"Michael A. Montigelli says he’ll start his new job on the Jefferson County Board of Legislators in a way befitting a public schoolteacher: by learning.

“I think listening will be the way to start, not telling,” said Mr. Montigelli, a Black River Republican who is set to replace Legislator Steven T. Harter, R-LeRay, who resigned. “That’s my plan. Do a lot of listening.”

Mr. Montigelli, who teaches fourth grade in the Alexandria Central School District, said job creation in Jefferson County is his top priority.

“Employment and job development is key,” he said. “It’s a beautiful place to live, but you can’t live here if you can’t make a living here.”

Other priorities for Mr. Montigelli: alleviating state mandates — pricey requirements that the government in Albany levels on local communities without the money to pay for it — and making the most out of the growth of the 10th Mountain Division.

Mr. Harter, who bought a house in the town of Watertown, stepped down effective Thursday. The Board of Legislators will vote on Mr. Montigelli’s ascension to the position after the Jefferson County GOP committee recommended him at a meeting Monday night.

In November, Mr. Montigelli will run to fill the second half of Mr. Harter’s two-year term.

Mr. Montigelli said his involvement in the community — he is a member of the teachers union, he has been on the village Planning Board for decades and he is involved in senior citizens housing — qualifies him for residents’ votes.

Sean M. Hennessey, the Democratic Party chairman in Jefferson County, said his party will seek a candidate to run in the November race.

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