city police and federal immigration enforcement.

In interviews, forums and their service on the city commission over the past several years, though, the two candidates have demonstrated differences. Dean has campaigned on her commitment to master the details of wonky city policy. Shirtliff has stressed his devotion to what he calls “showing up,” attending a wide array of community events to build a bridge between local government and the public.  

“ I think that it’s the mayor’s role to help convey what the city commission has done, the decisions and the discussions we’re having, the decisions that we’re making and following up with people,” Shirtliff said in an interview. “It’s to be not just the liaison, but a champion for our community.” 

Dean has countered that she believes her policy chops will make her more effective at getting things done.

“ The next mayor really has to understand the details of how the levers of government work and how to get results from people,” Dean said at an Oct. 7 candidate forum. “I’ve been doing that for the last five years.”

Incumbent Mayor Wilmott Collins has chosen not to run for reelection after eight years in office, telling MTFP that he’s accomplished his goals and hopes to spend more time with his family, which includes a young grandchild.

Dean and Shirtliff advanced from a field of five candidates in the city’s primary election in September, with Shirtliff leading Dean by 1,336 votes out of 11,316 cast. The position is nonpartisan, meaning neither candidate is running as a Republican nor a Democrat.

The mayor’s role

Helena’s mayor serves as the chair and fifth member of the city commission, performing ceremonial functions and appointing members to city boards, in addition to voting on the city budget, policies and land use decisions like other commissioners. 

In comparison to a “strong mayor” system, like Missoula’s, where the position administers the day-to-day affairs of city government, Helena’s mayor has relatively limited duties. A commission-appointed city manager instead serves as the city’s chief executive, hiring and supervising staff who run city programs including park maintenance, garbage collection and the Helena police department.

Current Helena City Manager Tim Burton plans to retire at the end of the year, leaving the city commission tasked with hiring a replacement. If the city can’t hire a new manager before the end of the year, the new commission will take over the hiring process, incumbent Mayor Collins said at an Oct. 6 meeting.

The policy wonk: Emily Dean

Dean, 34, says she takes pride in being a third-generation Helenan, graduating from Carroll College in 2014 with a double major in history and international relations. She went on to earn a master’s in education at Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 2016.

Dean married her husband, Matt Chiasson II, this past summer.

“ The next mayor really has to understand the details of how the levers of government work and how to get results from people.”

Helena mayoral candidate Emily Dean

As she has campaigned this year, Dean has focused on infrastructure, saying she wants to prioritize funding for street upgrades, city water systems and sidewalk connectivity. She said at an Oct. 9 Hometown Helena candidate forum that she’d secured a spot on the National League of Cities’ Infrastructure and Transportation Committee in part so she’d be in a position to make sure Helena didn’t lose a federal grant for a project that would tackle the railroad crossing that often blocks traffic on Montana Avenue.

As a committed policy wonk, Dean can be at times uncomfortable with what she considers the oversimplification of complex issues.

At an Oct. 7 forum, organized by How the Helena? and moderated by a Montana Free Press reporter, Dean balked at a lightning round of yes-no questions, asking her and other candidates for quick takes on topics including raising downtown parking fees, support for sidewalk funding and adding bike lanes to the downtown walking mall.

While other candidates gamely flashed the crowd with green and red paddles indicating their preferences, she hesitated, in one case trying to ask the moderator a clarifying question.

She expanded on that frustration in her closing remarks, saying the lightning round topics illustrated the complexity of the issues before city government. 

“I’ll be honest, none of those questions are just simple yes-no answers, and we snap a finger and they happen,” she said. 

The man about town: Andy Shirtliff

Born in Butte, Shirtliff, 45, was adopted out of foster care and grew up in Kalispell. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Montana.

He currently serves as the executive director of the Montana Building Industry Association. Shirtliff has repeatedly said on the campaign trail this year that the association has a direct nexus to the commission’s work on housing, describing the group as a “nonprofit that focuses on affordable and attainable housing” at an Oct. 9 Hometown Helena candidate forum. (On its website, the association says its mission is “to protect and promote the building industry.”)

He has two stepsons with his wife, Laura. 

“ I think that it’s the mayor’s role to help convey what the city commission has done, the decisions and the discussions we’re having, the decisions that we’re making and following up with people.”

Helena mayoral candidate Andy Shirtliff

Shirtliff has emphasized his commitment to being a visible face in the community. He’s established a reputation in recent years for being one of Helena’s most visible political figures, to the point that a prominent community parody account on Instagram routinely cracks “you’ve been Shirtliffed” jokes about him showing up uninvited to gladhand at not-necessarily-public events.

While arranging an interview with a MTFP reporter for this story in early October, Shirtliff texted to request a last-minute change of location, asking the reporter to meet him at a downtown coffee shop. As the reporter arrived, he was working across the street with a volunteer group for a clean-up day organized by the Helena Business Improvement District, broom in hand. He beamed a broad smile, turned to hand the tool to another volunteer and walked across the street to sit for the interview.

