Whichever candidates claim two La Plata County commissioner seats this fall will assume the burden of several county issues at the forefront: completing the land-use code and comprehensive plan revisions, funding roads and bridges, and facilitating water conservation and transport infrastructure.
The four candidates have one forum behind them with several more to come before Election Day, and they have, for the most part, led high-road campaigns focused on their respective platforms rather than their challengers.
District 3 incumbent Julie Westendorff, a Democrat, has run on her record from the past four years, while her opponent, Republican Kayla Story Patterson, has built a platform on a hard pro-business stance.
The District 2 race appears to carry more heat because of Democratic incumbent Gwen Lachelt’s longstanding work in advocacy for oil and gas regulation, which her Republican challenger, Lyle McKnight, maintains is overstepping her bounds as commissioner.
The incumbents took office in 2012, and both cited as a major accomplishment the county’s work in the aftermath of the Gold King Mine spill, which put other county business on hold in lieu of meetings with the Environmental Protection Agency, learning about the impacts of Superfund designation and long staff hours dedicated to recouping costs.
“We’ve tried to be supportive of Silverton and San Juan County’s efforts for Superfund designation,” Westendorff said. “All in all, if in 25 years the heavy metals in the waterways aren’t what they are today, I think I can look back and say we played an important role in that.”
Lachelt said that growing needs for water storage and supply mechanisms in La Plata County are also coming, and she wants to spend the next four years carrying out initiatives laid out by the county’s appointed Water Advisory Commission.
“A third of our wells have gone dry or are contaminated,” Lachelt said. “It’s important to make sure our growth doesn’t outpace availability of water. We’ve been willing to be creative about this, and are considering a revolving loan fund that the county could set up to help with water delivery.”
Earlier in their tenure, the incumbents also took a hard line against the privatization of public lands, and efforts to update the county’s comprehensive plan, a long-range blueprint for land use, were revived after it failed to launch under a previous board.
The incumbents say the comprehensive plan, working in conjunction with the land-use code that will be rewritten starting this fall, are the tickets to an easier permitting process for businesses.
“The completion of the plan and the code will make this place more business-friendly,” Lachelt said.
But the newcomers say the county has done too little, too slowly to enable businesses to establish here. Both referred to the King II coal mine, which spent years negotiating conditions of a land-use permit with the county. The owners, GCC Energy, received the permit last spring, provided they make improvements to the mine’s main thoroughfare, County Road 120.
“That was my tipping point, when I decided to get involved,” Patterson said. “What kind of door is this opening up? Does every business have to pay for their own county road?”
Patterson said that at 29, she has “a vast understanding of how hard it is to make ends meet” in Durango, having worked in food service, health care, tourism, payments and with her family’s business, Treasure Auction Service.
As the county budget feels the strain of a 60 percent decrease in oil and gas industry-related taxes, enabling businesses is the key to making up for the shortfall, she said. “That means asking the builders, developers and businesses what can make the planning process predictable and affordable.”
Once a registered Democrat, McKnight said switching parties became an obvious choice when he founded the outdoor recreation and bike company Fun Center, which he has since sold. He again pointed to the county’s planning and permitting processes as major roadblocks.
Over the past year, McKnight has closely watched county business meetings, and takes issue that Lachelt has pushed at the federal level for the passage of measures such as the Bureau of Land Management’s methane control rule. He said he has no problem with state and federal regulations on oil and gas but sees his opponent’s involvement as overreach.
“Is she really representing the wants and needs of the county, or pursuing her own agenda?” he said. “Google her name and make up your own mind. That has no place in local politics. If you want to pursue an agenda, then you do that as an individual, not an elected official.”
But Lachelt, who before taking office worked as director of the Oil and Gas Accountability Project, said the connection between the county and federal-level matters is obvious.
“There are tens of thousands of gas wells in this region, mostly on federal land,” she said. “Air quality is the county’s business. It’s definitely the county’s business when we’re a red spot on the map.
“Simply put, my opponent has a lack of experience, a lack of understanding of community issues. This is his first foray.”
While each of the candidates expressed confidence in their campaigns, none could speculate on the outcome, especially as the county’s unaffiliated pool of voters continues to grow. At the end of last year’s local election, the number of unaffiliated voters outpaced those registered as Republican or Democratic by 8 percent.
In 2012, Westendorff beat Republican Harry Baxtrom by a mere 320 votes, while Lachelt won District 2 from incumbent Kellie Hotter, a Republican, by an even slimmer margin of 174 votes.
Jean Walter, chairwoman of La Plata County Democrats, said in 2012, the victors ran on résumés of public service: Lachelt was director of the Oil and Gas Accountability Project, and Westendorff has worked as a real estate agent, tribal prosecutor and Bayfield town judge.
“This time they have the experience behind them,” Walter said. “I think that given their demonstrated effectiveness, I don’t think it will be as close this time.”
“There are four strong candidates, and I know it will be a tight race,” La Plata County Republican Central Committee Vice-Chairwoman Ginny Chambers said.
jpace@durangoherald.com
Commissioner candidates at a glance
District 2
Gwen Lachelt
Party affiliation: Democrat
Education: Bachelor’s degree, Fort Lewis College
Political experience: County commissioner since 2012
Occupation: County commissioner
Website:
www.gwenlachelt.com
Lyle McKnight
Party affiliation: Republican
Education: Studied at San Juan College, Fort Lewis College
Political experience: Has not held office
Occupation: Founder and former owner of Fun Center, small local business
Website:
www.lylemcknight.com
District 3
Julie Westendorff
Party affiliation: Democrat
Education: Bachelor’s degree, College of William and Mary; law degree, University of Virginia School of Law
Political experience: County commissioner since 2012
Occupation: County commissioner
Website:
www.julieforcommissioner2016.com
Kayla Story Patterson
Party affiliation: Republican
Education: Rocky Mountain Institute of Healing Arts graduate, diploma in massage therapy; continuing education at Pueblo Community College
Political experience: Has not held office
Occupation: Legal support administrator for Vantiv Integrated Payments
Website:
www.kaylapatterson.net
