La Plata County Commissioner Clyde Church formally announced his resignation June 21, but whispers of his plans had circulated for months.
Teal Lehto, chair of the La Plata Democrats, said she was informed of the possible resignation in February, shortly after she was appointed during the party’s reorganization.
Ted Holteen, county spokesman, also heard about the possibility months earlier, though it was never confirmed.
Several weeks before the announcement, Church notified members of the Democratic vacancy committee of his intent to step down, giving them time to prepare.
By the time Church submitted his formal resignation and the county made it public, the local Democratic Party was already deep into the process of setting up an appointment for his replacement.
“This is pretty standard course for something like this,” Lehto said. “As soon as there was even the possibility, we were notified as a party so that we could begin preparing for a vacancy committee.”
She said the early notice was necessary due to the amount of preparation required.
“This process takes a lot of work to run smoothly,” she said. “From our perspective, this has been a pretty rapid process.”
Under Colorado law, the political party of the resigning commissioner has 10 days to fill the seat once a formal announcement is made. If the committee is unable to meet that deadline, the decision falls to Gov. Jared Polis.
“We are following the normal procedures for a county vacancy,” Lehto said.
On June 18, four days before the public resignation, the La Plata County Democrats posted head shots, biographies and completed questionnaires for the three candidates seeking appointment – Robert Logan, Elizabeth Philbrick and Erica Max Henner – on its website.
The three candidates had all previously contacted the board about their intentions to run in the 2026 election, Lehto said. When Church’s resignation became imminent, the party reached out to them, she said.
Since the announcement went public, others have expressed interest and may run from the floor, Lehto said. She clarified that those individuals were given the same opportunity to submit promotional materials as the other candidates but declined.
The vacancy appointment committee will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday via Google Meet to vote on the new commissioner. The meeting is open to the public, but only committee members can vote.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
