Campaign Phone
4066942436
I am currently the deputy mayor and have been a city council member for 5+ years. I understand how the city works. I have a BS in Business Administration. I’m a USAF veteran, former YC deputy sheriff/detective, and banker. I’ve built strong relationships with city staff, county commissioners, and local organizations. I’ve served on boards of several city and county partners and organizations, representing the city and as a volunteer. I’ve consistently worked with council members to build consensus and get things done. With 3 to 6 new council members expected next year, it’s more important than ever to have experienced leadership guiding our city forward. I can deliver that leadership. I have the time and a strong desire to serve Billings.
City Manager: I provide policy leadership and strategic direction and hold the manager accountable to implement council decisions.
Department Heads: The manager oversees department heads. I believe in maintaining an open line of communication to understand operational challenges and successes.
Council Members: Non-partisan members still bring their values and priorities into their decision-making. I’m a proven consensus-builder having been elected deputy mayor by two different councils. I will facilitate efficient meetings, ensure that every voice is heard, and promote respectful, productive discussions.
Public: I serve citizens with accessibility and transparency. I encourage them to contact me, and I respond respectfully and timely.
Listen to the Community: Identify values and goals through public meetings, surveys, task force groups.
Plan for Growth: Develop a strategic plan that reflects the community’s input. Ensure the plan balances economic development, housing, infrastructure, etc. Use the plan to guide zoning, transportation, and budget decisions.
Balance Livability and Development: Prioritize zoning for higher-density housing close to transit stations, employment centers, schools, and other population centers. Consider reducing setback requirements and increasing height limits for residential units.
Monitor and Adapt: Use data to evaluate the impact of Billings’ growth. Be willing to adjust policies based on what’s working and what’s not.
My top priority is to ensure that Billings will continue to fund essential public safety services while trying to minimize the negative impact on other services funded through the General Fund, including code enforcement, parks, planning, and administration. These are options to resolve the budget shortfall: Eliminate the charter mill cap so property taxes can be assessed according to the formula specified by the State Legislature. 2. Promote dedicated mill levies and/or bonds to support specific city services. 3. Consider reductions in services provided through the General Fund, primarily the police and fire departments. Options 1 and 2 require voter approval. I am opposed to option 3, but it may be inevitable depending on the voters.
I want my legacy to reflect meaningful, lasting improvements in people’s everyday lives. I believe this would be realized if Billings were in a strong financial position. Our budget crisis is very real. The 2026 budget is over $2 million short. This doesn’t consider budget increases planned prior to the legislature’s actions. Tax relief is essential as many citizens simply can’t afford their property taxes. But the solution to the budget crisis will require citizens to either vote to increase their taxes again or face significant reductions to city services paid for through the General Fund. Either as mayor or council member, I will work diligently to educate the public about their options to determine what they need and want to live here.
Campaign Phone
4066477222
I like helping people and the community. I am currently getting a degree in Business.
I will communicate with the community and I will never be too busy to answer my phone. I want to hear from everyone about what decisions should be made to make the community better.
I will not make a decision before hearing what the community wants. All the citizens of Billings should have a say on what happens and I will take into consideration what they need before making a decision.
Transparency, honesty, and budget better. Find out what can be cut and where. Get information from the citizens of Billings before making cuts. I will not be raising taxes. I think we will be able to survive with less taxes.
I want to see the community come together and take pride it what we have and could have. I want to see Billings better and thrive. More jobs, better education, and a stronger community.
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Campaign Phone
406-876-3428
I have served four years on City Council, learning the details of the City's budget and policy structure. I am ready to go on Day 1, with a clear vision of what we can accomplish together for the City of Billings.
Professionally, I am a lawyer with background in family law, energy regulation, project development, and public policy. Over the course of my career, I have worked on agriculture policy, transportation, early childhood education, homelessness, and economic development. I have been blessed with the opportunity to learn strategies for tackling some of the most pressing issues facing Billings. I have been a small business owner and a single mom - I know the value of a dollar and the need to limit the tax burden in our community.
The Mayor and Council collectively drive the policy vision for Billings and set the budget to ensure we have the resources to accomplish it. As Mayor, I want to engage more people in decision-making, so that government is responsive to the community. I want to develop bold goals for Billings to be safe and prosperous - and mobilize the community around that vision. I believe Mayor & Council have a duty to talk with constituents, ensure the public's voice is heard, and be accountable to voters for every dollar entrusted to the City. I want to be transparent and accessible to the public, ensuring that we are not just hearing the community's priorities, but acting on them. We need to rebuild public trust in our local government.
Right now, we lack a clear plan for the future of Billings, which means that growth is happening TO us, rather than BECAUSE of us. We can do more at City Council to develop a economic growth strategy that is focused on increasing the supply of housing, attracting higher wage jobs, and bringing amenities, like restaurants and entertainment to Billings. Currently, there is no shared vision for Billings that helps us to grow in the direction of our collective values. We need a strategy that includes private investment, public infrastructure planning, and community priorities. We need to think big, but be very focused on delivering results, like better traffic planning, adequate safety resources, and more efficient permitting processes.
As Mayor, I will do more to collaborate with our legislative delegation, so that we are aligned in advocating for Billings. We simply did not engage soon enough in the property tax debates and we cannot let that happen again. I will work with our legislators to revisit the recently passed tax shifting bills to ensure that people get real tax relief and that Billings is able to fund basic services. In addition, I added an amendment to our City's budget this year to require a zero-based budgeting planning process, meaning that we will examine every single dollar in our General and Public Safety funds to ensure we are aligning spending with policy priorities. We will justify every dollar, rather than just building on years of assumptions.
I would like Billings to be the safest city in Montana. I want a community that is thriving, clearly stepping into its role as the regional hub. I want the public to have confidence in the Mayor, Council, and City operations. I hope to develop a transparent and easily understood budget that allows residents to see the return on investment of their tax dollars, a budget that clearly lays the foundation for rational growth and prosperity. Finally, I would like for every resident to feel like their neighborhood was equally important to Council - that we cared about every corner of the community and invested equitably throughout Billings.
