HELENA — When Helena City Commissioner Emily Dean takes over as mayor Jan. 1, that will leave an open space on the commission – and 17 people are interested in filling that vacancy.
Helena city staff released the names of the applicants Friday afternoon:
- Brian Barnes
- Chanan Brown
- Friedrich Drees
- Jenny Eck
- Julia Gustafson
- Michael Hale
- Keller Higbee
- Tanya Hintz
- Kevin Hoem
- Mark Juedeman
- Benjamin Kuiper
- Steve McNutt
- Ashley Moon
- Kyle Osborne
- Logan Smith
- Derek Sturm
- Matthew Tummel
The city accepted applications from Nov. 19 to Dec. 10. Candidates needed to be “qualified electors” and residents of the city, and staff said all of the applicants met those requirements.
The other members of the commission, including Dean, will vote on who should be her successor. The newly appointed commissioner will serve until 2027, then be up for reelection.
The city’s initial timeline for filling the vacancy called for a first round of interviews Monday, Dec. 29, a second round of interviews Friday, Jan. 2, and the final selection and swearing-in of the new commissioner Monday, Jan. 5. The commission will discuss the timeline at their administrative meeting next Wednesday.
