Six candidates are vying for three seats in this year’s election to the board of directors for La Plata Electric Association, which provides electricity to residents and businesses in Archuleta and La Plata counties.
Electric co-ops across the country are faced with a tough decision: keep costs low by investing in reliable energy sources such as coal, nuclear and natural gas, or invest in renewable energies such as wind, solar, hydro and biomass.
LPEA is no stranger to these debates. The board has been split for years between “green” members who favor renewable energy sources and “old guard” members who favor keeping costs low and letting market forces guide power-supply decisions.
Board members would like to do both, of course, but which way the scale tips often depends on individual ideologies.
Power supply represents about 70 percent of the co-op’s expenses, which means board members spend a lot of time discussing how to purchase energy. But a limiting factor in those discussions is LPEA’s 50-year contract with Tri-State, its energy supplier. According to the contract, LPEA must purchase 95 percent of its energy from Tri-State, which leaves 5 percent to invest with outside power suppliers, typically in solar, hydro and biomass.
Tri-State’s energy portfolio consists of 24 percent renewable energy sources, which means LPEA gets about 29 percent of its power supply from renewables.
LPEA is about halfway through its 50-year contract with Tri-State, and to buy out would cost several hundred million dollars, according to rough estimates. (No formal estimates have been done.) Some members have advocated going that direction, as the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative in Taos, New Mexico, recently did.
Next week, the board will consider a resolution asking Tri-State to increase its 5 percent cap, which would allow LPEA to make additional investments in renewable energy sources.
In addition to debating power-generation sources, board members decide on rate structures, infrastructure needs and long-term investments.
There are three board members from each of four geographical districts, for a total of 12 members. They are elected to three-year terms.
Members are paid about $14,400 per year, but they earn more if they attend conferences or travel. They oversee a budget of about $106.4 million.
In addition to the six candidates running for election, one incumbent candidate, Bob Lynch from District 1 (Archuleta County), is running unopposed.
Here is a summary of the six candidates seeking election in the three remaining districts. (Candidate statements made in their own words were submitted to LPEA and can be found online at www.durangoherald.com.):
Incumbent and longest-serving board member Davin Montoya said his greatest asset is his institutional memory. It usually takes directors a full term to come up to speed on acronyms and issues discussed at meetings, he said.
“I understand the issues,” said Montoya, who has served on the board for 27 years. “I know what we’ve tried and haven’t tried. ... We’re facing some issues that people don’t understand.”
Montoya said he supports renewable energy sources, but they don’t produce enough supply to meet demand.
He called solar a “rich person’s game” because residents need a “fair amount of money” to install panels on a house. Meanwhile, solar customers are able to reduce their bills by so much they no longer pay enough to support the local power grid, and other members must subsidize the cost to the tune of about $500,000 per year, he said.
“I’m not against solar, I’m not against renewables,” Montoya said. “I’m a business person, and I look at the numbers, and the numbers have to work.”
Kim Martin said she’s running against Montoya to give members a choice.
Montoya hasn’t faced a challenger during his last eight elections.
“I don’t think he represents the true majority of the people that live in my district, their interests – and yet no one ever runs against him,” Martin said.
If elected, Martin said she’ll have a steep learning curve, but she considers herself a quick study. She wasn’t sure who else serves in her district. (They are Dan Huntington and Kohler McInnis).
“My opponent, Davin, knows far more than I do,” she said. “He’s got 27 years of knowledge about it. But does he represent the true values of the district? That’s the question, and I say, ‘Let’s find out.’”
Martin said she’s hearing a lot of support for renewable energies.
“I am far more progressive as far as new energy, new technology, new ways of looking at things,” Martin said.
Two people are running to fill the seat held by Jeff Berman, who is not seeking re-election after serving 12 years on the board. Berman is one of the first and most outspoken proponents for renewable energies.
R. Michael Bell said he wants to keep electricity affordable for all members of the cooperative. But he also supports clean energy.
“I support all energy sources that demonstrate responsible conservation and concern for our environment,” he wrote in a description of himself for LPEA.
