Strissel sworn in as Hill County commissioner

Democrat Jacob "Jake" Strissel of Rudyard was sworn in as Hill County District 1 Commissioner Thursday in the Hill County Courthouse.

Strissel will be taking the seat previously held by Democrat Mike Wendland who administered his last Hill County Commission business meeting shortly after swearing in Strissel, bringing his 14 years with the commission to an end.

Strissel, who narrowly defeated Republican Mark Wicks of Rudyard 51 percent to 48 percent in the 2020 General Election, stayed for the following meeting to get an idea of what the meetings were like, after which he said he's excited to get started himself.

"It's very humbling," he said. "Today I got my first taste of what goes into being a commissioner."

Strissel said he admires his predecessor's record and hopes to live up to his legacy.

"You can't really replace Mike Wendland, he's served this county well for 14 years and those are big shoes to fill," he said.

In an interview held the day before being sworn in, Strissel said he's been eager to put what he's learned since announcing his candidacy into practice.

"I've been chomping at the bit for a while," he said. " ... I'm ready to hit the ground running."

He said since his announcement that he was running for commissioner, Wendland provided him with reading material to prepare him for the job which he said he's been digging into as he finished his time at Bullhook Community Health Center as a behavioral health specialist.

Recently, Strissel said, he attended a meeting of the Montana Association of Counties as well to try to increase his understanding of the job as well.

He said Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson has given him access to the commission's email chain to keep him in the loop on the issues the county is seeking to address.

Having been a member of various coalitions and boards in the community, Strissel said, he has interacted with his soon-to-be fellow commissioners plenty of times which will make things easier in the first few months.

He said he sees the position of Hill County Commissioner as a service to the community and a natural progression from his time at the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line, Havre Public Schools and Bullhook Community Health Center.

"Everything that I've done in my professional life has revolved around helping others and serving my community, and I think this is the next logical step," he said in an interview in October.

Strissel said last week that his priority when assuming office is listening to people in the county to see where their priorities are, road conditions being what he's heard about the most in the past few months.

He said his first stop after being sworn in was the Hill County Road Department to introduce himself.

He said he maintains an open-door policy for people who want to get in touch with him and he wants to hear what people need.

Strissel said he can't promise that he's going to be able to solve every problem but he will do everything within his authority to help the community.

"I've got two ears and one mouth," he said.

He said in a year where Republicans dominated the ballot box in Montana he's thankful to be among the handful of Democrats who won this year, but that he doesn't intend for political ideology to be his sole guide.

The job is about doing right by the county regardless of what letter is in front of your name, he said.

He thanked everyone in Hill County who voted for him for putting their faith in him, and said he's grateful for the opportunity.

After swearing in his successor Wendland said he's ready to move on and is confident that the commission will be served well by Strissel.

"At one time I thought it would be hard (to leave)," he said, "but I've since accepted it and I look forward to being out of the position and I think Commissioner-elect Strissel will do a good job."

He said he plans to catch up on neglected hobbies, get back into working on his home and help his wife with the honeydews.

"I thank them (the people of Hill County) for their support through my tenure as their commissioner," he said. "I know I didn't always please everybody, but the decisions I made were based on the best of my knowledge."