Helena voters will pick a (semi) new set of government leaders on the Nov. 4 all-mail ballot, featuring races for Helena mayor and two commissioner positions up for election this year.
Montana Free Press has published similar guides for the other two communities where we have full-time local government reporters, Great Falls and Missoula. We’ve also published a roundup of notable races and ballot issues across the state this fall here.
Portions of this piece were adapted from material previously published on MTFP’s website and in Helena This Week email newsletter, which is published every Monday. View the newsletter archive here and sign up for free here.
Helena mayor
With incumbent Mayor Wilmot Collins not running for reelection after nearly eight years in office, two sitting commissioners, Andy Shirtliff and Emily Dean, have thrown their names into the race. That means the city’s new mayor will be someone who has served on the commission for at least three years.
Shirtliff has served as the Montana Building Industry Association’s executive director for the past two years. He was appointed to the commission in 2022 to replace the late Eric Feaver and elected to continue holding the seat without opposition in 2023.
Dean is the Montana School Board Association’s membership engagement director, a role she has held since 2017. She was first elected to the commission in 2019 and reelected in 2023.
While city commission roles, including the mayor, are nonpartisan, both candidates have similar roots in Democratic politics and generally hold similar positions on policy issues such as housing and the city’s relation to federal immigration enforcement. Shirtliff has campaigned on prioritizing community engagement and “showing up” at public events, while Dean emphasizes her knowledge of policymaking and government know-how that she says can help her make critical decisions.
“ 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 with MTFP. “It’s to be not just the liaison, but a champion for our community.”
“ 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.”
Housing affordability is one of the top concerns for Helena residents, with the average home sale price hovering at more than $550,000.
Both Shirtliff and Dean share similar approaches to address the housing need, saying they support diversifying housing types and promoting infill development, such as accessory dwelling units that provide additional housing options on existing home lots.
Shirtliff has campaigned on a “BUILD Helena” plan that dives into regulatory reforms to alleviate development barriers, among other ideas.
Dean has talked about encouraging accessory dwelling unit development through the city’s affordable housing trust fund, which was established as a loan program designed to provide housing to low-income renters and homebuyers.
Helena’s mayor serves a four-year term with no term limit.
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In the race for Helena mayor, it’s a policy wonk versus a man about town
Emily Dean has campaigned on her commitment to master the details of wonky city policy. Andy 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.
Helena commissioners
Four commission candidates will appear on the ballot: incumbent Commissioner Melinda Reed, downtown business manager Haley McKnight, former city employee Ben Rigby and perennial political candidate Shawn White Wolf.
The top two vote-getters on Nov. 4 will be elected to fill commission seats currently occupied by Reed and Shirtliff. If Dean is elected to the mayoral seat, that would create a vacancy on the commission. If she loses to Shirtliff, she’ll retain her seat through the end of her term in the beginning of 2028.
Helena commissioners are also nonpartisan.
MTFP interviewed each candidate and asked them about their stances on, among other issues, funding emergency services and how federal immigration issues relate to city policies.
City officials have identified a need for additional police and firefighters to address the population growth. Last year, residents voted down a public safety levy that would’ve funded additional emergency services personnel. Voters, however, passed a bond to construct a third fire station.
A year later, Helena is still faced with finding ways to pay for more police and firefighters.
McKnight told MTFP that while she supports funding additional firefighters, she will seek other options to pay for them before considering another levy request. She added that she would prioritize funding for fire over police.
“When it comes to money, I think that it should always go to firefighters first because they are always trained as paramedics. They have all the equipment that they need on their trucks, and they’re always quick to respond,” McKnight said.
On the federal immigration enforcement front, McKnight thinks that the city should not have “any part” in it. After the participation of local law enforcement officers in a July federal detainment of a Mexican citizen living with a family in Helena sparked months of public outcry, McKight believes that officers should receive extra training for better practice in the future.
“We saw some really upsetting lapses in judgment from Helena police and the sheriff’s department with regard to people’s rights in the Christopher Martinez Marvan case,” she said.
Reed, who is running for reelection, said that funding Helena’s emergency services has remained a priority and would support reintroducing public safety levies.
“I am mindful that the community has just approved school bonds, and we need to be thoughtful about asking people to pay more, while recognizing that we really do have needs to be met,” Reed said.
Reed would also consider reassessing Helena’s policies regarding local authorities and federal enforcement on immigration issues. As a commissioner, Reed has listened to several hours of public comment on the topic since the Martinez Marvan arrest and said that it’s time to identify areas where the city can do more work.
Rigby, a former city water engineer and now the executive director of Montana Rural Water, also believes the city should prioritize funding public safety, but, like McKnight, wants to explore other funding options.
“There’s always more than one answer,” Rigby said. “Use the current elected officials that we have, see how we could work together to try to figure something out, instead of trying to put all the burden on the taxpayer.”
Regarding immigration, Rigby remains firm in not supporting any agreement between local and federal enforcement. He said Helena’s approach should be “lawful, practical and humane.”
“HPD protects and serves all of us on the local level, so not getting involved with immigration stuff, I think, is where we stand and where we need to continue to be that way,” he said.
White Wolf, who calls hiring more law enforcement officers and firefighters a top campaign priority, said he has learned from the failed public safety levies and wouldn’t support additional ones. Instead, he would want to find alternative routes for funding by “finding savings” in the current budget, reallocating resources and exploring grants.
In contrast with his running mates, White Wolf said he supports the city’s current position on immigration policies and local law enforcement involvement. Additionally, he believes that the city has made its role clear and that no further policies are needed.
“Our job as city commissioners is to focus on Helena’s immediate priorities: public safety, housing, water and infrastructure, and not to weigh into political debates that don’t change how our city operates,” he said.
Odds and ends
The city of East Helena is also holding a municipal election, with the mayor and two council member positions up for election. While the candidates are running uncontested, the city has requested that the election be held regardless to engage its residents and draw more attention to the positions, East Helena Mayor Kelly Harris said in an interview.
The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 4. Ballots will be mailed Friday, Oct. 17. Election staff recommend 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.
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