Missoula County Commissioners Fill Vacated House District 98 Seat

Missoula county commissioners announced yesterday, December 18, that they had chosen a replacement for Democrat representative Jennifer Gursky of House District 98.

Gursky, who announced on October 22 that she would be moving to Helena, has been replaced by fellow democrat, Andrew Person, who was selected by Missoula County Commissioners as the new representative from a list of three possible candidates given to them by the Missoula Democratic Central Committee.

Person said he wants to “bring back a little bit of faith to the system we have by working hard for the people of house district 98” and said many of his friends and family were cynical about the world of politics.

"When I got back from service in Iraq and Afghanistan with the 173 Airborne Brigade, my friends and family would say 'thank you for your military service,' and then when I told them I was interested in getting involved in politics, they were extremely skeptical they thought 'what in the heck would you want to be involved with that for,'" Person said.

Person also explained how he plans to work across the aisle with republicans at the legislature.

"There's a lot of common ground to be had if your not looking for a quick talking point or to score, you know, a little bit of attention," Person said. "If you're actually focused on getting stuff done then I think there's a huge amount of opportunity to find that common ground."

Person said he will also be running officially for the seat which has been redistricted as House District 96 in the upcoming election cycle.