Mayors Reeves and Kelly speak plans for the future at Tuesday's swearing-in
Tuesday night’s swearing-in ceremony was a brief opportunity for the people of Great Falls to welcome in newly elected and returning city officials, and to offer thanks to those few who will be leaving public office. Upwards of 150 people packed the commission chambers to witness a new mayor, two city commissioners, a new municipal court judge, and the members of nine neighborhood councils take their oath of office.
“I thank you all for being here,” Municipal Court Judge Steven Bolstad told the enthusiastic audience. “This is a wonderful turnout.”
Before leading each incoming official in the oath of office, Bolstad - who will soon begin his fourth term as judge – took the opportunity to praise our system of government despite the deep discord that frequently plagues it.
“Our system of justice is not perfect, but it’s still the best in world,” he said, “and I believe that about our government as well. It’s not perfect, we have problems, but it is the best in the world.”
With that each in-coming official repeated a quick oath, accepted the audience’s applause, signed a few documents, and it was over. The entire ceremony took less than half an hour.
Bolstad expressed personal gratification on the swearing in of Mark Dunn, who as of January 1 will become a second municipal court judge for Great Falls. In recent years the city’s court, which until now has included only one municipal judge, has been overwhelmed by its caseload. Judge Dunn’s arrival promises to help clear the backlog of cases and ease the burden on Bolstad’s courtroom.
“For me it’s a special night,” Bolstad said. “I get a second judge finally, which is greatly needed.”
While each individual swearing-in was met with loud applause, the major focus of the night was both the arrival of a new mayor and the departure of Bob Kelly, who has served as Great Falls mayor for the past eight years.
Mayor Reeves speaks of his hopes for the future
Former Cascade County Undersheriff Cory Reeves will officially assume the office of mayor after the first of the year but has never before served as an elected official. Reeves said he does not consider himself to be a political person, and that’s it’s a skill he will have to learn after taking office. He also spoke about his priorities in the years ahead, and his motivations to run for public office. He said the impulse to become mayor came to him during a casual night at home with his family.
“I was just reminiscing about things that I enjoyed about our city and things that I’d like to see improve in our city,” Reeves recalled. “It was like a spiritual thing that came over me that said I should have the courage to run. I prayed about it, I talked to my wife about it and she said this is your call - whatever you want to do. So, I jumped in."
He added that he had no interest in running against incumbent commission candidates Rick Tryon or Eric Hinebauch for one of the two open commission positions but had heard that Mayor Kelly would be retiring after four terms in office.
“I didn’t want to run against Mayor Kelly, just like I didn’t want to run as commissioner against Eric or Rick. I respect them all … but since there was going to be an opening why not see what I can do.”
At the Nov. 7 election Reeves bested the vote totals of three other candidates for mayor, winning with more than 40% of the total votes cast. He said his two greatest priorities upon assuming office will be advancing economic development and growth in Great Falls and working to address the city’s housing shortage.
“I really want the work with our planning and community departments to ensure that our policies, procedures, our resolutions, and ordinances are streamlined,” he said. “That way if you show up in our community to start a business, to build a house you’re not waiting three-, six-, nine-months to do that. We’re going to streamline things to the best of our abilities and get the economic growth going.”
Reeves said that the failure of the Public Safety Levy proposal last November means the city commission is going to have to “go back to the drawing board” about operations within Great Falls’ fire, police, and municipal court departments.
“In my opinion people didn’t say no law enforcement or the fire department,” he said of the failure of Public Safety Levy. “They just said no to more taxes right now, but just because the levy and bond failed doesn’t mean that the need went away. It’s still there.”
“People want to move to a community that’s safe,” Reeves added. “I think Great Falls is still safe, but our resources are just too extended, whether its fire or police. We really do have to take a hard look at what we’re going to do moving forward. What that looks like is to be determined.”
