With five seats open and 21 candidates for this year’s City Council Election, the variety and opportunity for change is greater than ever.
With the exception of Ward 3, which is already set at two candidates, ballots for the primary election were mailed out on August 23 to registered voters and are due back to the elections office by Sept. 10 at 5pm. Once the field has been narrowed to two candidates in Wards 1, 2, 4, & 5, the General Election will be held in November.
Ward 3, 4, & 5 will see new council members regardless of election results as all three have the unlikely common ground of their current council members not seeking re-election. Ward 1’s Brent Cromley has reached the two year marker and is ineligible for the next four years. Richard Clark of Ward 5 is taking a break after serving on the council since the 1990’s, with a total of 14 years on the council under his belt.
Candidates running in Ward 1 are Kendra Shaw, John S. Armstrong, and Jim Ronquillo, a previous council member.
Ward 2 holds the only incumbent candidate, Roy Neese, who was elected last year. Other Ward 2 candidates are Michael Richardson, Randy Heinz and Roger Gravgaard.
Ward 3 has Aldo A. Rowe, Matthew S. Melvin, and Danny Choriki in the running.
In Ward 4 Carmelita Dominguez, Pam Purinton, Gordon Olson, Daron Olson, Matthew J. Senn, and Nicole Gallagher make up the largest grouping of candidates.
In Ward 5 has Jennifer Merecki, Leilahni Kay, Dennis Ulvestad, Fredrick J. Wilburn and Mike Boyett vying for a seat on Billings City Council.
Yellowstone County News’ five part Q & A with 14 of the City Council candidates can be found in the August 16 issue.
