Work begins Monday: Newly elected county officials take office the second Monday in January. A ceremonial swearing-in for Ada County officials takes place at 3 p.m., but newly elected Commissioners Jim Tibbs and Dave Case aren’t waiting until then. Clerk Chris Rich will legally swear them in at 7:30 a.m. At 9 a.m. the new commission meets to select a chairman, and the commissioners will immediately go into executive session to discuss personnel, pending litigation and pending claims.

Familiar faces at the Courthouse: Case and Tibbs won their seats in November, but both are already well-versed on county business. Case defeated Commissioner Sharon Ullman in the spring primary, and has been serving since May after Gov. Butch Otter appointed him to replace retired Commissioner Vern Bisterfeldt. Tibbs has been attending meetings and hearings since early last year. He was Idaho’s first drug czar and worked for the Boise Police Department and served on Boise Council.

Why is this change significant? Decisions can be made with just two votes among the three commissioners. For the past couple of years, Commissioners Rick Yzaguirre and Sharon Ullman often sided against Bisterfeldt and, most recently, Case. With Ullman gone and Tibbs and Case sharing a similar platform, the power structure is changing.

Case and Tibbs mum: Neither is talking about specific, immediate changes they want to make but did say announcements about changes could come early this week.