La Plata Electric Association board members should make it clear when they endorse candidates they are offering their personal opinion and not speaking for the board as a whole, said the leader of an independent committee tasked with overseeing the association’s elections.
Sheryl Ayers, chairwoman of LPEA’s Election Supervisory Committee, offered the guidance to board members at the board’s Tuesday meeting.
“Board members never made it plain that what they were saying was their personal opinions and not that of the board. It felt as if they were implying they were board supported,” Ayers said.
In total, the Election Supervisory Committee adjudicated three complaints for the current election, and found only one violation.
The ESC ruled District 3 candidate Bill Waters unintentionally violated one of LPEA’s election rules by using the co-op’s logo on door hangers. Use of LPEA’s logo is prohibited in one of the co-op’s election rules.
Ayers said the complaint that Waters used the same colors and font for print of “LPEA” in campaign material was not found to be a violation because the colors and fonts are widely available for use.
Determining that two current board members, Britt Bassett and John Witchel, had not violated LPEA election policy in making endorsements of Waters’ opponent, Ted Compton, in letters to the editor in The Durango Herald and in a social media post was more difficult, Ayers said.
Candidate endorsements by individual board members are not banned by LPEA policy, Ayers said, but any individual board member’s endorsement should make clear it is a personal endorsement and does not come from the board as a whole.
While the ESC did not find violations by Bassett and Witchel, Ayers said both members should have been more explicit in stating their endorsements were personal opinions.
The board of directors as a whole is banned from endorsing candidates.
Witchel said, “I thought I was complying. I thought I was making it clear I was speaking on my behalf, lesson learned.”
LPEA board member Kohler McInnis suggested candidate orientations held before elections in the future make explicit to candidates what is allowed and what is prohibited during an election.
Ballots for the 2021 LPEA election will be counted Thursday at the La Plata County Clerk and Recorder’s Office.
In District 1, Archuleta County, incumbent Kirsten Skeehan faces Veronica Medina.
In District 2, south and west La Plata County, incumbent McInnis is challenged by Mark Walser.
In District 3, the city of Durango, Waters faces Compton to fill the seat being vacated by Bassett.
In District 4, north and east La Plata County, incumbent Tim Wheeler faces John Purser.
In addition to the director elections, LPEA members are voting on two amendments to the co-op’s bylaws.
Both amendments were proposed during the COVID-19 pandemic and aim to modernize LPEA’s bylaws to conform with Colorado law on virtual meetings.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