He’s lived in Durango for 42 years and managed his own architectural firm for 35 years, which he said has helped him understand the challenges of running a successful business in Southwest Colorado.
Bell said he’s attended monthly LPEA meetings for about 1½ years, so he’s familiar with the issues. If LPEA demands an increase to its 5 percent allowance for renewable energies, Bell said he thinks Tri-State will listen.
“A transition from the 50-year contract to getting away from coal-fired energy, I think it is happening, but it’s a controlled process,” Bell said.
If elected, Bell said he’ll use his skills as a mediator to bring people together and act as a balance.
Rachel Landis, his opponent, also described herself as a mediator and collaborator who can “heal” a board that is rife with conflict.
Landis, coordinator of the Environmental Center at Fort Lewis College, said LPEA should address climate change on a local level and keep electricity rates low by keeping energy dollars local.
“I will sponsor new renewable energy projects and work to expand existing consumer energy efficiency opportunities,” she wrote in a description of herself for LPEA. “I also support a shift to greater energy independence, which would provide LPEA members increased control over energy rates and also incentivize local, clean-energy development that keep our energy dollars local and create jobs.”
Landis said she wants to take a look at existing contracts and find ways to “push back on them.”
LPEA should do a better job of marketing its time-of-use program, which lowers rates for customers who use electricity during off-peak hours, she said. It is a sign-up program that many customers are not familiar with, she said.
“There’s a reason why marketing has turned us into a consumer culture; it’s really effective,” Landis said.
Guinn Unger is not shy about his support for “clean, renewable and locally produced energy,” and contrary to popular believe, he says buying coal power “doesn’t make sense if we want to keep our electric rates low.”
“Coal has become the most expensive and dirtiest fuel, and if we are serious about fighting climate change, we need to quickly move away from this outdated energy source,” he wrote in a prepared statement to LPEA.
He supports trying to renegotiate LPEA’s contract with Tri-State to allow the co-op to purchase renewable energy, perhaps increasing the 5 percent cap an additional 5 percent every two years.
“You obviously can’t flip overnight,” he said. “You can’t go 100 percent solar even if we didn’t have a contract and even if we wanted to.”
Unger, who has lived in the area about three years, has a degree in electrical engineering, worked on the NASA space shuttle program and has worked in corporate America.
“I’ve always been a big proponent of a clean environment,” he said. “... I’d just as soon my great, great grandchildren weren’t cussing me out because of decisions that I’ve made that have screwed up their lives.”
Unger said his opponent talks a good game when it comes to green power, but his votes don’t reflect it.
“His voting record has been to not change, to not take risks, to not look at the new things,” Unger said. “That’s why I feel like I’d be more in tune with what the people want.”
Incumbent Joe Wheeling is seeking his fourth term on the board. He serves as the board’s representative to Tri-State and as a chairperson of FastTrack Communications, a subsidiary of LPEA that delivers high-speed Internet to the region.
Wheeling sees big changes in the energy business going forward, including locally, at Tri-State and with regional transmission organizations, third-party operators that buy and sell energy assets across wide geographic regions. The idea is to balance load and demand, create a wholesale marketplace and provide energy suppliers with more options for meeting demands.
Wheeling said Tri-State has made significant gains in its use of renewable energy sources, and he has voted for five wind farms and three large-scale solar generation facilities during his tenure on the Tri-State board.
As a partner in James Ranch Beef, he is a good steward of the environment and supports preservation of open spaces through conservation easements on the ranch north of Durango, he wrote in a statement for LPEA. He has a background in business and a master’s of business in finance and strategy.
“I believe in taking a moderate, practical and honest stance with decisions and encourage LPEA to find solutions that are fair for all members,” he wrote in his statement to LPEA.
shane@durangoherald.com
How to vote
There are several deadlines and places to cast ballots in this year’s La Plata Electric Association Board of Directors election:
Mail-in ballots should be sent by May 9 to ensure timely delivery to the La Plata County Clerk and Recorder’s Office.
Ballots must be received by 4 p.m. May 12 at the Clerk and Recorder’s Office in Bodo Industrial Park in Durango. The clerk’s office is the independent, third-party retained by LPEA to tally the ballots.
