Two Cascade County commissioners at a meeting Tuesday sparked a fiery debate when they voted to change the way the panel’s chairperson is chosen. One commissioner criticized the current chair as an ineffective leader.
Commissioner Joe Briggs said current chair Rae Grulkowski doesn’t have the experience or leadership skills for the job. The commission chair in Cascade County is tasked with presiding over meetings and advancing the panel’s work. Grulkowski took office last November.
“The people’s business has to move forward, and we are not getting that done in a timely fashion,” Briggs said.
The three-person Cascade County commission currently rotates the chairperson role between the members every two years. Commissioner Jim Larson’s proposal would allow the body to vote each year on their chairperson.
Grulkowski pushed back on the proposed change and Briggs’ criticism.
“Leadership ability — I beg to differ, and I would take that as an insult,” Grulkowski said.
Grulkowski argued the chair position should rotate between members to fairly represent the entire county. But, a county attorney said all commissioners already represent the entire county when elected, not just the residents of their district.
Great Falls resident Mark Winters criticized Briggs for “calling out” Grulkowski in the public meeting.
“I think it’s the ‘good old boys’ that can’t stand to have a woman in charge at these meetings who are getting together and undermining her authority,” Winters said.
County clerk and recorder Sandra Merchant also spoke in support of Grulkowski. She and other speakers urged the commissioners to give Grulkowski time to build experience.
Some Cascade County residents are pushing the commission to remove Merchant’s duties as election administrator following allegations of mislandled elections. Grulkowski has defended Merchant’s performance as election administrator in the past.
Others said the commissioners should be able to choose their leadership based on experience.
The proposal passed an initial vote two to one. It has to clear a final vote later this month to go into effect.
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Last month, Cascade County commissioners capped a tumultuous year of election discord when they hired a new nonpartisan election administrator. But according to new reporting from online publication The Electric, Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen emailed commissioners before they made their choice and advised them against hiring two of the four candidates for the job.
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Commissioners unanimously selected former Great Falls Association of Realtors CEO Terry Thompson to manage Cascade County’s elections.
