HELENA — Haley McKnight says she’s been paying attention to Helena city issues, and she recently started to think she could play a bigger role in addressing them.
“I became really frustrated this past year, just with things going on with the city – things like the roads not getting plowed on time and potholes not getting filled and why we don't have a real curbside recycling program in town,” she said. “And I thought, ‘Well, the last couple of city elections have gone uncontested; I want to throw my hat in the ring.’”
So McKnight filed to run for Helena city commission – her first time running for office. She was one of five declared candidates, and she advanced to the November general election after finishing third in the September primary.
(Watch MTN's full interview with McKnight.)
McKnight, 30, says she’s lived in Helena on and off for almost ten years and full-time for five. She is the retail manager of Sage and Oats Trading Post in downtown Helena, and she owns Morningstar Design Ltd. Co., a consulting business. She’s also the president of Helena Young Professionals.
She says she’s often interacting with people because of her work.
“I care about Helena, and I love listening to people,” she said. “Connecting with people in a real way is what makes my heart beat.”
Those interactions are part of the reason McKnight says her biggest priority at the moment is addressing transit issues.
“I want Last Chance Gulch to be plowed, and for there not to be huge snow berms that my disabled clients have to crawl over, and I want a bus system that runs on time and runs for everybody, and I want people to have a reason to go places other than Target and Walmart, because we have we have such a bright, vibrant, beautiful community and I want people to be able to get there,” she said.
McKnight says the city has been moving in the right direction on issues like sustainability, but that leaders can still do more to encourage smarter development. She wants to see more effort to connect people facing homelessness with services. She believes the city commission could do a better job of reviewing city spending.
“I know the staff knows what they need, but I think because the city commission is the citizens’ first resource to what the city staff is doing, they need to be advocating for what people want,” she said.
McKnight says she wants to remain accessible and give everyone a chance to get to know her.
“I'm really just focused on being myself and showing everybody what a hard worker I am,” she said. “I'm not trying to win a personality contest, I'm not trying to be the most popular, I'm just trying to make good policy that people need and want.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of our four profiles on the candidates running for Helena City Commission. The profiles are being published in alphabetical order based on the candidates’ last name. On Tuesday, you will be able to see our second profile, on candidate Melinda Reed.
Ballots will be mailed out to Helena voters on Friday. Each voter can choose two out of four candidates, and the top two vote-getters will win seats on the commission. You must return your ballot by Nov. 4.
