On the Thursday after the Nov. 2 election, county commissioner-elect Pam Holmquist was out collecting her political signs before the ground got too cold to pluck them out.
Then, she said, she’s taking a breather from politics and she’s going elk hunting.
“Right now I’m just taking a few days off,” Holmquist said. “But when I get back, of course I’ll prepare myself as best I can so that Jan. 3 I can hit the ground running.”
Holmquist ousted incumbent Democrat Joe Brenneman for the District 2 seat by a margin of almost two votes to one, 20,195 to 10,458. Her addition on the commission makes it an all-GOP board.
“I went into the night feeling good about it, but I didn’t think I’d get that kind of percentage,” Holmquist said. “It was very humbling and I just thank the voters for their support, for believing in me.”
Holmquist’s victory followed the political trend in Flathead County, where GOP candidates squeezed out all Democratic competition, even in areas like Whitefish.
But while Holmquist, a business owner in Evergreen, said she thought national sentiments may have played a part in the Flathead elections, she hoped the 20,195 voters who cast their ballots for her did so because they truly wanted change.
“I think it had something to do with the national level. It was a good year to be a Republican that’s for sure,” Holmquist said. “Voters in county races, I would like to think they voted for me because I would be the best one to represent them.”
She won’t take the commissioner’s seat until Jan. 3, and until then Holmquist said she is going to take a little time off and then start digging in to the county’s issues so she can be as prepared as possible.
The biggest priority during the campaign was job creation, and it will be her main focus when she gets in office, she said, as well as making the county more business friendly. And since the commission is in the process of streamlining the county subdivision regulations, Holmquist said she expects to get a ground-level understanding of the regulations as they are scrutinized.
“That’s something I’ll be looking at,” Holmquist said. “They’re just getting started so that’s good.”
There’s also time for her to square away her business responsibilities. During her campaign, Holmquist said that if elected, she would work full-time as a commissioner and stop working at her family’s business, Rocky Mountain Marine.
That is still the plan, she said, but her family needs to figure out the logistics before January.
“I’m just anxious to get in there and get to work and see how it all goes. I’ve always worked hard,” Holmquist said. “There are going to be a lot of challenges I’m sure.”
“It’s a big deal for me to move into something different than what I’ve been doing,” she added.
Other adjustments must be made as well, such as shifting from a private business owner to a public official. Holmquist admits she hasn’t given the transformation a lot of thought. For the last several months she was focused on earning more ballots that her opponent.
“I’m sure there are some differences. But you know it’s being able to work with people, which I’ve done all my life,” Holmquist said. “That’s my philosophy, that’s just who I am. I hope that people will share their concerns with me; I’m sure they will.”
As the sole Democrat on the commission, Brenneman said he would not approach the next two months with a lame-duck attitude. Rather, he’ll focus on tying up loose ends and ensuring his responsibilities are covered.
“Certainly county-wise the plans are obviously I continue to do all I can for the county until the end of my term,” Brenneman said. “Just because the election is over doesn’t mean I don’t have a responsibility to do my job, so I’ll continue to do that.”
And it’s a job that comes with a hefty to-do list before January, he noted. Before Holmquist takes over, Brenneman would like to get some work done on the subdivision regulations, as well as iron out the county’s interlocal agreement with Whitefish, otherwise known as the “doughnut” issue.
He would also like to ensure the various committees and groups he is part of – especially the Bigfork Stormwater Committee and the Flathead County River Commission – have adequate representation when he leaves the office.
Water quality was a big part of Brenneman’s reelection campaign. He also touted the county’s financial solvency during the recession, an advantage the county has on others in Montana because of austere planning and cooperation from county employees, Brenneman said.
Once he leaves county government, Brenneman said his focus would return to his dairy farm.
“My commitment to the farm has remained,” Brenneman said. “I’ve done a lot of work on the farm in the last six years.”
He will also continue as an EMT, a job he says gives him a realistic perspective on politics.
“Life goes on,” Brenneman said. “There’s a lot of things more traumatic happening to people every day than losing elections.”