Members regulate their democratically organized cooperatives by actively participating in setting policies and making decisions and by electing the Co-op's Board of Trustees.
A big part of what makes not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperatives different from other utilities is their self-governance. Montana’s Public Service Commission (PSC) does not regulate cooperatives like Flathead Electric Cooperative. Instead, members regulate their democratically organized cooperatives by actively participating in setting policies and making decisions.
One way members participate is through the annual election of a Board of Trustees to govern their Co-op. This year, three seats on the Board were up for election. Candidates had to be members of the Co-op and live in the district they sought election to represent. Incumbent Alan Ruby, (District #5 – Kalispell, north of Highway 2), was unopposed, as were Gary Carmichael (District #3 – Whitefish, Big Mountain), appointed last fall by the Board to fill a vacancy, and John Sliney, who ran to represent District #2 (Lower Valley, Cooke City). Ruby received 5,593 votes, Carmichael received 4,971 votes, and Sliney received 4,827 votes.
After certifying the election results, the Board elected Gary Boe (District #7 – Kalispell, south of Highway 2) to serve as President, Stacey Schnebel (District #1 – Columbia Falls to Essex) as Vice-President, and Steve Streich (District #3 – Helena Flats, Columbia Falls Stage) as Secretary-Treasurer.
The Co-op’s bylaws require an election whether or not seats are contested. Members cast 6,595 ballots. Of those, 3,592 were paper mail-in ballots and 3,003 were e-ballots. This year’s election was the third in which electronic voting was available to members, via an emailed ballot, the My Co-op mobile app, or online account. E-voting saves significant paper and postage costs, which helps the cooperative keep rates low.
We thank our hard-working Trustees for their service to the Cooperative, and the members who voted in the election.
If you want to help your Co-op save paper and money, you can opt-out of your paper ballot.
