Jennifer Owen (Mayor of Billings, Montana, candidate 2025)
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Jennifer Owen is running for election to the Mayor of Billings in Montana. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.[source]
Owen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Biography
Jennifer Owen provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on October 6, 2025:
- Birth place: Billings, Montana
- High school: Skyview High School
- Bachelor's: Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, 1999
- J.D.: George Washington University School of Law, 2008
- Gender: Female
- Religion: Christian
- Profession: Attorney
- Prior offices held:
- Council Member, Ward 2 (2022-Prsnt)
- Incumbent officeholder: No
- Campaign slogan: A New Kind of Leadership
- Campaign website
- Campaign Facebook
- Campaign Instagram
- Campaign YouTube video
Elections
General election
The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.
General election for Mayor of Billings
Mike Boyett, Amanda Housler, Mike Nelson, and Jennifer Owen are running in the general election for Mayor of Billings on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Mike Boyett (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Amanda Housler (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Mike Nelson (Nonpartisan) | ||
Jennifer Owen (Nonpartisan)  | ||
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| = 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
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Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jennifer Owen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Owen's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Driving change through smart public policy has been Jennifer’s lifelong passion and has given her the opportunity to work in education reform, energy policy, agriculture, tribal affairs, child welfare, early childhood issues, and workforce development. Jennifer was elected to Billings City Council in 2021. Since that time, she has dedicated herself to public safety, controlling spending and prioritizing funding, and building better relationships among the City, County and School Board. Jennifer served as the first chair of the newly established Council Budget Committee and has led numerous policy initiatives to strengthen the community and promote a safer Billings.
- We must cut crime and make Billings safer. On City Council, Jennifer led efforts to bring the City and County together to open a first-of-its-kind 72-hour pre-arraignment holding facility to address repeat misdemeanor offenders and reduce failure-to-appear rates. Ensuring there are immediate consequences at the misdemeanor level will reduce the volume of crime and the likelihood perpetrators will go on to commit bigger crimes. Jennifer is also spearheading the launch of a formal Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to address public safety challenges faster. We need more efficient courts, better coordination across jurisdictions, and shared goals with clear outcomes.
- Make wise investments in critical infrastructure. Whether improving traffic safety and controlling noise, repairing our crumbling stormwater system, or ensuring that water and sewer extensions keep pace with development, the value of infrastructure to Billings’ prosperity is evident. We need to focus local government on the basics – safe community, solid infrastructure – so that the private sector can do what it does best: invest in the future. Billings deserves the best when it comes to quality-of-life amenities such as recreation, entertainment, restaurants, and retail. We don’t need sky-high property taxes to build a community – we need people with vision and a government that knows how to stay in its lane.
- Earn back the public's trust. When residents feel unheard, overburdened, and under-informed, distrust follows. Rebuilding trust starts with proving that local government is working on behalf of the people of Billings—not above them. We need to truly engage residents in decision-making, listen to concerns and act with urgency to address the issues, and do better to show how we are providing return on investment with the taxpayers' money. Jennifer will lead with integrity and courage, ask tough questions, and be accountable to the voters.
Crime reduction and public safety, attracting new investment to Billings, building workforce to power our local economy, and strengthening municipal budgeting processes for more transparency.
Honesty, integrity, courage, respect, willingness to challenge the status quo, optimism, faith in the voters, belief in liberty and limited government, and gratitude for the opportunity to serve a community.
The Mayor and Council are the people's voice in the local government decision-making process. Our most core role is to communicate with residents, engage them in the process, and listen to concerns. The Mayor should also set a vision for the community and ensure, with Council, that budget resources align with the vision and goals. Finally, the Mayor should lead in ensuring that local government is transparent to the public and accountable for results. We need to be good stewards of tax dollars, advocates for the community, and leaders in solving complex challenges. The Mayor should be an ambassador for the City, speaking to the very best our community has to offer.
I want to leave a legacy of a vibrant community that is safe for children and families. I want residents to have pride in the City and have trust in their local elected leaders.
The Mayor's top priorities should be stewarding the City's budget to align with the community's priorities, communicating with and engaging the public, and putting forward a policy agenda that accomplishes meaningful goals.
Billings is the hub of the region - we can have a strong leadership role that benefits our residents and many nearby communities that rely on Billings. We have a huge amount of potential as Montana's largest city and now is the time to start delivering on that potential.
Reducing crime, limiting the growth of property taxes, and maintaining critical infrastructure to attract private development. We also have to earn back the public trust - there is a lot of frustration right now among residents, and the Mayor and Council need to address those concerns.
We need to back our police officers and respect the sacrifices they and their families make every day. The Mayor needs to be an advocate for improvements to the justice system that allow our cops to do their jobs.
During the last four years, I have worked with law enforcement to open Montana's first Family Justice Center to strengthen domestic violence prosecution, prevention, and response. We have partnered with the County to open a pre-arraignment holding facility that will allow our officers to arrest offenders immediately, even with an overcrowded jail. We have improved our Budget process to engage Council more robustly in setting funding priorities and tracking spending to ensure accountability.
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.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
Footnotes
