The first round of results released just after 8 p.m. on Tuesday showed Bozeman Commissioner Douglas Fischer leading in the mayoral race and the no votes ahead on a controversial ballot initiative in the city.

The Gallatin County Elections office counted 6,886 votes for Fischer, 2,959 for Bozeman lawyer John Meyer and 1,376 for Brendan O'Connor. Under Bozeman's city charter, whoever wins the race will first serve for two years as deputy mayor before ascending to the mayoral role.

Early results also show 8,052 votes against and 3,239 votes for the WARD ballot initiative, which would require developers to provide one-third of their units at below-market prices if they want to use the city's cash-in-lieu of water rights program.

The controversial idea has been pushed by Meyer, and also bee

See Full Page