Members of La Plata Electric Association tapped David Luschen to represent District 4 on the electric co-op’s board of directors.

Tiffany Lee, La Plata County clerk and recorder, announced the results of the District 4 election at LPEA’s annual meeting held Thursday at the Durango Truck Barn in Bodo Industrial Park.

Luschen raked in 1,187 votes compared to his opponent, John Purser, who received 769 votes, Lee said.

Members also approved a bylaw amendment, with 3,973 “yes” votes compared to 2,021 “no” votes, she said.

In an interview with The Durango Herald, Luschen said he appreciates the support he received and thanked voters.

“I think I can make a good impact,” he said. “I have that vision of the future, and I want to use my expertise, my 26 years of experience, to help out.”

He said he is excited to be in Durango and is eager to give back to the community.

Luschen has experience working with a municipally owned gas and electric utility in Texas, and he was a senior director at CPS Energy.

His platform included arguments for local solar and battery storage, which he said meet the financial and environmental sustainability goals for LPEA.

On his campaign website, he said was running to “grow deeper roots” in Durango where he has family. He expressed support for LPEA exiting its contract with Tri-State Generation and Transmission and expressed interest in starting member-owned local solar power generation.

Purser, Luschen’s opponent, ran on a platform advocating fiscal and environmental sustainability and transparency. He was critical of current LPEA leadership, raised transparency concerns and flagged perceived conflicts of interest.

He said it is inappropriate that LPEA does not publish requests for proposals. In a candidate statement on his campaign website, he said, “LPEA board meetings are literally run from the offices of King Energy” in reference to John Witchel, who is president of the LPEA board and is CEO of King Energy, a Durango solar company.

“We should be aware that what’s good for King Energy may not be best for LPEA members. Our board has been rife with special interests, and conflicts of interests, for several years,” he said. “The current board majority seems uninterested in reforming LPEA policies to ensure better governance and limiting special interest influence.”

Every meeting of the LPEA board that has taken place this year has the LPEA headquarters listed as the location on the agenda.

Luschen took a different position.

At a May 2 debate with Purser, he said the board and Jessica Matlock, LPEA CEO, are “doing a great job.”

The bylaw amendment passed by co-op members in each of LPEA’s four districts will allow electronic ballots for voting in future LPEA elections, according to the ballot language.

The amendment will also update LPEA’s bylaws to “better reflect current member preferences around communication.”

The Herald previously reported the amendment would increase the number of written requests needed to hold a special meeting from 500 to 10% of the co-op’s membership – which would increase the number of required written requests from 500 to about 3,600 to hold a special meeting.

Matlock told the Herald the amendment is intended to clarify inconsistencies present with current bylaws. Specifically, Article II, Section 2 allows for a special meeting to be called upon 500 written requests from members. But Article II, Section 5 says members may only bring a matter to mail vote “at any meeting” (regular or special) with a petition with 10% of members.

Article XV says 10% of membership is needed to bring forward a bylaw amendment.

Matlock said a lower petition threshold for special meetings would lead to special meetings being called instead of addressing subjects at the annual LPEA meeting.

“Calling special meetings is inefficient for the cooperative, both in terms of cost and time,” Matlock said. “These amendments are designed to put regular and special meetings on a level playing field.”

LPEA’s District 4 was the only district that was contested. But several candidates from other districts ran unopposed, prompting the LPEA board to cancel those elections and appoint the uncontested candidates.

Nicole Pitcher in District 1, Archuleta County, took over the seat vacated by retiring Bob Lynch, who was recognized for his work at the annual meeting on Thursday.

John Lee Jr. was seated in District 2, which includes southern and western La Plata County.

And Rachel Landis was seated in District 3, which covers the city of Durango, according to an LPEA news release.

cburney@durangoherald.com