During the conversation, he stated that he believes it’s essential to maintain open communication and solicit input from the public.

“We need to be able to have conversations and learn from each other,” he said in the interview. “It’s not necessarily trying to have all the ideas, having a sense of where you stand on an issue, but it’s also inviting in those ideas, learning from those, and then going and voting and leading on those issues.”

The candidates’ experience

Dean told MTFP that she has always been drawn to public service, influenced by her family’s military history, including a grandfather who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

What really made her “catch the bug” to engage in civic roles, she said, was the experience she gained from her previous roles, including working for former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and later under former Montana Secretary of State Linda McCulloch, both elected Democrats.  

Dean, who taught U.S. government and economics while she lived in Texas, joined the Montana School Board Association as its director of member engagement in October 2017 after moving back to Helena. She believes her family and past experiences have enabled her to contribute to the growth and strengthening of the city.

“I just feel so fortunate to live in a place like Helena, and I think it’s really incumbent on those who have a passion to give back to the community,” Dean told MTFP in an interview.

Dean was first elected to the commission in 2019 and was re-elected to a second term in 2023. Her current term runs through the beginning of 2028, meaning she’ll continue serving the commission if not elected to the mayoral seat. 

Shirtliff was first appointed as a commissioner in 2022 to fill the vacancy left after the death of Commissioner Eric Feaver, then elected without opposition in 2023 to serve the remainder of a term that expires early next year. He also made an unsuccessful bid for a seat on the state’s utility regulation board, the Public Service Commission, in 2018, winning the Democratic nomination but losing to Republican Brad Johnson.

Shirtliff said he considered Feaver, a longtime public employees union leader, a friend and role model. After his passing, Shirtliff said he wanted to step up.

“ When that happened, I reached out to Mayor Collins and I said, ‘What can I do to help?’” Shirtliff said. He then applied for the open seat and was appointed soon after.

Shirtliff has spent the last 16 years living in Helena, working in economic development roles at the state Department of Labor and Industry and in the administrations of Govs. Brian Schweitzer and Steve Bullock, both Democrats.

Who’s endorsed them

Dean’s emphasis on mastering the details of city governance has helped her win endorsements from the two city commissioners who aren’t on the ballot this year, Collins, the outgoing mayor, and current commissioner Sean Logan. (The city’s fifth commissioner, Melinda Reed, hasn’t endorsed a mayoral candidate as she seeks re-election.)

In an interview with MTFP, Collins said he considers Shirtliff a friend but believes that Dean is the candidate most prepared to be mayor, saying she has served as the city’s mayor pro tem, or stand-in when he’s been absent from the commission for the past five years.

“[Dean] understands issues that come before us better than any member on the commission and sometimes better than city staff.”

Helena Commissioner Sean Logan

“ There isn’t a day she attends any meeting on behalf of the city that she’s not prepared. She is fully prepared,” Collins said. “… If we’re looking for the best person to lead the city, if we’re looking for the most qualified person to lead the city, I have to put aside friendship and I have to go with the person who would take the city forward. And that’s Emily Dean.” 

Similarly, in a letter published by the Helena Independent Record on Oct. 2, Logan said that during her time serving on the commission, Dean has consistently gone above and beyond. 

“I can easily say that she understands issues that come before us better than any member on the commission and sometimes better than city staff,” Logan wrote. “Point being, she does her homework.”

In an interview, Shirtliff said he cares more about endorsements from everyday citizens than those from his commission colleagues.

“ I got asked, ‘What about so-and-so’s endorsement?’ I said, ‘I’m more concerned with your endorsement,’” Shirtliff said. “Because I work for the people of Helena, not a group of, say, elected officials.”

Among Shirtliff’s supporters is Mary Hollow, the executive director of the Prickly Pear Land Trust. In an interview, Hollow stressed that she had endorsed him in her personal capacity, not on behalf of her organization.

Hollow said she has never endorsed a mayoral candidate but believes this year’s election is different. Helena has an opportunity to achieve better outcomes with the right leadership, she said, adding that she has observed Shirtliff seek out input from key stakeholders. 

“[Shirtliff] is there, he is easy to talk to, he takes the message that you put out and gives it to the commission and the city manager.”

Ten Mile Creek Brewery Co-Owner Riley Tubbs

“He goes out of his way to hear what Prickly Pear Land Trust would like to see on a specific issue or topic,” Hollow said in an interview. “He is always reaching out to gain input, and others don’t. It’s really that simple.”

Another supporter, Ten Mile Creek Brewery co-owner Riley Tubbs, cited the energy Shirtliff brings to advocating for downtown businesses.

“ If you’ve been out and about in this community, you’ve seen Andy at some of these events,” Tubbs said. “He’s there, he is easy to talk to, he takes the message that you put out and gives it to the commission and the city manager.”

