Emma Bode (Bozeman City Commission At-large, Montana, candidate 2025)

Emma Bode

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Nonpartisan

Candidate, Bozeman City Commission At-large

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 4, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

Montana State University, 2017

Graduate

Montana State University, 2018

Personal

Profession

Data analyst

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Instagram

Emma Bode is running for election for Bozeman City Commission At-large in Montana. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.^[source]

Bode completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Emma Bode provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on October 6, 2025:

• High school: Jackson Hole High School
• Bachelor's: Montana State University, 2017
• Graduate: Montana State University, 2018
• Gender: Female
• Profession: Data Analyst
• Prior offices held:
  • Bozeman City Commission (2024-Prsnt)
• Incumbent officeholder: Yes
• Campaign slogan: Building a Bozeman where nobody is left behind.
• Campaign website
• Campaign endorsements
• Campaign Facebook
• Campaign Instagram

Elections

General election

The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.

General election for Bozeman City Commission At-large (2 seats)

The following candidates are running in the general election for Bozeman City Commission At-large on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Eli Anselmi (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Roger Blank (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Emma Bode (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Trevor Nameniuk (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Alison Sweeney (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Emily Talago (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

To view Bode's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. To send us an endorsement, click here.

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Emma Bode completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bode's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Emma Bode. I am a data analyst and a community organizer who has spent the better part of a decade advocating for government to protect our climate and conserve our land and resources, prioritize a livable and affordable town for working people, and keep Bozeman a welcoming place to everyone.

Before coming to Bozeman over a decade ago, I grew up in the mountain towns of the West, the child of a hardworking carpenter and a Forest Service employee. I watched these towns change rapidly as locals were displaced, new strains were put on our natural resources, and local government struggled to navigate this new landscape.

While completing a bachelor’s and master’s in environmental science at Montana State University, I made my home here in Bozeman with my parents and loved ones. Last year, I ran for appointment on the City Commission because of my deep commitment to this place and its people.

As the next generation of leadership in this town, it’s my job to bring everyone’s voices to the table combining the brilliant minds this community is so lucky to have with data-driven solutions that protect the places we love, allow us to meet great changes with resilience, and create a Bozeman that can meet the future without leaving anyone behind.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Affordable Housing: The housing crisis in Bozeman is far from solved, but we’ve made progress in Bozeman in the last few years. We know supply is important, but supply alone will not solve this crisis. Ensuring that developments meet the needs of our community has been and will continue to be a top priority. We can create a housing ecosystem that serves all of us by zoning for missing-middle housing, working with housing trusts, fully funding transitional and emergency housing, and bolstering tenant’s rights.
• Public and Multimodal Transportation: at it's heart, this is about connectivity — ensuring that all Bozemanites can access the great things this community has to offer. Bozeman is car centric, but many residents are too young, physically unable, or cannot afford to drive. Every Bozemanite should be able to commute in safety whether that be by foot, bike, car, or bus. As your commissioner I will champion current efforts to close gaps in our pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and expand bus route coverage and increase frequency so we have less traffic, better air quality, and more choice.
• Climate and Environment: We can meet Montana's housing needs while protecting what makes our state special, but it requires building smart. Through well-planned urban development and strong conservation policies, we can create communities that are both affordable and sustainable. If elected, I would strengthen our conservation framework by giving real enforcement power to our city's recently developed sensitive lands plan, incorporating it directly into our growth policy. My top priority on climate is implementing the existing plan Climate Action Plan which went through a robust community engagement process and strategically identified targeted and effective policies to address this challenge.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am a public transit enthusiast — I don’t own a car and bike almost everywhere I go around town. I feel personally invested in having safe pedestrian and bike infrastructure. I’ve struggled with mental health in the past and so have so many of my friends. Another issue I feel passionate about is that when we invest in public safety, we take a holistic approach. When a resident is in crisis, the team responding should have the skills best suited for their situation — whether that be the police, our fighter fighters and EMS, or behavioral health experts. Public safety is also about feeling welcomed by your community no matter our differences. As a young, queer, woman, I feel passionate about implementing our Belonging in Bozeman Plan.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Elected officials must be accessible and compassionate. They need to show up, do their homework, and hold high ethical standards. A good elected official has honed the craft of blending a community's values with data-driven pragmatism to make sure that we are using our limited resources to the best value of our constituents.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The central role of municipal government is to make sure that our public works are functioning efficiently. This means plowing and paving the roads, providing clean drinking water, maintaining our parks, disposing of waste, and keeping our residents safe and doing all this with a balanced budget. The City Commission is the conduit between our staff and the rest of the community. The role of a Commissioner is to listen to our residents to understand how best to meet their needs and then set the policies to make sure that our staff have the resources to get that important work done.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was on a youth trail crew in the Grand Teton National Park. I worked on that crew for two summers in high school.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Organizations: Run for something, Montana Conservation Voters, Bozeman Tenants United, Montana Senior Vote

State Legislators: Becky Edwards, Cora Neumann, Eric Matthews, Kelly Kortum

City Electeds: Terry Cunningham (Current Bozeman Mayor), Joey Morrison (Deputy Mayor Bozeman), Carson Taylor (Former Bozeman Mayor), Christopher Coburn (Former Bozeman City Commissioner)

County Commissioners: Jennifer Boyer and Zach Brown

Community Leaders: Angela Yonke, Anne Hedges, Deborah Hines, Jason Baide, Jim Madden, John Todd, Stephanie McDowell

What is an accomplishment that you are proud of?

I'm proud of my contributions on the Commission to our update of the affordable housing ordinance - a policy that incentivizes the development of affordable housing. When our commission updated this policy, I advocated for our staff to clearly define what a studio apartment is so that developers couldn't cut corners and charge more for a room than it is worth by calling a small studio a "one bedroom". I also advocated to raise the parking minimum above zero parking spaces in the most incentivized version of the ordinance to ensure the ADA standards would kick in and require some accessible parking near affordable housing. My careful review of the policy also caught and resolved an error that would have allowed the parking on site to only be available to residents of the full-price units. I made certain that the parking spots will be equally available regardless of your income. Finally, I supported reducing what developers could charge for the affordable units to make them more affordable in our current market. I feel that this policy is better because of my attention to detail, diligence, and the way I lifted up and incorporated the feedback we received from our community.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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