Power play
Nine hopefuls vie for four open seats on LPEA board
Don’t look now, but there’s another ballot headed to local mailboxes – or at least those belonging to LPEA members. The local electric co-op is holding elections for four seats (one in each district) for its 12-member board of directors. Unlike the somewhat snoozy elections of recent years, there are contested races in each district this time. Winning candidates will serve three-year terms.
New this year, LPEA is offering online voting. Members can vote by logging into their “SmartHub” account (where they pay their bills) and clicking on the "Vote Now" button, which will take them to a secure voting portal.
For those who prefer the old ways, folks can either mail in their ballots or drop them off at LPEA’s offices in Durango or Pagosa Springs.
The three races that most affect Telegraph readers will be in District 2 (south and west La Plata County); District 3 (City of Durango); and District 4 (north and east La Plata County.)
In District 1 (Archuleta County), two-term incumbent Holly Metzler is running against Dusty Mars, an Arboles engineer who ran unsuccessfully for a board seat last year. In District 2, current board member Dan Huntington is not seeking reelection.
A quick rundown of candidates follows (for in-depth candidate statements, go to lpea.coop/elections):
District 2 - south and west La Plata County
• Greg Barber - Recently retired CPA who worked at a large private utility firm
• Brad Blake - Former La Plata County Commissioner
• Terry Greiner – Senior sales executive for the technology company Oracle
District 3 - City of Durango
• Joe Lewandowski (incumbent) - Retired journalist and public information officer
• David Peters - Retired executive from Chevron and former chair of the local Republican Party
District 4 - north and east La Plata County
• John Witchel (incumbent) - CEO of solar company King Energy
• Lyle McKnight - Founder of Fun Center motorsports and former county commissioner candidate
Seven of the nine candidates took part in a virtual candidates forum hosted by the La Plata County Democrats earlier this month. (Peters and McKnight did not participate.)
During the forum, all seven stressed the importance of reliability and affordability for the local power supply. However, candidates were split on LPEA’s decision to leave wholesale provider Tri-State next year, with Metzler, Greiner, Lewandowski and Witchel strongly in favor of the exit.
Both Barber and Blake expressed reservations, while Mars said he did not have enough information on the exit due to lack of transparency (transparency, or lack thereof, has been a recurring theme in the election).
All candidates did say they supported utilizing a mix of power sources.
For what it’s worth, Common Sense LPEA, a right-leaning group that opposes the Tri-State exit, has endorsed Mars, Blake, Peters and McKnight (we tried to visit the website this week, but it was blocked.)
Ballots were mailed April 21 and must be returned by 4 p.m. Tues., May 20. Members are also invited to vote in person at LPEA’s annual meeting at its Durango office at 12:30 p.m. Wed., May 21. Results will also be announced at the meeting.
LPEA is a member-owned, nonprofit co-op serving La Plata and Archuleta counties, as well as parts of Hinsdale, Mineral and San Juan counties. It is the fifth-largest co-op in Colorado, with 36,500 members.