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Great Falls City Commission election - initial results

There were six candidates for two seats on the commission
Rick Tryon and Tracy Houck
Posted at 9:01 PM, Nov 05, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-06 00:17:29-05

GREAT FALLS — Initial results for the Great Falls municipal election indicate that Tracy Houck will retain her seat on the City Commission, and Rick Tryon will soon join her.

There were six candidates for two seats on the commission, and as of 8:45 p.m., here are the unofficial results:

  • Rick Tryon: 4,893
  • Tracy Houck: 4,730
  • Bruce Pollington: 4,033
  • Terry Thompson: 3,366
  • Kim Rodriguez: 2,513
  • Jasmine Taylor: 2,220

There were also 84 write-in votes.

Mayor Bob Kelly ran unopposed and has garnered 10,776 votes; there were 367 write-in votes for mayor. Municipal Court Judge Steve Bolstad also ran unopposed and has received 10,917 votes; there were 137 write-in votes.

Here are the brief bios on Tryon and Houck from our recent extended interviews with the candidates:

  • Rick Tryon was raised in Great Falls. He works part-time at Stray Moose Productions in Black Eagle and is also an independent web development consultant. Tryon has also worked as a semi-professional singer/songwriter. He also managed the Jack Club which his mother used to own. He's been married for 35 years. He and his wife have two grown daughters and three grandchildren, with a fourth on the way. He's run twice before for the commission and also the state legislature. Tryon says Great Falls is struggling to remain stagnant when it comes to growth and needs to do more to live up to its potential. In addition to better jobs, he'd like to see less crime and more government transparency.
  • Tracy Houck is seeking a second term on the commission. Houck has lived in Great Falls for 25 years. She has two children who also live in Great Falls. She is a graduate of Clarion University in Pennsylvania with a degree in communications focusing on non-profit marketing. She is currently working as a consultant but has extensive experience working with non-profits on the both local and state level. Some of the organizations she’s worked with include Voice of Hope, Gateway Community Services, and the Mental Health Center. Most recently, she served as Executive Director of the Paris Gibson Square. Houck said she would like to see slow and stead growth that provides a bigger tax base which in turn will allow for more resources including public safety. She says the city has streamlined it process to allow for greater investment in community development, planning and public works. Houck likes different backgrounds on the current commission and says she’s not afraid to make tough decisions.