(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Missoula City Council votes in new mayor; Councilor Jordan Hess to take oath – Daily Montanan [1] ['Keila Szpaller', 'More From Author', '- September'] Date: 2022-09-13 After many deadlocked votes and an emotional concession speech, the Missoula City Council voted late Monday to appoint Councilman Jordan Hess as the next mayor of Montana’s second-largest city. “I am humbled, and I am honored, and I am terrified, and I am delighted and excited about this opportunity,” said Hess, on council since 2014. “And I will endeavor to serve with dignity and with honor and with purpose, and I will endeavor to be thoughtful and kind and compassionate, and I will endeavor to do right by our community.” Hess steps into office following the death in August of Mayor John Engen, who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Engen was the community’s longest serving mayor, and his partner, Lucy Beighle, told councilors he would have wanted Hess to serve in his place. “John had an endless amount of respect for Jordan,” Beighle said. “He thought Jordan was usually the smartest person in the room, but he had the humility that he never felt the need to prove it … he thought Jordan was wise, compassionate, reasonable and fair.” First elected as mayor in 2005, Engen’s reach extended beyond the progressive municipality and Missoula County. Democrats U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and former Gov. Steve Bullock both spoke at his celebration of life. In the end on Monday, it was opponent and Councilor Mike Nugent who cast the deciding vote for Hess. For most of the evening, councilors split on a series of 6-5-1 votes, with Hess, a transportation and transit professional, being one vote shy of the seven needed to secure the seat, and Nugent, a real estate broker, just behind him. After acting Mayor Gwen Jones called a 15-minute recess, the two men vying for the appointment spent more than an hour outside Council Chambers, with other council members circling in and out the door. When the two men, both Democrats, finally walked back inside, Nugent offered a tearful speech about his decision to cast his vote for his opponent. “I don’t think that anybody intended in the state law to have two guys standing in an alley at 10:30 – I guess it’s 11. Sorry, that recess was longer than I thought — you know, trying to figure out what to do,” said Nugent, who expressed gratitude for those who unwaveringly stood by him and a deep respect for Hess. In his speech, Nugent joked that being emotional during the recorded session wouldn’t help him in any future campaigning. He rebuked people who had “made a mockery” of the process and played political games, and he also said the flawed process had nonetheless revealed councilors operate in a bubble at times. “We have real serious problems, and as much as I believe in my heart that I can help solve that, the reality is that one of us has to step in and be mayor starting tomorrow, and I think that’s going to be a tough thing to do if we just let this keep going,” said Nugent, who, along with others, pointed to the housing crisis as a top priority in Missoula. Nugent, who has led several boards and serves as president of United Way of Missoula County, stepped into his role as a councilor in January. He said he never would have guessed he’d be lobbying people to support him as mayor just nine months later. He appreciated those advising him to hold strong, he said, but part of being in leadership is knowing when to step aside: “I don’t want this to go on. I love Missoula too much.” Nugent stated both Hess’ first and last name when he voted for him late in the evening, and he pledged to stand at the side of the new mayor when Hess took his oath of office: “I’ll be proud to work with Mayor Hess.” In the 22 rounds of voting, Councilor Daniel Carlino was a holdout, casting his pick for a third candidate, Fred Rice, or another nominee who only ever earned Carlino’s vote. He and other councilors said they wished the process was different, and Carlino also said the night should not have included discussion in the alley outside of public view. As council president, Jones stepped into the role of acting mayor, but she did not apply for the appointment. At the meeting, she said people were witnessing the vacuum left after Engen passed, and she said some council members hadn’t even had a chance to grieve. Hess will serve through 2023, when voters will elect a mayor to serve the remainder of Engen’s term, through the first Monday in January 2026. Expected to be sworn in Wednesday, Hess said Engen would continue to inspire him. “I want to thank John Engen for his love and dedication to our community, for being a dear friend and for being a tremendous mentor,” Hess said. “I will miss John forever, and I will always be grateful for what he gave me, and what he gave all of us.” [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2022/09/13/missoula-city-council-votes-in-new-mayor-councilor-jordan-hess-to-take-oath/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/