It’s official! Former council member and acting mayor Jim Crews was officially sworn in as mayor last week at Town Hall. Crews replaces former mayor Paul Ludington who resigned following a dispute with the council as it repeatedly rejected his attempts to appoint a judge to replace former municipal judge Ron Klaphake. The council eventually appointed another applicant for the municipal judge position, Maureen O’Connor.
Crews will serve out the remainder of Ludington’s term and the position will be on the ballot in November 2017.
Crews served on a nuclear submarine in the Navy from 1974 to 1982. From 1982 to 1994, he worked at Paloverde Nuclear Generating Station. He moved to the Bitterroot Valley in 1994 and worked for Cooper Firearms and communication companies before retiring. He has also worked as a firearms instructor and has self-published several books on the subject.