GREAT FALLS — On December 19th, Great Falls elected officials were sworn into office before they take on their new roles beginning in January.
Those who were sworn in included:
- Mayor-Elect, Cory Reeves
- Commissioners-Elect, Rick Tryon and Shannon Wilson
- Municipal Court Judge (Dept. B), Mark Dunn
- Neighborhood Council 1-9 representatives
While there will be familiar faces continuing their roles into next year, there will also be some newcomers.
One person who is familiar with the Great Falls community is Shannon Wilson
Wilson has served in all kinds of different roles, ranging from VFW Post 4669 Post Adjutant to a member of Great Falls Neighborhood Council District 9.
She also has a military background, serving in the U.S. Army from 1985-1992. Come next year, she will be entering an all-new role.
One of her main reasons for taking on the role as City Commissioner is addressing the growing unhoused population in Great Falls.
"I do a lot of volunteer work in the community," Shannon said. "In particular, I worked at the cold weather drop-in center downtown that helped the unhoused transition and wait for a warm place to stay until the rescue mission takes in cold weather folks. One night, a woman came in who had just lost her housing. She had items from her refrigerator still in her suitcase. We helped her that night, and she went on her way. They found her three weeks later in the alley, dead. They didn't even report her name. She was a citizen of Great Falls. They reported her as a transient. I'm very concerned about affordable housing and particularly seniors having access to affordable housing."
Wilson also noted her support for law enforcement.
"I'm looking forward to solving the problem we have with public safety," she said. "Trying to fix the problem that we have with the fire department, the police department. We're so far behind. I know it was a big ask, and it was a bad time to ask, but we've got to figure something out."
With Mayor-elect Cory Reeves taking over, Bob Kelly's eight-year tenure will end. Kelly said, "It was an incredible privilege to be able to represent the city of Great Falls, especially welcoming other groups, being able to welcome people for the work that they do and thank them as a community member and as a community itself. To meet with new employers coming in has been really fun. It was a real privilege to do that. It's challenging, but it's been a lot of fun."
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