HELENA — Emily Dean will become Helena’s next mayor, after she narrowly defeated Andy Shirtliff in a very close election that pitted two current city commissioners against each other.
According to unofficial results, Dean received 5,440 votes to Shirtliff’s 5,237, leaving her ahead 50.6% to 48.7%. Lewis and Clark County elections officials said only provisional ballots remained to count; they will be officially counted Nov. 10.
“I am deeply honored and humbled to have earned your trust to serve as the next Mayor of Helena,” Dean said early Wednesday morning in a statement posted to social media. “Thank you to every Helenan who voted and participated in this election. This campaign was about bringing people together, doing the homework, and delivering real results for our community – and together, we will do just that.”
Shirtliff said in his own social media post that he had called Dean to congratulate her and wish her well.
“I am proud of the positive campaign we ran, focused on serving our people, building more affordable housing, supporting local businesses, and planning for the future of our growing community,” he said. “Thank you, Helena. Let’s continue building a stronger Helena together.”
Dean, 33, is a former teacher and currently works as director of engagement for the Montana School Boards Association. She was elected to the Helena City Commission in 2019 and reelected without opposition in 2023.
Dean led from the time polls closed at 8 p.m. to the last batch of results around 11:30 p.m., though the margin remained close throughout. Dean and Shirtliff each held election night events with their supporters Tuesday. MTN spoke with both candidates there, and neither was ready to make a final prediction about the results at that time.
Dean gathered with several dozen supporters at the Hawthorn Bottle Shop and Tasting Room on the downtown Helena Walking Mall. Just after 9 p.m., she spoke briefly to those in attendance.
“I am very, very proud of the gap that we've closed since the primary, and none of that would have been possible without all of you, and I’m just so immensely grateful,” she said.
In September’s primary, the two commissioners finished far in front in a field of five candidates. Shirtliff finished in the lead with 48.3% of the vote, and Dean was in second with 36.5%.
Turnout in the September election, which also included the closely watched Helena school bond proposals, was around 52%. In this election, it currently sits at just under 45%. Shirtliff received more votes – 5,468 – in the primary. Dean received fewer, with 4,133.
Shirtliff met with friends and family Tuesday night at the Sidecar on Cruse Avenue. Speaking to him there around 10 p.m., after the initial results were released, MTN asked if the closeness of the mayoral race was a sign the Helena community was divided.
“Oh, not at all,” he said. “I think what we saw in the primary, we saw that folks showed up for our schools. We saw that they showed up for our municipal races as well as they showed up tonight. And that just means that we've got some great choices for folks that are running for mayor, for city commission. I'm very proud of the race we ran, and I think that that will set the tone.”
Shirtliff, 45, is the executive director of the Montana Building Industry Association. He also heads the boards of the Helena Farmers’ Market and Montana Business Assistance Connection. He was appointed to the city commission in 2022 and was elected without opposition for the remainder of the term.
During the campaign, the two commissioners laid out different views for what the role of the mayor should be. Dean put an emphasis on experience and digging into the details of city issues. Shirtliff argued the mayor should be an “ambassador” for Helena and a liaison between the city and the public.
Dean will be the 41st person to serve as mayor of Helena. She’ll succeed incumbent Mayor Wilmot Collins, who decided not to run for a third term and endorsed Dean’s campaign.
