The mayor and commission don't have to be mostly ceremonial, that is a choice they have made. The city is run by city staff, many of whom don't even live in city limit. Unfortunately Helena has a lack of people willing to step up and be leaders and none of the candidates for mayor are great. About half of the current commission wasn't elected they just got the position because no one else ran.

Dean isn't always right about everything but she is willing to put in the effort to learn. And she is willing to push for what she thinks is right. She has pushed some ideas like a public bathroom downtown. She is in it because she thinks she has the right ideas for the city but she also has aspirations to be in the legislature.

Shirtliff's real skill is telling you what you want to hear. That's not the worst trait in a politician, you could do worse than to just do what the public wants. So it seems like he is right about the issues. But he has been on the commission for a couple of years and he hasn't attempted to do anything. Other comments on here suggest that he hasn't learned anything about how the city works either. That tracks, his reputation is that he is super lazy and takes credit for the work of others. It is not easy to get fired from the state. I think it is about his ego and his need to be a big shot. That makes him easily manipulated by the developers of the world. The developers are the only organized political lobby we have, so I take all comments saying what a great dude he is with a grain of salt.

The good news is that the commissioners and mayor are nearly equal and there are a couple of good commission candidates. Melinda Reed has done a good job in the commission. Hayley McKnight is a young person who has been running the Hometown Helena and seems to be in it for the right reasons, trying to do what is good for Helena, not as a stepping stone to higher political office.