Bozeman City Study Commission
WTF is the Bozeman City Study Commission
This June, Bozeman voters approved a local government review. The LGR study commission will review the current structure of local government and alternative forms of government over the course of a year. This study commission may make recommendations about changes to the form of government. Citizens will then vote in 2026 to adopt or reject the study commission’s recommendations.
Bozeman Tenants United hosted a candidate forum on September 16, 2024. These responses were collected from that candidate forum. Watch the full candidate forum.
Candidates
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Michael Veselik (Non-partisan)
What are the most pressing issues Bozeman is facing & how could we change the city charter to help address them?
The most pressing issue for this commission to consider is the lack of trust in people have in the government. People think that the government is not listening, and that they think the decisions are being made with their best interests in mind. I don't think that the city manager should have less power. I do think it is important to elevate the mayor-- provide the mayor with the ability to set the agenda and eliminate the deputy mayor position. This commission can help make the changes that really need to happen.
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Roger Blank (Non-partisan)
What are the most pressing issues Bozeman is facing & how could we change the city charter to help address them?
Not in attendance
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Deanna Campbell (Non-partisan)
What are the most pressing issues Bozeman is facing & how could we change the city charter to help address them?
It is important to have a government that will listen to the needs of local people, understand their values, and govern in a way that those needs and values will be met. We need to keep in mind who has the biggest stake in how Bozeman grows, and then manage growth around that. The charter is limited in being able to address those issues, but it can create a form of government that is representative and responsive.
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Barb Cestero (Non-partisan)
What are the most pressing issues Bozeman is facing & how could we change the city charter to help address them?
Not in attendance
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Emily Daniels (Non-partisan)
What are the most pressing issues Bozeman is facing & how could we change the city charter to help address them?
not in attendance
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Becky Franks (Non-partisan)
What are the most pressing issues Bozeman is facing & how could we change the city charter to help address them?
Growth and housing are the most pressing issues Bozeman is facing. The charter can address the flawed communication and governance. It can address how decisions are made and who is on the commission. When I said I was unsure about the power of the mayor, the manager, and the number of commissioners, its becasue I am coming into this to listen and learn. What is the strucutre and function, how is it benefitting and hindering the city. What are other cities doing that imporves the capability to make decision that serve the community? How are other growing cities doing it?
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Harrison Howarth (Non-partisan)
What are the most pressing issues Bozeman is facing & how could we change the city charter to help address them?
Not in Attendance
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Barret McQuesten (Non-partisan)
What are the most pressing issues Bozeman is facing & how could we change the city charter to help address them?
We're not here to make policy, we are here to make recommendations. I would immediately start with taking a thourough look with the Deputy Mayor system. I am of course willing to listen to people who have opinions. There are starting points that I think would address some issues right off the bat.
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Wylie Philips (Non-partisan)
What are the most pressing issues Bozeman is facing & how could we change the city charter to help address them?
I am here to listen. I want to take all of the information from the people of bozeman I can and build the best plan moving forward. I don't want to take a stand on something if I am not 100% confident. I will take a hard yes on better pay for commissioners becasue government doesn't always attract the most quality talent becasue private sector can pay more.
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Connor Pollock (Non-partisan)
What are the most pressing issues Bozeman is facing & how could we change the city charter to help address them?
The single most pressing issue Bozeman is facing is the cost of housing. The charter cannot address this directly, but we can make a more efficient more democratic structure of city government. I get a strong impression that most voters do not understand that the Mayor doesn't have executive power in Bozeman. We can't expect people to engage with local government if they can't understand how it works. The Mayor needs to be the one accountable to the voters, instead of an appointed city manager.
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McCullogh Roach (Non-partisan)
What are the most pressing issues Bozeman is facing & how could we change the city charter to help address them?
Not in attendance
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Rio Roland (Non-partisan)
What are the most pressing issues Bozeman is facing & how could we change the city charter to help address them?
The most pressing issue facing Bozeman is housing, unfeddered growth, and transportation. The study commission doesn't directly deal with those issues, but it does deal with the structures of the government that does deal with those issues. The charter should consider being malleable for the population growth that will happen over the next 20 years. If I had concerete ideas about what this charter should look like, I don't think you should consider me. I do have preconceived ideas, but I an very interested in those ideas being formed through the public participation porcess of this study commission. Having city commissioners who are able to interact with as much of their constituency as possible is ideal, which leads to wards being favorable. I think having the commissioners and the mayor be full time would lend itself to more interaction between the public and those representatives.
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Stephanie Spencer (Non-partisan)
What are the most pressing issues Bozeman is facing & how could we change the city charter to help address them?
Affordable housing and rising living expenses, including energy and transportation. This commission can't address that, but we can address is having a good government that represents all people in the area. I strongly support the establishment of wards because I think it ensures adequete representation to different areas where people have different lived experiences in bozeman. I am unsure about expanding the commission becasue I don't know how many districts it would take to adequately provide representation. Regarding the pay of the commissioners, one thing I love most about Montana is the endearing quality that we have part time politicians, meaning they have to hold down other real jobs that connect them to people.
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Jan Strout (Non-partisan)
What are the most pressing issues Bozeman is facing & how could we change the city charter to help address them?
I believe we need to increase the safety of under-represented people in our community and achieve health care for all. I believe we have a number of opportunities with the study commission. We need an evaluation of the cities policies, programs, and budgets for fairness, equity, and accountability. Additionally, we need to look at communications from the city in terms of how trusted, timely, and targetted they are in reaching and including various constituencies and communities.
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Carson Taylor (Non-partisan)
What are the most pressing issues Bozeman is facing & how could we change the city charter to help address them?
The community that I want to live in is a community that is diverse--economically, and in all other respects. The only way we are going to get to that point is to solve the housing crisis. There are things the commission can do, the state can do, and that the federal government will have to do. To get from here to there, we need to create a commission that has people who feel pressure around that issue to make it right. If we have a commission that is elected all from one area and economic strata in Bozeman, that wont get those problem solved. If we pay commissioners enough-- and requiring them to work a full time job-- then they really have the time to go out there and do it. We also need to look at a ward system becasue then we have people from different parts of Bozeman sharing those experiences and working together. Its that diverse community of all of us that will make us a better city, state, and world.