BUTTE — Voters in Butte’s primary election have whittled down the chief executive candidates to just two: the incumbent, who enjoys a strong lead, and a political newcomer who’s been very critical of the administration.
Incumbent J.P. Gallagher finished first in the primary election and Bill Foley was the runner up. They will face off in the general election on Nov. 5, 2024.
“I was really happy with the results, you know, we had four candidates in the race and to pull 45 percent of the voters, I thought that was a strong performance for us,” said Gallagher.
Bill Foley finished with 25 percent of the votes, while Rayelynn Brandl was third with 22 percent, and Cathy “Moe” Goodwin trailed with 8 percent.
Foley said he’s confident he can get the votes to win in the general election.
“I think what Moe Goodwin and Rayelynn Brandl stand for is very similar to what I stand for. You know, we want to bring change to our government, we want to bring accountability, we want to bring transparency, and I think their voters are going to find their way over to me,” said Foley.
Gallagher said his record speaks to voters.
“Promoting Butte, working on economic development, affordable housing, and the Superfund issue and start getting the cleanup moving,” said Gallagher.
Foley has accused Gallagher’s administration of not being transparent and not acting in the community’s best interests.
“We’re at a very important stage of the Superfund cleanup and we need to have representation that’s looking out for the people of Butte instead of saving money for ARCO and British Petroleum,” said Foley.
Gallagher said he plans to run a clean campaign that sticks to the issues.
