Flathead Electric Cooperative members elect trustees, approve bylaw amendments
Whitefish Pilot | UPDATED 5 months, 3 weeks AGO
Flathead Electric Cooperative members elected all three incumbents on the Board of Trustees and approved two proposed bylaw amendments.
The board met Monday, May 18 to approve the certified election results. The Co-op’s annual election opened April 17 and closed May 15, with a total of 4,817 ballots cast. Of those ballots, 2,662 were paper ballots and 2,155 were submitted online.
Running unopposed, incumbent Trustees Duane Braaten (District 6 – West Valley, Kila and Ashley Lake) and Terry Crooks (District 9 – Libby) were re-elected to continue serving on the Co-op’s Board. Also running unopposed, Preston Lowe (District 8 – Bigfork) was elected after being appointed to the board in December 2025 to fill a vacancy. Each Trustee is elected to serve a three-year term.
Braaten received 4,277 votes, Crooks received 4,129 and Lowe received 4,146.
In addition to trustee elections, members voted in favor of two proposed amendments to the Co-op’s bylaws. The amendments addressed concerns over election costs, modernized governance language and ensured the bylaws reflect current Co-op operations and industry best practices.
The first amendment, which received 4,316 votes in support, allows the Co-op to forgo conducting trustee elections in years when all open board seats are uncontested. The proposal was placed on the ballot following member feedback expressing concern over the cost of uncontested elections, which totaled approximately $62,000 during the Co-op’s most recent uncontested election cycle.
The second amendment, with 4,382 votes in support, included a series of general updates intended to modernize and clarify the Co-op’s bylaws. The revisions reflected recommendations from national electric cooperative organizations, legal counsel and Co-op staff, and addressed areas including trustee qualifications, electronic communications, membership provisions, capital credits and operational language.
The amendments do not alter the Co-op’s not-for-profit structure or member ownership rights.