With regard to Davin Montoya’s letter (Herald, April 26):
I’m sure Davin Montoya would like to have a low-key, low-turnout La Plata Electric Association election so he can be elected to another three-year term after already being on the board for 27 years.
I suspect he would just as soon not have any discussion of the REAnet and WESODI subsidiaries which collapsed during his tenure, leaving LPEA members to cover millions of dollars in losses.
The short election cycle for LPEA means that there have been no debates and little public discussion about the issues. The Herald did only a cursory evaluation after interviewing each candidate. In order to get the message out to the voters it is necessary to spend money. And yes, we expect a return on that money. We expect more local, clean, renewable energy. We expect more jobs in our local area. And we expect to keep more of our money instead of sending $70 million each year to Tri-State.
The campaign information letter that I sent to each member in District 4, which Montoya said was filled with “what some people have called half-truths,” was carefully researched and vetted by a group of people who have long followed the workings of LPEA. I stand behind those facts.
Davin Montoya claims he has always represented the 30,000 LPEA members, but I was appalled at his apparent disdain for members who attended the March board meeting asking for cleaner, renewable energy. What he described as his “crusty” attitude is what my parents always taught me was just plain rudeness.
Montoya and the LPEA board did a good job of running a 20th century co-op. But we are now well into the 21st century. The old ways of doing things will make it impossible to keep our electricity costs down as the cost of coal goes up and the cost of renewables drops.
I urge all LPEA members to vote for Rachel Landis, Kim Martin or me to move LPEA into the future. If you haven’t returned your ballot, do it today!
Guinn Unger
Forest Lakes
Editor’s note: Davin Montoya is running for re-election in District 2. Guinn Unger is a board of directors candidate in District 4.