Ballots may also be dropped off at LPEA’s offices in Durango, 45 Stewart St., or Pagosa Springs, 603 South Eighth St. Or they may be dropped off at La Plata County Administration, 1101 East Second Ave.; Farmer’s Fresh, 565 Goddard Ave. in Ignacio; or Bayfield Town Hall, 1199 Bayfield Parkway.
Members also may bring their ballots to the May 13 annual meeting at Sky Ute Casino and Resort in Ignacio. Registration for the meeting will begin at 9 a.m.; the business meeting will start at 10:30 a.m. Any member voting at the meeting must do so before 10:30 a.m.
LPEA candidate statements
Candidates for the La Plata Electric Association provided this statements to LPEA for the upcoming election. One person will be elected in each district; District 1 incumbent Bob Lynch is running unopposed. District 1 represents Archuleta County.
Candidates for District 2, South and West La Plata County
Davin Montoya (incumbent)
“A balanced approach has great benefit. We all come to things with different backgrounds and perspectives. I’m proud of my family’s ranching heritage in La Plata County, and I’m equally proud to have served the diverse membership of LPEA.
“LPEA is in transition, with new employees and board members. There is value to having the historical perspective – not to say things can’t be done differently now – but historical perspective helps ensure mistakes of the past aren’t repeated. I now fill that role at LPEA.
“A director needs to seriously commit to being a director, and benefit our electric co-op. Directors need to be present, well-informed, and that I have done for you. This past year I served as president, a responsibility I took on to help tighten LPEA’s budget and ensure expenses remained prudent.
“Surveys indicate that affordable and reliable electricity remain priorities. But we also know LPEA needs to embrace new technology, and we’re doing that – and I’m helping ensure that LPEA does not gamble on unproven practices. That said, I want to help our less fortunate members, and I was gratified that we helped provide a solar array last year for a low income housing development, funded by our local green power program. I’m equally proud that our board committed unclaimed capital credits to build a new geosciences, physics and engineering building at Fort Lewis College.
“Balancing historical perspective and fiscal responsibility with an eye on embracing the future is my position as your director at LPEA.”
Kim Martin
“I am running for the LPEA Board to offer residents in District 2 an alternative way to look at the opportunities we have. Our current representative has served eight terms (24 years) as our district’s representative. I will bring a fresh perspective to the issues LPEA faces.
“I am committed to using my work and board experience to:
Build transparency
Ensure strong fiscal responsibility and integrity
Keep LPEA rates low
Pursue 21st century solutions to our current and future challenges
Bring efficient, economical, and local clean energy opportunities to LPEA customers
Find ways for LPEA to become more independent and self-sufficient
“I will bring my forty years of board, business, governmental, and not-for-profit experience to the LPEA Board. Currently I serve on the Durango 9R School Board as the elected representative for a large portion of LPEA’s District 2, and am also on the Fort Lewis College Foundation Board. In La Plata County, I’ve also been on Boards of Directors for League of Women Voters, Tri-States Headstart, Rivergate Planned Development, and the Advisory Board for Music in the Mountains. We’ve owned our Dryside property for the past 40+ years and have lived there for 17 years, most of which I’ve been a member of the Marvel Grange.
“My lifelong work is primarily in the fields of education and law, but I’ve also owned two businesses. My formal education culminated with a MA in the Political Economy of the Asian Pacific Region.”
HHH
Candidates to represent District 3, City of Durango
R. Michael Bell
“I am running for the LPEA Board of Directors because I believe affordable electricity should be available to all members of the cooperative. Having lived in Durango for 42 years and worked as the Managing Principal of my architectural firm for 35 years, I understand the challenges of running a successful business in our area of Colorado. I believe my business experience and community service involvement provide me with the qualifications to represent the members of La Plata Electric Association as a Director. Both my professional work and my volunteer activities have allowed me to expand my knowledge and understanding of the people in La Plata County and the wide variations in their points of view and convictions. Having served on a variety of Boards over the years, I have learned to openly listen to and consider all perspectives and ideas before formulating a final decision on each topic.
