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By TYLER RALEY | Staff Writer

HELENA – The Helena City Council hosted interviews for the vacancy of City Council Place 2 and officially appointed Kevin Bullock to the Grievance Committee during a special called work session on Wednesday, Dec. 18.

The interviews were held as a result of the resignation of former Councilmember Chris VanCleave, who stepped down from his position due to ongoing health concerns and complications.

VanCleave’s resignation letter was announced at a previous meeting on Nov. 25, while the Council then accepted his letter at the following meeting on Dec. 9.

During the work session, each candidate was interviewed individually whilst other potential candidates remained outside the Council chambers until it was their time. Once a candidate’s interview was complete, they were excused from the work session.

Each candidate was delivered the same set of questions prior to the meeting and the questions were compiled using suggestions from the public and questions from the councilmembers.

After determining the order of interviews at random, Chuck Oehrlein was selected to be first. Oehrlein has been a resident of Helena for 27 years and owns his own podiatry practice.

When asked if he would run for a council position in the upcoming election and what his platform would be, Oehrlein stated:

“Yes, I would be willing to run,” Oehrlein said. “For the platform, it would be that if you want nice things, you’re going to have to pay for them. It’s as simple as that. Everybody wants nice things, we want the city to look pretty, we want the flower baskets, we want the roads, something done with them. It’s if you want nice things, if you want good security, good cops, up to date fire department, good teachers, it’s going to cost money.”

Alex Miller is a lifetime resident of the city of Helena that graduated from Helena High School in 2018 and, since graduating college, moved back home to work as a project manager in his family’s business. He desires to bring his youthful insight of construction and utilities to the city.

When asked if he would run for a council position in the upcoming election and what his platform would be, Miller stated:

“Yes, my intention is to run for the council in 2025,” Miller said. “My platform would be preserving the natural beauty of Helena. I’d like to see Helena grow in a responsible manner with possibly new developments such as subdivision and infrastructure upgrades that we desperately need, but I would run based on preserving the beauty of Helena.”

Brooke Dodson has been living in Helena since 1999 and has been heavily involved in the running community throughout the city. He has served on the Helena Planning and Zoning Commission for the past two years with a background in commercial real estate.

When asked if he would run for a council position in the upcoming election and what his platform would be, Dodson stated:

“I’m planning to run at this time,” Dodson said. “As far as my platform, obviously the upgrades to City Council agendas and recorded minutes, livestreaming. Also, I’d like to open up council meetings to public comment on any ordinance discussion, any legislative discussion, any budgetary discussion… Applying that type of format to as many agenda items as possible I think brings the public in, and I think a republic works best when the public is engaged and involved.”

Matt Herndon started working in Helena in 2005, but moved to the city in 2010. He holds a degree from Mississippi State with a degree in business management with an emphasis in human resources. He believes he would be an asset and likes the idea of serving to make immediate change.

When asked if he would run for a council position in the upcoming election and what his platform would be, Herndon stated:

“My intentions with or without this is to run for council,” Herndon said. “As far as platform, I don’t have one. If I were selected for this appointment, I’m sure that 10 months worth of learning could help me develop a platform, but as of today, I have no clue.”

Dominga Gardner has lived in Helena for 19 years and has a full investment in the city. She serves on the Diversity Board and works for the local government as an IT professional. She also is a volunteer coach at Helena High School who wants to help shape Helena’s future.

When asked if she would run for a council position in the upcoming election and what her platform would be, Gardner confirmed she would be running and stated:

“My platform of course would always be enhancing the infrastructure and traffic, responsible growth and economic development,” Gardner said. “Foremost, just being transparent about community engagement and bringing those residents together for unity.”

Andy Healy has been a resident of Helena for 14 years and is retired following finishing up government work in 2010. The city has been a second home to him and hopes to be appointed in order to thoroughly help the city.

When asked if he would run for a council position in the upcoming election and what his platform would be, Healy stated:

“I am, that was one of the things that I’ve talked to a few of y’all about in the past,” Healy said. “My platform is just improvements. What can I do as a new councilmember to tighten the bond between the citizens and the Council, tighten the bond between the citizens and the mayor, kind of clean that up, make us a unit that is going to be successful for the growth of the city in the right way. My biggest platform would be communication.”

Tim Wolfe moved to the city of Helena 27 years ago and has seen all of his children grow up in the area. He has loved seeing Helena grow over the years and desires to grow it even more, bringing those around him closer together should he be appointed.

When asked if he would run for a council position in the upcoming election and what his platform would be, Wolfe affirmed he would be interested in running and stated:

“I wouldn’t pick a platform that’s premature,” Wolfe said. “I would like to see the community become even closer knit. I have some ideas that are just grandiose, and I have some ideas that are much more painful in a short time. I would like to see our community be even more helpful to seniors and our senior population. We’re talking about heavy inflation, you’ve got fixed incomes and I want them to continue to be Helena residents.”

In the meeting agenda, there were originally eight scheduled interviewees for the position of Place 2. However, Scot Newman was not present, which the Council noted during the session.

A decision for the appointment of a new councilmember to Place 2 will be announced at the city’s next regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, Jan. 13.

In addition to the interviewing for filling the vacancy on the City Council, the Council carried out the official appointment of a new member to the Grievance Committee.

The City Council received applications from Kevin Bullock, Dawn Caballero, Mike Matthews, Andy Klein and Ben Nichols, and allowed each of them to present an elevator pitch during the meeting discussing their background and why they would be a good fit to sit on the Grievance Committee.

Bullock, the human resources director for Impact Family Counseling, was selected for appointment by the Council. Bullock has a large background in human resources field working in his current position, as well as having been an HR generalist for Regions Bank. He also has an extensive background in labor laws, as well.