Smith appointed to council, Teske is mayor

Libby has a new mayor and council member following two special sessions Wednesday night.

By a 5-0 vote, Council President Brent Teske was appointed to replace Doug Roll, who recently resigned following a failed recall effort. That followed on the heels of a 3-1 vote to name Kristin Smith to the governing body, albeit with strong dissent from Councilman Allen Olsen, who nominated Gary Neff but was the only one to vote for him.

Six candidates had applied to fill a seat left vacant by the resignation of Councilwoman Barb Desch. However, Dennis Souther withdrew his application due to the large number who applied, City Administrator Jim Hammons said. In addition, Karla Ralls-Wooden and Christopher Johnson were not qualified because Ralls-Wooden lives outside city limits and Johnson had not lived in city limits for the required 60 days, Hammons said.

In addition to Smith, council also considered Neff and Tammy Brown, although Brown was not nominated. Neff had previously applied for a council vacancy that was recently filled by Gary Beach, while Brown was actively involved in the attempted recall of Roll.

Former councilmen D.C. Orr and Ron Carter lauded the quality of the three candidates, and Olsen concurred. “We have three great candidates,” he said, “but I believe if we make the wrong choice we’ll go backwards in time.”

“Kristin Smith has used her inside information to better herself, but has that benefited the city of Libby?” Olsen asked. She “is a good person, but down the line there’s going to be a lot of conflict of interest.”

During questioning from council, Olsen asked Smith about a conflict of interest, noting that her husband “does work at the city water plant.” Olsen also asked her about a Community Development Block Grant that her business, Cabinet Mountain Brewing Co., received.

Smith said she would only have to recuse herself from votes that pertain directly to her husband’s employment. She noted that her loan agreement is with the Montana Department of Commerce and consequently would not be a problem.

Olsen said that Neff was “by far the better candidate … There’s been one man down here for the past two years. He will get his feet wet faster than anyone on council.”

In contrast, Councilman Brian Zimmerman said that Smith was the better candidate, citing her background, education and résumé.

Councilwoman Peggy Williams concurred, and noted that she worked with Smith in her time as a planning director for Lincoln County. “Her knowledge is far above the other people,” Williams said.

During her comments before council, Smith cited her history of civic and community involvement and noted that she has lived in Libby longer than anywhere in her life.

“I really want to see Libby reach its highest potential, especially for my children,” she said. “Libby is at a crossroads. We’ve fallen behind. We’ve been lacking some skill sets and missed some opportunities until recently,” she said, citing the work of Tina Oliphant, executive director of the Kootenai River Development Council and Lincoln County Port Authority.

“We’re on the cusp of breaking out of a rut,” Smith said. “I’ve got my life savings hanging on it!”

After council voted to appoint Teske to mayor — which it had to do twice because it originally accepted his letter of interest but didn’t nominate him — Libby’s new mayor said he sees a new day for the city.

“You can tell attitudes are opening up. It’s already been a positive move forward so we’re going to continue to roll with that,” Teske said.

During comments prior to the vote, Teske said he thinks city residents will support beautification efforts, and added that the city has been “a little stagnant.”

“I love what I hear and look forward to moving forward,” District 1 County Commissioner Mark Peck said prior to swearing in Teske.

“While I’m disappointed in the result, now is not the time for more divisiveness,” Brown said. “It’s time for our community to come together and heal our wounds. I congratulate Mayor Teske and Councilwoman Smith on their appointments and look forward to working with them, as a business owner and member of this community, to help move Libby forward.”

Now that he has been appointed mayor, Teske noted that the city will be accepting applications for his open council seat. The deadline is Oct. 14 with council to consider and appoint a replacement on Oct. 17.

Caleb M. Soptelean may be reached at 293-4124 or by email at csoptelean@thewesternnews.com.