At 5 p.m. Monday there were eight candidates for two Great Falls City Commission seats and two candidates for mayor.

That means there will be a primary election on Sept. 12 for the commission.

Candidates for mayor are the incumbent Bob Kelly and Spencer Galloway. The mayor is a two-year term on the commission.

Candidates for two commission seats are incumbent Fred Burow, Tyson Habein, Mary Sheehy Moe, Kate Hughes, Josh DeNully, Rick Tryon, Owen Robinson and Scott Miller.

Burow is seeking a third term. Commissioner Bob Jones’ term is ending this year and he has decided not to seek a third term.

The filing period for candidates ended Monday but city residents can still file as write-in candidates until Aug. 8. Only those who file as write-in candidates will be considered in write-in space on the ballots.

Ballots will be mailed Aug. 23-28 and the primary election will cost the city $30,000 to $50,000, according to the Cascade County elections office.

If the county proceeds with including the economic development levy on the general ballot in November, the city will share the election costs with the county. The city still has time to pass resolutions to put issues on the ballot. Commissioners will consider a resolution for amendments to the city charter Tuesday night that if approved, will be placed on the November ballot for a public vote.

City working to update municipal code

Updated 10:25 a.m. June 20: Five or less candidates filed for each of the city’s nine Neighborhood Council, but they will be on the general ballot.

That means the candidates who filed will be on the council. To fill those vacancies the city first goes through declared write-ins on the ballot and those with the most votes are elected to the council. If there are still vavancies, the city goes through non-declared write-ins and calls them starting with those who got the most votes to see if they’re wiling to serve. If more people say yes than available seats, the names go into a hat and the City Commission pulls a name out of a hat. For midterm vacancies the councils themselves appoint new members.

Neighborhood council members serve two year terms and all seats are up for re-election at the same time, which coincides with commission elections.