Melinda Reed

Melinda Reed

Nonpartisan

Candidate, Helena City Commission

Helena City Commission

Tenure

2022 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

3

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 2, 2021

Next election

November 4, 2025

Education

High school

The Lawrenceville School

Bachelor's

Trinity College, 1995

Graduate

Columbia University, 2002

Personal

Profession

Advocacy

Contact

Campaign website

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Melinda Reed is a member of the Helena City Commission in Montana. She assumed office on January 3, 2022. Her current term ends on January 5, 2026.

Reed is running for re-election to the Helena City Commission in Montana. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025. She advanced from the primary on September 9, 2025.

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

Biography

Melinda Reed earned a bachelor's degree from Trinity College in 1995 and a graduate degree from Columbia University in 2002. Her career experience includes working in advocacy.

Elections

2025

See also: City elections in Helena, Montana (2025)

General election

General election for Helena City Commission (2 seats)

Incumbent Melinda Reed, Haley McKnight, Ben Rigby, and Shawn White Wolf are running in the general election for Helena City Commission on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
		Melinda Reed (Nonpartisan)
		Haley McKnight (Nonpartisan)
		Ben Rigby (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Shawn White Wolf (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= 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.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Helena City Commission (2 seats)

Incumbent Melinda Reed, Ben Rigby, Haley McKnight, and Shawn White Wolf defeated Brenton Craggs in the primary for Helena City Commission on September 9, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Melinda Reed (Nonpartisan)	35.6	5,939
✔		Ben Rigby (Nonpartisan)	23.4	3,898
✔		Haley McKnight (Nonpartisan)	22.2	3,702
✔	Submit photo	Shawn White Wolf (Nonpartisan)	10.9	1,827
	Submit photo	Brenton Craggs (Nonpartisan)	7.1	1,185
		Other/Write-in votes	0.8	140

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 16,691
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2021

See also: City elections in Helena, Montana (2021)

General election

General election for Helena City Commission (2 seats)

Eric Feaver and Melinda Reed defeated Troy McGee and Steve Allen in the general election for Helena City Commission on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Eric Feaver (Nonpartisan)	31.2	6,116
✔		Melinda Reed (Nonpartisan)	28.6	5,619
	Submit photo	Troy McGee (Nonpartisan)	27.7	5,428
	Submit photo	Steve Allen (Nonpartisan)	12.3	2,413
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	38

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,614
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled. Steve Allen, Eric Feaver, Troy McGee, and Melinda Reed advanced from the primary for Helena City Commission.

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

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

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I was born in New York City and raised all over the world as the step child of a diplomat. I lived a nomadic life for many years as a humanitarian aid worker until I found Helena, the place I have now called home for over ten years. I am the proud mother of a teenaged boy, and work in the field of international human rights. I have served on the Helena City Commission for almost four years and prior to that spent nearly nine months as the Interim City Manager during the COVID 19 pandemic. I am an active volunteer for several of our local non profits, an avid user of our incredible outdoor spaces and a strong advocate for the value of public service. I live near a trailhead and when I am not working you can usually find me running trails or walking dogs.

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?

• Supporting and maintaining high quality city services is our most important role as city commissioners. This includes everything from our water supply to our incredible public lands to our city streets.
• We need to continue to work toward finding sustainable solutions to our community's housing issues.
• Our local businesses are the foundation of our community, and we need to support them and ensure that we allow for innovation, creativity and vibrancy in our city.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about policies that support sustainable solutions to housing issues, policies that support walkability and connectivity, and policies that ensure community participation. I am a strong advocate for our LGBTQI+ community, and am deeply committed to policies that support sustainability efforts and the responsible management of our public lands.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I have profound admiration for Ruth Bader Ginsburg. My favorite coffee mug has her quote, "Fight for the things you care about but do it in a way that will lead others to join you."

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

Elected officials have to listen to the people they represent. We have to be open to input and feedback and not assume we are they experts on everything.

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

My first job was working with the maintenance department at the US Embassy in New Delhi, India. I did it for one summer, and learned a lot about painting fences and how to keep cool in extreme heat.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

I don't think prior experience in government or politics is necessary. I think experience living and working in the community is the most valuable experience and brings the most relevant perspective to the issues the commission faces.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

It is very helpful to be skilled in consensus building and negotiation. The commission has five members, all with equal votes, and it's very helpful to know how to work with people to find consensus based solutions.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Senator Mary Ann Dunwell, Mayor Wilmot Collins, Commissioner Andy Hunthausen, Moffie Funk, Lisa Cordingley, Mary Hollow, Chelsia Rice, Charlie Crawford, Jacob Kuntz, Rachel and Diego Rivas, John Doran, Bob Funk, Riley Tubbs, Jen Gursky, Kali Wicks, Katherine Hausrath, Chuck Butler, Diana Hammer, Ann Waickman, Kev Hamm, Art Compton, Judy Fjell, Katie Knight

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.

2021

Melinda Reed did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

See also

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