The Missoula City Council on Monday stayed true to its pledge to swear in the newly elected Ward 1 representative at the earliest possible moment, doing so just six days after last week's election.
Betsy Craske secured 61% of the vote in Ward 1 and took the oath from Mayor Andrea Davis early Monday, just hours before her first City Council meeting.
“For me, it's about getting up to speed,” Craske said. “Right now, code reform and zoning is top of mind for folks. Learning as much as I can from folks who have been doing that process for a long time – and talking with neighbors and residents – is the big one.”
Craske will take her seat as the city pushes to complete and adopt a new Unified Development Code by the end of the year. The final package will include a suite of regulations that will guide all forms of development, including zoning, subdivisions and other issues.
The end result is expected to streamline the development process and, officials hope, help address rising costs. The new regulations are expected to be in place by January.
“We'll finish the Unified Development Code this year,” said City Council President Amber Sherrill. “There's nothing big on the horizon (next year) other than the UDC. It's always property taxes and trying to figure out what we're going to do with our broken tax system and what we need to fund.”
Craske was joined at Monday morning's brief ceremony by her husband and daughter, along with several other City Council members and city staff. She takes the seat of former Ward 1 council member Jennifer Savage, who moved to another ward and won her election last week as well.
Aside from code reform, Craske said housing tops her list of issues.
“I was a teacher for many years and I have a lot of friends who are teachers or nurses or people in the middle. It's hard for them to afford to buy a house,” she said. “That runs the gamut, from the unhoused folks on up.”
Craske also has a background in science and said climate issues and livability are important to her.
“Anything I can do in those realms to make Missoula more affordable and livable, and livable in the way of climate and how it affects us on a day-to-day basis, are important to me,” she said.
Craske and the other newly elected council members will spend the next two months working to understand the issues facing the city and the laws that govern the city and state – and the rules of decorum.
Sherrill said incumbent council members have and will continue to assist on that front.
“It can be hard to get people up to speed quickly,” said Sherrill. “But this council and the people coming in have been studying hard. It's going to take some time, it always does. It's always new personalities and how to work with people. (Craske) has been working hard to get up to speed on the issues, and that helps.”
