Jeff Forester, Kenny Rayome Jr. and Brent Teske make up the short list to replace Mark Peck as the Libby representative to the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners.

The Lincoln County Republican Central Committee unveiled the three potential candidates at the commissioners’ June 30 meeting. As per the Montana Code Annotated, the local political party of the former commissioner is tasked with finding a replacement.

“Our central committee has not taken this task lightly,” said resident Katrina Newton, reading from a prepared statement.

The group received applications from five potential candidates and whittled that down to the number proscribed by state code. Newton said the committee used a questionnaire and interview process to narrow its selection.

“I thank the central committee for really not rushing into this and allowing folks to apply and answer the questions,” said County Commissioner Jerry Bennett (D-2), who serves as board chair.

Two of the candidates are angling for other local elected positions this year. Teske, who serves as mayor of Libby, is running for a city council seat in the municipality. Rayome, a water treatment plant operator for the city, is vying for the position of mayor.

Bennett said commissioners planned to hold interviews with each of the three candidates before making a selection. They were waiting on the list of names before determining a timeframe for picking Peck’s replacement, he said.

Under the MCAs, if the commissioners fail to settle on one of the three aforementioned candidates, the central committee would need to return with three additional names. Commissioners would select a replacement from the field of six at that point.

“We feel very strongly about the candidates that we have [presented],” Newton said. “We feel that any of the three would be an excellent addition to the county.”

The newly appointed commissioner will serve in the seat until the 2022 election. The individual elected to the seat in that cycle will hold it until 2026, fulfilling Peck’s original term.

Peck stepped down on June 4 to take a position as a shared stewardship coordinator with the Lincoln County Port Authority. He ran unopposed for reelection to the board of commissioners in 2020.