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Study commission unanimously votes to keep Bozeman elections nonpartisan
Summary
The commission voted unanimously Jan. 28 to retain nonpartisan elections for mayor and commissioners after commissioners cited consistent public comment and charter guidance favoring nonpartisanship.
The Bozeman City Study Commission voted unanimously on Jan. 28 to keep elections for mayor and city commissioners nonpartisan.
Commissioners cited extensive public comment favoring nonpartisan contests and referred to charter guidance urging nonpartisan municipal elections. Jan moved to retain the current nonpartisan clause for mayor and commissioners; the motion was seconded and carried without dissent.
Several commissioners said local issues are best decided without attaching party labels. “I think local issues… are not partisan in nature,” one commissioner said during discussion. Commissioners noted that Montana cities generally use nonpartisan elections and that public input on this point was consistently supportive.
The commission will reflect that position in drafting the recommended charter language and include it in the next drafts circulated for public review.
