Lesli Spencer

Lesli Spencer was appointed to the Powell City Council in 2015, elected to a full four-year term the following year and is now seeking re-election for a second term. The Ward 3 council member is being challenged by Heath Streeter.

Spencer said there was never any doubt she’d run for re-election, and she’s happy to have someone else on the ballot for her ward; she said it’s good to have more community involvement from more Powell residents.

“I’m excited that I have someone running against me. I wish there were more people involved in wanting to be a part of the community,” Spencer said.

She was appointed to fill a seat that became vacant when then-councilman Josh Shorb moved out of Ward 3 and had to resign his position.

Spencer said, when then-Mayor Don Hillman approached her for interest in Shorb’s former position, she didn’t have a platform or anything she wanted to change. She just saw it as a good way to get involved with the community and learn more about how local government works. Spencer became the first woman to serve on the Powell City Council since LuAnn Borders, who left the council in 2004.

“I think I have brought a different outlook on things,” Spencer said.

She came in after controversies about the construction and funding of the Powell Aquatic Center, and she said there haven’t been any overly contentious issues to tackle during her time on the council. The COVID-19 pandemic is about the only crisis the council has had to contend with since she’s been serving, and Spencer said she and the other councilors have worked cordially on responses to the pandemic and other issues.

“I think that we’ve worked well together — not that we always agreed,” she said.

Spencer expects some tough decisions lay ahead, as the council deals with financial difficulties stemming from the pandemic, but she said previous council decisions have left Powell well positioned to deal with it, such as building up its reserves to around $4 million.

Spencer said she’s very involved in the community outside her work as a councilor. She previously served on the Pull for Powell Committee, a Chamber of Commerce initiative to boost retail sales. She also served on the non-profit Powell Athletic Round Table, an organization founded in 1950 to support athletics for youth in Powell. It is not associated with the Powell School District. She also serves on the American Legion Baseball board.

Spencer was born and raised in Powell and graduated with the Powell High School class of 1992. She studied at Northwest College before transferring to Montana State University to get her degree in business management. Spencer has a son who is studying criminal justice at NWC.

She works for Keele Sanitation and says she doesn’t really have a title. Spencer said she’s “the person that does it all.”