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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-19-26 Public Comment - M. Bateson - Ward CommentsFrom:Mary Bateson To:Bozeman Goverment Study Commission; Deanne.Campbell@bozemanmt.gov; Carson Taylor; Becky Franks; JanStrout; Barb Cestero; mike.mass@bozemanmt.gov Subject:[EXTERNAL]Ward Comments Date:Tuesday, May 19, 2026 5:11:33 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Study Commissioners, I have collected my previous comments concerning wards into this email for easy access. I have also sent a different summary email entitled "Keep it Simple, Stupid: KISS". Wouldn't itbe nice if I could follow my own advice? I will not burden you with spoken comments concerning Wards at your meetingtomorrow, May 20. Especially since I know you have much to cover in a short time! Best of Luck! Thank you for your work! - Mary Bateson, Bozeman Resident January 28, 2026 Study Commission meeting: "...the most disturbing issue before you is the proposal to split the Bozeman electorate into wards. The decisions of our City Commission affect all locations in this community, and commissioners need to be keeping the whole in mind. Often a person lives at one address, works across town, and recreates all over. People shop at several different stores, even several different grocery stores! People live in the whole community. For me, the most important characteristics of a candidate for any office is their experience, what they say they believe in, and how they represent themselves. I do not want to be voting on candidates based on where they live in Bozeman. I want to be able to vote on candidates because of their views. In the past election, one of my favorite candidates did not live near me. I expect that in the future, the candidates that could best represent me would not necessarily be in my ward. So, are wards a solution in search of a problem? One reason I have heard for why wards are preferred is that in the past, commissioners have been mostly from the south side of town, in the older neighborhoods. Isn’t that historically where more well-off people have lived? Isn’t this really an issue of who can afford to serve? The compensation for the work of commissioner is in no way commensurate with the time and effort required. If you want the commission to be more representative, we need to increase their pay. Unless the main qualification for commission positions is meant to be wealth." March 25, 2026 Study Commission meeting: "Thank you for the opportunity to speak about what I call “Wards for Bozeman: a solution in search of a problem.” I am in favor of our At-Large elections. Please carefully consider the Disadvantages to Wards and Advantages of At-Large elections pointed out in the MSU Local Government Center document assigned for today’s meeting. I would like to counter the four Advantages to Wards listed. To the first and second advantages: Bozeman does not have a sufficiently large and geographically concentrated racial or ethnic minority. Also, lower-income and renter neighborhoods are not sufficiently concentrated, with many renters living in what are traditionally considered higher income neighborhoods. Wards would not increase any of these group’s representation on our City Commission. 3rd advantage “Stronger Neighborhood Responsiveness”: Please re-read my comments from your Jan. 28 meeting. We need city-wide perspective for the Bozeman community. I want to vote for the best candidate sharing my views, not be forced to vote for a near but mediocre candidate. 4th advantage: Lower campaign costs for candidates: Maybe true. But one could argue that a candidate that is not an effective fundraiser may also not be an effective commissioner. A more important barrier to candidacy is that commissioners are not adequately financially compensated for their work. My next questions are not addressed in the MSU document: Who bears the cost of creating and maintaining Wards? If Wards, compact and equal in population and geographic area could be drawn, who does this and how often would these lines need to be adjusted as Bozeman grows? Are the people who live near the edges of the Ward boundaries going to be constantly thrown into different Wards as Bozeman’s boundaries change? How about the Commissioners themselves? If they move out of their Ward, are they made ineligible to run again in that Ward? This exact issue has eliminated a County Commission hopeful from participating as a candidate this year because of errors made in determining her District. Please do not add this level of complication to our voting. The level of voter participation is already embarrassingly low (31% this November!). The complication of Wards or Hybrid Systems could make this even worse. Please let us continue to vote At-Large for our City Commissioners. Thank you for your attention." April 2, 2026 Study Commission meeting: "Thank you for considering my comments in opposition to Wards in Bozeman. Thank you for allowing citizens to vote for the best candidates, who exhibit integrity, skill, and experience. I do not want to be forced to vote for an address. Thank you for considering that for this November 2026 election, Gallatin County will have only one candidate for the position of District 3 Commissioner. Is this democracy? Consider the damage and cost Wards can have and Districts are having in real time for our community and our democracy. Thank you for adopting the position that At-Large voting provides Bozeman citizens better outcomes than a Ward system would. Let’s leave it At-Large."