An alleged conflict of interest

Collins and Logan, Shirtliff’s colleagues on the commission, have also criticized what they’ve called a conflict of interest between his commission role, which routinely deals with development and land use issues, and his day job at the helm of the state’s building industry association.

Collins said that one of the roles of a mayor is to use their vote as a tiebreaker. There may be instances where, if elected, Shirliff may need to recuse himself, Collins said.

Logan also cited the alleged conflict in his letter to the Independent Record, singling out a specific August 2024 vote where Shirtliff was the only one of the five city commissioners to vote against a measure that increased the fees the city charges for reviewing development projects. City staff had recommended that increase so the fees, which hadn’t been increased since 1997, would better reflect the cost of the staff time necessary to process development applications.

The president of the Helena Building Industry Association, Brent Cotton, spoke against the fee increases during a public comment period, according to a recording of the meeting. As of Monday, Cotton was also listed on the Montana Building Industry website as a representative of the Helena association and the second vice-president of its board of directors.

“I think it’s fair for the public to ask, will a Mayor Shirtliff represent the interests of his employer and the building and development industries or the citizens who elected him?” Logan wrote.

Shirtliff said in an interview Monday that Cotton hadn’t joined the board that supervises him until June of this year. He also said that he had sought verbal guidance from the city attorney and city manager after voting on the fee matter.

Shirtliff previously told MTFP that he believes his handling of the issue was proper.

“ I did not change the outcome of the vote. I did not communicate with the other party that was in the room, as well as I have no financial benefit from it,” he said.

“ I don’t believe that there was a conflict of interest, but I have no problem communicating that I do work there and I can’t help that,” Shirtliff added. “The commission is a part-time role.”

Shirtliff said that in the future, he’ll work with city officials to ensure that the commission, the public and himself are aware and understand any potential issues with his job and role as mayor.

MTFP also asked Dean how she addresses potential conflicts between her commission work and her day job at the school board association, which routinely advocates on public education policy.

Dean, who also noted that the commission is a part-time position, said that she maintains clear boundaries between her job and role as an elected official. She added that she has three phones — a MTSBA phone, a commission phone and a personal phone — to help keep her roles separate.

“ I also have worked with my employer to sign [a memorandum of understanding] kind of setting up that firewall, because I take both jobs very seriously,” Dean said.

Views on housing affordability

Among the issues top of mind for the Helena public — and municipal candidates — this year is housing affordability. The average home sales price in Helena in September was $503,000, according to the Montana Regional MLS, up from $382,000 at the start of 2022.

Both Dean and Shirtliff broadly agree that the city could do more to promote infill development, such as accessory dwelling units, an approach that could add more housing to existing home lots without the expense of building roads and sewer infrastructure for new subdivisions.

Dean says she believes that the city can expand the entities eligible to apply for funding through an affordable housing trust fund established by the city in 2020, thereby boosting opportunities for low-income renters and homebuyers.

While she says the city should continue to fund large-scale affordable rental projects, such as the newly completed Twin Creek Apartments, Dean believes that the city can also use it to help property owners finance accessory dwelling units or projects that convert existing homes to add extra rental units. 

“ I think that we can be a lot more creative in how the Affordable Housing Trust Fund is used,” she said.

Shirtliff has campaigned on what he calls his “BUILD Helena” plan, which involves, among other ideas, regulatory reforms that would make it easier to build ADUs and using Tax Increment Finance district dollars to help pay for the infrastructure necessary to build housing.

“ We need to build dense and diverse, we need to build up, not necessarily out,” Shirtliff said in an interview.

Views on immigration enforcement

Both candidates have also expressed similar positions on immigration enforcement, a concern for some residents given aggressive federal immigration policy and the July arrest of Helena resident Christopher Martinez Marvan that ensnared him in a deportation action while Helena officers were helping federal authorities look for a different suspect. 

Both candidates have stated that, as mayor, they won’t enter into an agreement that would allow Helena police to perform federal immigration enforcement duties. 

“There’s always room to improve, and we need to rebuild trust with the community,” Shirtliff said in an interview with MTFP. 

“ Our officers have enough on their plate right now to be thinking about any type of activities in immigration enforcement,” Dean said at an Oct. 7 forum. “I don’t think that is the role of local government whatsoever.”

Election Day logistics

Helena’s general election is on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Ballots will be mailed Friday, Oct. 17. Election staff recommends voters mail their ballots back by Tuesday, Oct. 28, to ensure they’re received in time to be counted. 

Ballots can also be hand-delivered to the elections office on the first floor of the City-County Building, 316 N. Park Ave., through 8 p.m. on Election Day. For further questions on voting, contact the county elections office at (406) 447-8339.

This story was updated Oct. 20, 2025, to correct that Andy Shirtliff sought guidance from the city attorney and city manager after a commission vote in August of 2024. 

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