Steve Stanley sworn in as Lake County commissioner

Lake County Commissioners Bill Barron and Gale Decker on July 28 appointed Steve Stanley of St. Ignatius to replace District 2 Commissioner Dave Stipe, who resigned from the commission earlier this month for health reasons.

Stanley has more than 30 years of experience working for the county’s Disaster and Emergency Services Department, where he served as deputy coordinator for 13 years before an 18-year stint as coordinator. He retired in 2018. He also served as a volunteer firefighter for the Polson Fire Department from 1987 to 2007.

Stipe cited health concerns in his resignation letter dated July 13 and said he has a critical form of cancer. He served on the commission from 1993 to 2005, then was elected again in 2016. His term runs through 2022.

Barron and Decker announced their decision during a hearing at the Lake County Courthouse.

“He’s been a great commissioner,” Barron said of Stipe during the hearing. “I really enjoyed working with him. … Dave’s about business when it comes to the county.

“He’ll bend over backwards to try to help you with an issue.”

“He’s a very kind-hearted soul, and I wish him well moving forward,” Decker said.

Since Stipe is a member of the Republican party, county GOP leaders forwarded a list of three candidates to Barron and Decker from which to choose a replacement. That list also included Frank Delgado of St. Ignatius and Dan Kramer of Ronan. None of the three finalists was present at the July 28 hearing.

Barron lauded all three finalists and said Stanley “brings a lot of knowledge, a lot of experience, understands a lot of county stuff, and we felt of the three he was the one most likely to step in and take off the quickest.”

Barron said Stanley has indicated that he will seek re-election in 2022.

Lake County District Court Judge Deborah “Kim” Christopher swore in Stanley on July 29 at the courthouse. He officially took over the District 2 seat representing south Lake County at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

After being sworn in, Stanley said he came back to county government work because he really enjoys making things better.

“I really do enjoy working for the county. I always have.”

Stanley said one of his primary concerns is employee recruitment and retention.

“The other thing I’d like to work on is public access, especially to the lake.”

He also said he’d like to see more cooperation between the county and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in regard to grant applications.