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New and returning LPEA directors should make lessening divisions a priority

New and returning directors should make lessening divisions a priority

When the La Plata Electric Association election is over, the newly constituted board of directors should look to itself and its culture. The board’s internal politics have led the public perception of LPEA elections too far from the actual issues and too deep into hyperbola and stereotypes.

LPEA is a rural electric co-op. It is not part of some culture war and it should not reflect the climate of Washington politics.

The Herald has endorsed two new faces for the LPEA board and urged the re-election of two incumbents. To recap, we urge voters to re-elect Mark Garcia in District 1 and Jack Turner in District 4, while choosing Lori Schell in District 2. Doug Lyon is unopposed in District 3 and as such will take that seat, but the Herald endorses his candidacy nonetheless.

With that, however, there is also the question as to what priorities those new and returning directors should adopt. The standard answers are all valid: In no particular order, they need to manage costs, keep rates in line, ensure reliability and appropriately manage greater use of renewable energy. And within that list lies more than enough room for legitimate differences of opinion.

But there is no need for that to degenerate into rancor, let alone the borderline name calling exhibited by some supporters of one or the other of the board’s supposed “sides.”

That differing views are represented on the board is clear – and, to an extent, appropriate. And it does seem true that on a few pivotal questions the board is equally divided.

But to characterize those differences stereotypically obscures the truth and confuses the issues. There are 12 unique people on the LPEA board, with a broad range of personalities and a remarkable degree of education and experience.

While some align on some basic questions, these points of view cannot be reduced to slogans or culturally freighted catchwords. Concerns for the environment do not reflect special interests. Worrying about costs is not antithetical to a healthy future.

Little about this is simple, but LPEA needs to find a way past what has become a repetitive and unproductive stalemate. The new board should try.



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