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Jane Weber has been selected to replace Peggy Beltrone as a Cascade County Commissioner.

The announcement came on Thursday afternoon after a meeting took an unexpected turn when Peggy Beltrone announced she planned to cast a vote to break the deadlock between Commissioners Joe Briggs and Bill Salina.

On Tuesday, Briggs had announced that he was backing candidate Jeff Mangan for the position, while Salina had expressed support for Weber.

The Montana Code says that remaining commissioners can vote when there is a vacancy, and since Beltrone won't officially leave her position until Friday at 5:01 p.m., Beltrone told her peers she planned to vote.

The county attorney's office advised against it, and in an effort to stave off legal issues, Briggs asked Beltrone to step down if he (Briggs) supported Weber instead of his first choice, Mangan.

Weber is looking forward to her term, stating, "I'm thrilled. I've had a tremendous outflowing of support. I've had great support from the Democratic Central Committee which has been a wonderful pleasure for me because I've not been involved with partisan politics as a federal employee. I'm retired as of today. Today is my first day of retirement and I hope to serve the citizens of Cascade County very well."

Emotions got heated following the debate when candidate George Paul requested that the commission sign a document declaring the announcement didn't mean an extension of Beltrone's term since Weber has made it known she supports Beltrone's agenda.

Beltrone took offense to the comments, and so did her husband, who stood up to support her.

Commissioner Briggs got the meeting back in order saying he took the action he did in order to prevent a "circus."

Commissioner Salina says he was proud of how Briggs handled the meeting and the vote and says he's pleased Weber will be joining the commission.

Weber is expected to start her term next week.