A dozen apply for open city council seat, council whittles finalists to four
CHRIS PETERSON | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 months, 2 weeks AGO
Chris Peterson is the editor of the Hungry Horse News. He covers Columbia Falls, the Canyon, Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness. All told, about 4 million acres of the best parts of the planet. He can be reached at [email protected] or 406-892-2151. | July 22, 2026 7:10 AM
From a pool of 12 candidates, the Columbia Falls city council Monday night whittled the list down to four finalists for an opening on the city council.
They are Elizabeth McBride, Staci Bloomberg, Kaitlyn Seemiller and Roger Hopkins.
The four will go through short interviews at a July 27 special meeting at 7 p.m. which is open to the public. The council will then make a decision on a final person, who will fill the term for two years.
The interest in the opening seat is in stark contrast to last year’s general election where Christopher Semok was elected by default for lack of candidates. Semok, in turn, would miss more than half the meetings in 2026 and received a letter of censure from council.
He then resigned at the end of June.
The city then asked for any people interested and received 12 responses. One individual was rejected after it was determined he did not live inside the city limits.
Councilwoman Paula Robinson suggested the city vet the candidates further to determine whether they were registered voters and to confirm their residency in the city.
That will be done before the July 27 meeting.
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