STEVENSVILLE — The new mayor-elect for the Town of Stevensville is thanking everyone who voted Tuesday and pledging to work for all the residents in the Bitterroot Valley town, even if they voted for his opponent.
Former Montana legislator Steve Gibson swept to a clear victory in Tuesday's municipal elections, topping incumbent Mayor Brandon Dewey by 117 votes.
It was just a year ago Dewey narrowly survived a recall campaign, but that didn't stop some of the turmoil, as the community continued to split over a variety of issues, with more Town Council resignations.
Gibson is promising a more responsive and open administration, with less rancor.
"I think it was a pretty good turnout for an off-election year. I just want to pledge to everybody that no matter how they voted, I'm going to represent all of the people of Stevensville," Gibson said on Wednesday.
For his part, Dewey is thankful for not only those who continued to support him but the staff who've made accomplishments.
"I'm simply just the facilitator. The credit for that goes to the folks who supported me over that period of time. And we'll continue to see success in our community. I'm certainly not going anywhere. You know this is just a change in who's involved politically. But you'll still see my family involved in civic events and those types of things."
One interesting development is that Stevensville will have an all-women Town Council after the new council members take their seats in January.
