Lincoln County District 1 Commissioner Brent Teske is touting his many years of public service as he seeks a second full term.

Teske is facing fellow Republicans Jeff Koskela and Stu Crismore in the June 2 primary election.

Teske, a Libby native, has served as a county commissioner for nearly five years. He was appointed in 2021 following the departure of Mark Peck and won election in 2022.

Prior to that, Teske was the mayor of Libby for five years and county Emergency Management Agency Director for four years. 

Teske is also U.S. Navy veteran. He and his family lived in Kalispell for a few years when he was young. Teske was a City of Libby Police officer for 11 years and a Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Reserve Deputy for two years.

“Along with being the District 1 Commissioner, I chair the Commission, the Libby Asbestos Superfund Oversight Committee, I am the vice-chair of the Lincoln County Port Authority Board, I also chair the Area VI on Aging Advisory Council and I sit on the Executive Board,” Teske said in a written statement to The Western News. “I also sit on the Executive Board of Kootenai Forest Stakeholders Collaborative, I’m the secretary for the Lincoln County Veteran Memorial Foundation, and I am the Igniters Car Club President this year. I am the only county commissioner on the Montana Hard Rock Mining Impact Board and participation in these boards allows me to network and have input,  leading Lincoln County into the future.”

Teske spoke about the county’s work following the severe weather events the area endured since last December.

“Your Lincoln County Commissioners are very active and working for you daily. We’ve been extremely busy working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Montana Department of Emergency Service to recover from the recent flooding and wind events.”

Teske also addressed comments by one of his opponents regarding forest management.

“My opponent claims that he wants to see more happen when it comes to forest management,” Teske said. “The Lincoln County Commissioners have been on the forefront of working with the USFS in that effort. I formed a committee of very experienced consultants, from a former USFS Supervisor to forest industry leaders, as well as state and local consultants. The commissioners presented the idea of a Master Stewardship Agreement to the Kootenai National Forest, based on successful MSAs around the county. The MSA allows the county and the Port Authority to partner with and support the USFS in wildfire mitigation and forest management projects while helping cut the red tape and shortfalls they may be experiencing to move projects along. 

“I personally signed on the the Ripley project litigation as an intervenor because I see the importance of that project and the impact it could have on the hundreds of residents that live in the project area. The commissioners meet with the Kootenai on a regular bases, forest management and wildfire mitigation are usually the main topic.”

Teske also addressed the Equal Access to Justice Act. It was enacted in 1980 and authorizes the award of attorney’s fees and other expenses to certain individuals, small businesses and other entities who prevail against the federal government in judicial proceedings and certain adversary adjudications when the government’s position is not substantially justified.

Logging advocates argue the Act has halted several timber harvest projects in the last several decades.

“Until there are changes to the Equal Access to Justice Act, and a collaborative effort between environmental groups and the USFS, litigation is going to be a major factor in forest management and wildfire mitigation,” Teske said. “The county works closely with DNRC on firewise projects, with home owners, and has completed numerous projects on county property to mitigate wildfire. The county commissioners and Lincoln County are very engaged with the Kootenai National Forest, forest industry leaders and local collaboratives in forest management and wildfire mitigation, it's an important part of our mission and near and dear to my heart.”   

He also spoke about current efforts the commissioners are engaged in regarding job creation.

“We are engaged in a feasibility study to determine if a bio-mass plant would be in our future, working with an engineering firm to build a package we can present to investors,” he said. “We are also engaged in a feasibility study to expand or build a new county detention facility and we just completed an expansion project to the landfill.”

Teske also addressed concerns over transparency in government operations.

“I believe that local government experience is important and that the commissioners are engaged and well versed in many aspects of the community. We all attend events and speak to folks as requested. We all have an open door policy and are available to answer questions,” he said. “I understand and value the need for transparency and see it tossed around as a campaign slogan, but I don't see where there is a lack of transparency in county government. Every meeting is open, recorded, minutes taken and available to view on-line, with the exception of personnel and litigation meeting. I constantly encourage people to attend meetings, and if they can't to watch the recordings and view the minutes on-line.”

Teske and other Port Authority officials have faced accusations of not being transparent in terms of business dealings at the port property with local businessman Chris Noble.

Libby resident Dan Torgison sued the Port Authority in April 2025, alleging it violated open meeting and public participation laws. The suit accused the Lincoln County Commission, Port Authority and others of hiding its business dealings with Noble Investment Properties, Inc., specifically the sale of 107 acres, owned by county taxpayers, from the Port Authority to Noble in December 2023.

The county has scored a pair of wins in the battle regarding work that has been done on the land. Judge Luke Berger denied Torgison’s motion for a preliminary injunction in an effort to halt further work planned at the property on the south side of Libby. In April, the Montana Supreme Court backed Berger’s decision.

While Berger’s written order primarily discussed Torgison’s efforts to halt further dealings or nullify previous decisions between county officials and developer Chris Noble, Torgison’s appeal to the state’s high court mainly references open meeting law violations.

The suit is still pending.

County officials have also been dogged by property tax increases, working to balance the budget, problems in the election office.

But it has benefitted from the reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools act which put $3.6 million into the county’s coffers. It was also the recipient of funding from Congressman Ryan Zinke to help pay for new vehicles for the sheriff’s office.