He said he is deeply grateful for all their help and support he’s received from the other commissioners and city staff as he transitions into his new role, especially for Mayor Kelly
“He’s a great mentor to me and is extremely gracious,” Reeves said of the outgoing mayor. I think what we both want is to have seamless transition.”
“I know we’re undoubtedly going to have challenges ahead of us, but I’m excited to take on those challenges,” he concluded. “I eager to begin working together with my fellow commissioners, community members, the different committees we have throughout the city to see what we can get done.”
Praise and applause for Bob Kelly
The open house that followed the official swearing-in ceremony was described as an opportunity for the public to meet their new city officials, but most of the attention was on Bob Kelly, thanking him for more than 10 years of service on the commission including four terms as mayor.
The open house began with a presentation from Col. Barry Little, commander of the 341st Airwing at Malmstrom Air Force Base. Little described Kelly as “a dear friend and outstanding partner” who had strengthened relations between the Air Force and Great Falls throughout his tenure. He then presented Kelly with an American flag, folded and sealed within a triangular wooden display case.
“We have flown (this flag) over all of the missile alert facilities that constitute the 341st missile wing and represent the deterrent that we provide the United States,” Little told the audience. “It was flown in honor of Mayor Kelly’s contribution to the airman of Malmstrom Air Force Base. It is signed by the facility managers entrusted with this flag at these facilities and by me at the bottom.”
“The group of people that work on the base, both at Malmstrom and at MANG (Montana Air National Guard) are incredible,” Kelly responded. “They bring a background to our community that does nothing but makes us better. The things that the base does that many people don’t even know about are quiet things that keep us safe and keep us secure. They do it quietly and they do it well.”
“We’ve just come through a decade of dominance where the Blanchard Trophy (awarded by the Air Force Global Strike Command to the best missile maintenance team in the country) was awarded for the fifth time in a row to Malmstrom Air Force Base, and it’s never ever been done three time in a row before.”
Always a gracious public speaker, Kelly encouraged those in attendance to take the opportunity to thank an airman for their service during the Christmas season.
“Many of them are far away from home," he said. "They have their homes on base and in our community, and I think we make them feel welcome, but this is a special time to let these young men and women know how much we appreciate them, not only for what they do for Great Falls but for our country.”
After accepting words of praise and appreciation from multiple city officials in attendance, including an award for his many years of distinguished service, Kelly shared his thoughts with the Tribune about what his role of mayor had meant to him and about his plans for the future.
Asked what advice he would give himself if he could travel back in time to the opening days of his first term as mayor, Kelly replied “listen better, learn as much as possible, and be as available as possible.”
“There were many surprises along the way,” he added. “When you have an organization that has 500 people and a $125 million budget, you never really understand it until you jump into the middle of it. I was absolutely impressed with the professionalism of the staff that’s here and their commitment to the city. I developed a real admiration for who I work with.”
“I was fortunate," he added. "I’m retired and my wife was able to work fulltime to support my commitment to the community,” he said of the many long, largely unpaid hours he put in representing the citizens of Great Falls.
The mayor of Great Falls earns just $468 a month for their service, little more than a stipend to pay for transportation and cell phone service.
“There have been some people in the past and there will be in the future who will have full-time jobs, and they may not be able to dedicate the amount of time that I was able to,” Kelly noted.
He also said that if he were able to speak with other mayors from Great Falls' past, it would be fun to exchange tales with them about “some of the characters” they encountered at city commission meetings, and about how they dealt with the issues they faced.
“I recently had an opportunity to meet with the mayor of a small village in Nepal,” Kelly said. “We talked through an interpreter and discovered that many of our issues are the same including the many characters that show up at our meetings.”
Kelly, who is now 69, said he and his wife plan to travel through the first quarter of 2024, and that when they return he will begin thinking about his plans for the future.
“I want to take a look at where my interests lie,” he said. “I going to still stay committed to the community but in a less formal sense.”
This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Great Falls mayors exchange thoughts on their futures at swearing-in
