Former Ronan Mayor Chris Adler has had his eye on serving as county commissioner for the past few years. To that end, he’s regularly sat in on meetings, met with department heads, and grilled the current three commissioners about the issues they navigate.

On Monday, that goal took a sizable step toward reality when commissioners Bill Barron and Gail Decker appointed Adler to fill the remaining two years left in Steve Stanley’s term after the commissioner steps down Oct. 2.

“I'm not going to do it halfway – it’s going to be my job,” vowed Adler after his appointment. “I’m very honored.”

Because all members of the county commission are Republicans, the party’s central committee was tasked with putting forward three candidates for the position.

In addition to Adler, Max Krantz and Corey Kamerainen had submitted applications. Neither was present for Monday’s meeting.

By statute, Stanley was not allowed to vote for his successor.

Before making a motion to appoint Adler, Decker noted that he’s shown considerable interest in the job. Of the three candidates, “Mr. Adler really was the only one who came in and tried to do any homework as far as understanding how county government works,” Decker said.

“He's shown the most interest and has the most understanding right now of the position of any of the three candidates,” he added.

Barron concurred. “I don't take this appointment lightly, and I put a lot of thought into it,” he said. “I wanted to get somebody that had the right personality, the right temperament, connections to the county, experience. And I really weighed all of that to make my decision.”

When Adler officially steps in to office Oct. 5, he’ll face the usual array of duties that comes before the commission, ranging from budget decisions to giving final approval to development projects, to hiring new employees, and negotiating with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in areas where jurisdiction between the two governments overlaps.

When it comes to working with tribal government, Adler predicts he’ll take the same approach as Stanley, who has been open to areas of agreement but willing to take a stand when he deems it necessary.

“We're willing to listen and negotiate where we can and be on a case -by -case basis,” Adler said.

Unlike his predecessor, who worked for Lake County for 37 years, including three decades in the Office of Emergency Management, before he was appointed to the post in 2021, Adler has no prior experience in county government.  

He does, however, have considerable experience with municipal government, having served as Ronan mayor from 2022-2025, and as a council member from 2014-2021. He’s the community’s fire chief, a post he’s held since 2020, and also from 2003-2007, and has been a volunteer firefighter since 1990.

He’s also president of the Lake County Fire Association – a countywide organization that works with fire departments and emergency response agencies across the county.

As to his work experience, Adler said he’s been employed as a mechanic and tow-truck driver at Ronan’s Dodge dealership and worked for the Montana Department of Transportation.

A graduate of Ronan High School, he earned a certificate in auto mechanics from Salish Kootenai College. “For most of my adult life, I actually had two jobs,” he said.

Adler plans to approach his new job much like a mechanic.   

“These guys are pretty much the same thing,” he said. “They take a problem, and they do their research on it. They talk to people on it, and they come up with their own best plan on how to fix it.”

He also describes himself as a “people person,” willing to engage with constituents, listen to their concerns and help them understand issues facing the county.

“If you don't know the answers, you do the research and find the answers,” he added. “That's how it works.”

"The parties don't own the office"

During the public comment period, Ronan resident Rick Jore expressed his concern about the appointment process, saying he thought it was unconstitutional and vested too much power in a political party.

“The parties don’t own the office,” Jore said. “The office is filled by the individual.”

Fred Nelson, a regular visitor to the commission chambers, praised the commissioners for being so accessible to the public, and said he anticipated that Adler would continue that tradition.

“I think that's the best thing that Lake County commissioners have ever done is have the open-door policy for people to come in when you're available,” he said. “You don't always get the answer you want, but at least you guys will listen to the public.”

Adler vowed to continue that approach. “Let people come in and talk. If they want to look at the budget, let them look at it,” he said. “If they want to get your feel on certain things, then it's good. It's good to talk to people.”

Adler will represent the largest of the three commission districts, which goes from the south side of Ronan to the south side of Arlee. When the seat is on the ballot in 2008, he plans to run for office, something he said he’d been planning to do well before his appointment.

At 56, he’ll be the youngest commissioner on the three-member board.

“It's good to have a little diversity,” he said. “I'll probably cue them in on stuff that they didn't know, and they'll cue me in on stuff that I didn't know.”