“For the past year and a half, I have attended monthly LPEA Board meetings and am therefore familiar with the issues currently being addressed by the Board. If elected, I would make every effort to provide affordable and dependable electricity for all members of the cooperative. I support all energy sources that demonstrate responsible conservation and concern for our environment. As a Director, I will abide by the Association’s bylaws and will work to support the Board, staff, members and associated organizations to help keep LPEA financially strong and accountable to its members.
Rachel Landis
“As an LPEA District 3 Director Candidate, I am committed to serving you, the member, by advocating that LPEA address climate change on a local level, by fighting to keep electricity rates low, and by working to keep our energy dollars local. To support our community’s health and climate security, I will push LPEA to decrease electricity-related emissions. Additionally, I will sponsor new renewable energy projects and work to expand existing consumer energy efficiency opportunities, such as LPEA’s Net Metering and Time-of-Use programs. I also support a shift to greater energy independence which would provide LPEA members increased control over energy rates and also incentivize local, clean-energy development that keep our energy dollars local and create jobs.
“As the Coordinator of the Environmental Center at Fort Lewis College, my forward-thinking leadership, expertise in managing sustainability projects and deep community engagement make me uniquely qualified to meet the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities presented by our rapidly shifting energy sector. I have experience in sustainability-related business management, policy drafting, infrastructure design, fiduciary oversight and operational support. Through fifteen years of organizational leadership experience, I have become adept at balancing business acumen while upholding an organization’s mission and being responsive to stakeholder needs. I am excited to bring my collaborative leadership style to the Board and engage in partnerships that support collective regional goals, such as the City of Durango’s Climate & Energy Action Plan. I look forward to serving you for the next three years.”
HHH
Candidates to represent District 4, North and East La Plata County
Guinn Unger
“I am running for the LPEA Board of Directors because I want to make LPEA a leader in clean, renewable and locally produced energy. Buying an extremely high percentage of our electricity generated by burning coal does not make sense if we want to keep our electric rates low. LPEA can be more aggressive in promoting local generation of energy, particularly solar, which will keep jobs in our area, keep electricity prices low, and drastically lower carbon emissions. Coal has become the most expensive and dirtiest fuel, and if we are serious about fighting climate change, we need to quickly move away from this outdated energy source. I will work hard to make sure that as we transition away from coal we are purchasing our energy locally and keeping our monthly bills low.
“Having grown up in a military family and served 28 years in the US Army Reserve, retiring as Lieutenant Colonel, I believe in serving my country and my community. After graduating from Rice University with a degree in Electrical Engineering I chose to serve our country working on the NASA Space Shuttle Program. After leaving NASA, I founded two small businesses and served as a consultant in Corporate America. I promise to dedicate my efforts and my skills to work for my community and make the changes to LPEA that will enable us to do our part to fight climate change at the local level, create local jobs from renewable sources and keep our energy costs low.”
Joe Wheeling (incumbent)
“I have been an elected member of LPEA’s board for nine years. In that time, I have been trusted with several roles within the cooperative and as a delegate to outside entities.
“As chairperson of FastTrack Communications, a subsidiary of LPEA, it’s our mission to bring high-speed Internet to the entire region. In the last three years we have made great gains and now our focus is building fiber to Bayfield and Forest Lakes.
“As LPEA’s delegate to Tri-State G&T I have seen Tri-State make significant gains in its use of renewable energy sources including having 25% of their power generation come from solar, wind and hydro-generation facilities. I have voted for five wind farms and three large-scale solar generation facilities in my tenure.
“With a background in business and an MBA in finance and strategy, I have experience balancing complex decisions with common sense solutions. I believe in taking a moderate, practical and honest stance with decisions and encourage LPEA to find solutions that are fair for all members.
“As a partner in James Ranch Beef, by being a trusted source of chemical free food, I have continued the family’s commitment to the stewardship of our environment, as well as the preservation of Animas Valley’s open space through our conservation easements on James Ranch.
“I am proud to be a member of this family, this community and this electrical cooperative and, with your vote, would be honored to serve you in this time of revolutionary change.”
