Voters retain Doug Roll as Libby Mayor
Libby municipal election results
by Duane Williams, KLCB 1230 AM Libby News Radio
November 4, 2009
City voters decided to make a clean sweep of the City Council clearing three of four incumbents from office.
Replaced will be Ron Carter, and two, long term Councilmen, Lee Bothman and Walter McElmurry.
They will be replaced by Vicki Lawrence, Robin Benson, and Barb Desh.
The lone survivor of the purge was D. C. Orr who won retention of his seat. Orr was being challenged by 18 year old Charlie Berget, son of former Mayor and now County Commissioner Tony Berget, and write-in candidate Michael Shock.
While voters were busy ousting councilmen, the mentality did not follow to the Mayor’s race where Councilman Peggy Williams was challenging appointed Mayor Doug Roll. Williams took 40% of the vote, with Roll taking 58%. By no means a run away. Williams retains her elected seat on the Council.
That leaves the council with four women, two men, and a male Mayor. Heavy county influence with two of the council County employees (ultimately responsible to Commissioner Berget), another is a former Berget employee. The council is now very short on institutional knowledge.
In the county, voters very narrowly approved the non-partisan election of county elected officials 51% top 48%.
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Story by Duane Williams, KLCB 1230 AM Libby News Radio, www.todaysbestcountryonline.com.
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