The City of Libby has a new mayor and two new councilors.

Voters overwhelmingly picked councilor Hugh Taylor to succeed incumbent Peggy Williams. Taylor tallied 401 votes to Williams’ 220. Jonathan Jameson had 69 votes.

Williams was elected to city council and began serving in January 2008. She served on almost every city council committee, serving as chairman of the budget committee for six years, elected council president in 2016 and elected Mayor in November 2021 after being appointed to fill the remainder of the Brent Teske’s term when he was appointed to the Lincoln County Commissioners.

"Over the past 18 years, serving on the Libby City Council and as Mayor has been both challenging and deeply rewarding," Williams said in an interview with The Western News. "During this time, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside three mayors and more than 25 council members. Together, we’ve witnessed significant changes—in our economy, in the cultural fabric of our community, and most notably, in how the City of Libby delivers services to its residents.

"I’m proud to leave the city in a strong financial position, with a carefully balanced budget and a Capital Improvement Plan that, if sustained, will support future facility upgrades, the purchase of a new fire truck, and critical water and wastewater infrastructure—without placing additional strain on our taxpayers."

Taylor is appreciative of the support he received in the election.

"First, I want to thank the voters of Libby for their support," Taylor said. "I also want to thank Mrs. Williams for her time and dedication to the city."

Taylor said one of his top priorities is to increase transparency.

""I'm not sure how it will work out, but we may have a state of the city event once a quarter or once a month where people can ask questions and see what we're doing," Taylor said. "The council meetings are business meetings where we pay the bills and hear requests from the citizens, but I think another forum where our residents can see what's going on would be very valuable."

Taylor pointed out most of the council that will be seated in 2026 is very new to the job.

"It's the biggest turnover since I've been involved and we still have to fill my council spot, but we're in a good place with our police force and the city crews," Taylor said. "And there are projects Peggy spearheaded that still need to be done. I also want to sit down with all the local business owners and hear their concerns about what we can do to make the city better."

For the three council seats up for grabs, incumbent Gail Burger won re-election with 299 votes. Burger was appointed to the seat following the resignation of Gary Beach in 2024.

Newcomers Brian S. Crompton had 411 votes and Erica Schaefer had 385 as they secured the two remaining four-year seats. Brooke Bolin had 160 votes.

Ethan Kolp claimed a two-year seat by acclimation after no one else ran. Kolp took the place of Ian Smith in March 2025. Smith resigned the seat Feb. 18 because he took a job with the Troy Police Department. Smith served on council for 14 months following his election in November 2023.

In Troy, incumbent Mayor T.J. Boswell won with 141 votes to challenger Gilbert Leslie Gravier II’s 65. Boswell, who served as a city councilor, was sworn in Nov. 18, 2024. The vote by his fellow councilors was unanimous. He replaces former mayor Chuck Ekstedt, who resigned Oct. 21 following a city council meeting.

Also in Troy, Jill Dieser had 77 votes as she was selected to a spot on the city council. She beat Robert Henson, who had 19.

Two other seats, four years, on Troy City Council were claimed by Scott Hoffman and Jesse Haag. They each won by acclimation when no other candidates entered.

In North Lincoln County, Sonya Richardson was elected Mayor of Eureka with 226 votes to Kellen White’s 50.

There were two open seats for Eureka city council. Doug Davies (137) and write-in candidate Victoria Hayes (79) each claimed those seats. Write-in candidate Katy C. Morgan had 9 votes.

In Rexford, for two city council seats, Patsy Reece had 23 votes and Paul Middlemore had 20 votes to win election. Hannah Watkins had 18 votes.

    T.J. Boswell