GREAT FALLS — On November 8th, Cory Reeves was elected as the new Mayor of Great Falls. Reeves will take over current Mayor Bob Kelly's position. Kelly has been Mayor of Great Falls since 2016.
Reporter Cade Menter talked with Reeves as he discussed his victory.
"It's been a whirlwind," he said. "I've had tons and tons of calls, texts, Facebook messages, etc. people congratulating me."
Throughout his campaign, Cory said he wants to be a representative of the people of Great Falls no matter their background or viewpoints.
What I want people to realize, regardless if you voted for me or not, I'm here to serve this entire community," Reeves said. "I've tried to make that clear from the onset. Left, right, independent. I don't care. This is a nonpartisan position. I'm going to treat it as such. I'm here to do the people's work, and that's to move Great Falls forward."
Reeves has served in various roles ranging from Cascade County Undersheriff to Director of Adlera Lab. He explained why he decided to take on a new role with different responsibilities.
"Great Falls is moving in the right direction, but there's even some things that I, as a citizen, get frustrated about ... I was sitting, reminiscing about things that I would like to change in the city, and something came over me. The lord said if you feel passionate about it, then you need to step up and run for mayor, and that's exactly what I did."
Reeves said there will be some big shoes to fill as he begins his job in just over a month, but a key part of his success will be communicating with his colleagues and community members.
Reeves said, "I will be sitting down with Mayor Kelly, and picking his brain on what worked, what didn't work, and things of that nature. I envision my first couple of months just getting my feet wet. Getting acclimated to the process, the procedures, where we're at with things. I've been attending city commission meetings for many months now in anticipation for being elected. I feel I have a good grasp on what's going on, but I know there's a lot more behind the scenes that I'm not aware of, that I'm excited to learn about."
After getting acclimated to the job, Reeves is going to start pushing some of his agenda items.
"The public safety levy and bond failed," Reeves said. "We're going to have to re-address this somehow. I don't know what that looks like, but that's something me and my fellow commissioners, the city manager and the citizens are going to have to sit down and go, 'where do we go from here?' Housing is a big deal. I've talked about that. Economic development, we've talked about that. Great Falls is going to grow. I know we have some folks who say it's still the same, nothing's going to happen. Great Falls is going to grow, and we've got to anticipate that growth, whether it's infrastructure or roadways, sewers, public safety, we've got to be ready for when that growth occurs."
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