HELENA — Andy Shirtliff knows he has a reputation for showing up at events all over Helena, and he says that’s not by accident. At the Last Chance Stampede Parade in downtown Helena in July, one supporter held up a sign reading “Shirtliff Shows Up.”
“The most important thing is going out and talking to people,” said Shirtliff. “Folks have a lot to say, and I don't have all the answers or all the ideas. It's not just a slogan that we like to show up to things – and we want to listen to folks, because not everybody can show up at, at a city commission meeting on a 4:00 on a Wednesday.”
(Watch the video to hear from mayoral candidate Andy Shirtliff.)
Shirtliff, 45, grew up in Kalispell and has lived in Helena for almost 16 years. He is the executive director of the Montana Building Industry Association, which represents residential construction companies. He’s also heavily involved with other local organizations, heading the boards of the Helena Farmers’ Market and Montana Business Assistance Connection.
He says the city needs to do a better job of communicating with the public, collaborating with stakeholders and acting with compassion. He believes it’s the mayor’s responsibility to set the tone.
“I think Helena’s ready for a change,” he said. “I think Helena’s ready to not say no to everything, and I think Helena’s ready for yes.”
Shirtliff has the longest political career of any of the five candidates running for mayor. In 2018, he was a Democratic candidate for the Montana Public Service Commission. In 2022, he was appointed to the Helena City Commission after the death of Commissioner Eric Feaver. The following year, he was the only candidate who filed in a special election for the remaining two years of Feaver’s term; the city canceled the election as only the incumbents filed to run for any elected offices.
Shirtliff says the need to build more affordable and attainable housing is a main priority – and an issue he focuses on in his full-time job.
“We need to look at building diversity and density,” he said. “We need to look at not just building out, but up. We need to have mixed-use buildings where it's retail on the bottom floor and then housing up top. We need to look at uncomplicated zoning. We need to look at infrastructure development.”
He says he wants to be an “ambassador” for the city, both for visitors and for businesses looking to move in.
“Helena needs to be a place where entrepreneurs want to start a business, innovators want to innovate,” he said. “We want to have where small businesses feel like they have a partner at City Hall.”
He’s also strongly in support of Helena Public Schools’ proposed $243 million bond issues – to the point that he says they, not the mayor’s race, are the most important thing on the ballot in this election.
“Not just our teachers and our kids and parents, but we're seeing businesses, we're seeing industry leaders standing up, and elected officials standing up together and saying, ‘We need these schools, they're the backbone of our community, it's where our future leaders are, it's where our future workers are, our future entrepreneurs,’” he said.
Shirtliff says Helena is at a crossroads, and he wants to be part of the next steps.
“I fell in love with this community because this community surrounds itself, it takes care of each other,” he said. “And this is where I wanted to help out, and I wanted to be a part of.”
(Watch MTN's full interview with Andy Shirtliff.)
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the last of our five profiles on the candidates running for Helena mayor. You can find full interviews with each of the candidates on our website.
Ballots are currently being mailed out to Helena voters. They must be returned by Sept. 9.
