HELENA — There’s just over one month to go before Helena voters pick which candidates are advancing through the city primary election. On Thursday night, an event aimed to introduce candidates to the public – in a more unusual format.
Ashley Makowski and Kyla Owen said they haven’t been paying close attention to the municipal election, but their attention was caught by a Facebook post encouraging people to come down and “speed date” the candidates.
“It's just a great way to get good information, and this is such a fun idea,” said Makowski.
(Watch the video to see more from "Speed Date Your Candidates.")
The Helena Area Chamber of Commerce and the League of Women Voters of the Helena Area co-hosted “Speed Date Your Candidates.” All but two of the candidates running for city offices this year were able to take part.
“I love this concept,” Owen said. “I thought, ‘This has to be so crazy,’ and it ended up turning to be such a great opportunity to network with people, but also to hear their perspectives and see them kind of on the fly.”
The candidates each spoke for three minutes from a podium at the start of the event. After that, things looked much different. There were four candidates for mayor, four candidates for city commission and eight tables. Candidates had six minutes to introduce themselves and take questions from the voters at each table. When a bell rang, it was time to move on to the next table.
Helena Chamber president and CEO Callie Aschim said the chamber has previously held “speed dating” networking events, but this was the first time they’ve adapted it to politics.
“I think what makes Helena so special is our authenticity, and we want leaders that reflect that,” she said. “This really gave people the opportunity to meet leaders face to face and hear their authentic answers to questions they weren’t prepared for.”
Voters in attendance wanted to hear answers on a wide range of topics. Elizabeth Hale said parking, homelessness and water issues were the biggest issues at her table. Makowski said affordable housing and transportation rose to the top, while Owen said she was looking for candidates’ ideas for innovation and retaining people in the Helena community.
While many said they would have liked more time with the candidates, those MTN spoke to said they’re fans of the format.
“This is a great event – really upbeat, very organized,” said Hale.
“We were all like, “Let’s do another round!’” said Owen.
The mayoral candidates at the event were:
- Emily Dean, city commissioner
- Braxton Hudson, who works at a dermatology clinic
- Chris Riccardo, founder of Omertà Arts
- Andy Shirtliff, city commissioner
Candidate Sonda Gaub was unable to attend.
The city commission candidates in attendance were:
- Brenton Craggs, attorney with the Montana Office of Public Instruction
- Haley McKnight, manager of Sage & Oats Trading Post
- Melinda Reed, incumbent city commissioner
- Ben Rigby, executive director of Montana Rural Water Systems
Candidate Shawn White Wolf was also unable to attend.
Out of the five mayoral candidates, the top two finishers in the primary will move on to the general election in November. The five city commission candidates are all competing for two open seats, and the top four finishers in the primary will move on.
The primary will be conducted entirely by mail. Ballots will be mailed out to voters in Helena city limits in two weeks. They must be returned to the Lewis and Clark County Elections Office by Sept. 9.
