In a recent letter to the editor, Mary Ann Jones pointed out that all La Plata County residents could vote for county commissioners whether or not they lived within the candidate’s district (“
That kind of thinking has resulted in Durango having three commissioners, and districts 1 and 3 are underrepresented. District 1 Commissioner Clyde Church lost in the geographic district by more than 700 votes. Yet he won the election by 29 votes thanks to city of Durango voters. In District 3, the Democrat candidate has failed to win the geographic district in the last six election cycles!
Over that 24-year period, some of the Democrat candidates in District 3 didn’t even win the precinct where they lived.
There have been several attempts in the state Legislature to pass a law allowing elections by districts. Democrats have fought tooth and nail to stop that move. Our very own Democrats testified against allowing district voting a couple of years ago when it came up in Denver.
If Democrats truly believed in democracy, they’d welcome district elections.
Dennis PierceDurango
