Seven candidates have cast their hats into the ring with the hopes of being elected to represent La Plata Electric Association’s four districts on the electric cooperative’s board of directors.
This year’s election carries a lot of weight: On April 1, the co-op officially separated from its longtime power supplier Tri-State Generation and Transmission, which CEO Chris Hansen described as the “biggest day in our history since (LPEA) was founded.”
At the top of each candidate’s mind in this new chapter for the cooperative are affordability, transparency between the board and co-op members, and a mix of energy sources that will provide reliable electricity. Just how each candidate plans to achieve those goals varies, however.
The Durango Herald spoke with each of the candidates hoping to be elected to the board of directors. Here is what they said.
How to vote
La Plata Electric Association members should receive their paper ballots via mail this week.
Online votes can be cast on SmartHub – LPEA’s member billing website – and must be cast by noon May 19.
Mail-in ballots must be sent via U.S. mail in the prepaid envelope by 4 p.m. May 19.
Ballots can also be dropped off at LPEA’s Durango office, at 45 Stewart St., or at its Pagosa Springs office, located at 603 S. 8th St., no later than 4 p.m. May 19.
Finally, members can cast their votes in-person at LPEA’s annual meeting, held in the LPEA Durango Truck Barn, located at 45 Stewart St., from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. May 20.
Nicole Pitcher
Incumbent Nicole Pitcher was first elected to LPEA’s board of directors in 2023, and served as the board’s president through the transition from Tri-State. Now, she is up for reelection to the board to represent her home of Archuleta County, where her family has lived for six generations.
Pitcher’s career spans roles in national security think tanks in Washington, D.C., work in the U.S. Senate and extensive experience in Southwest Colorado’s tourism industry, including work at Wolf Creek Ski Area, rafting outposts, the service industry and real estate.
She pointed to how, while serving on the board, she in part helped the co-op keep member rates the same even when Tri-State increased prices. Additionally, she said, she has helped move LPEA closer to its goal of reducing its emissions.
“There’s a lot to be said for the three years I’ve already committed to serving LPEA,” Pitcher said.
If reelected, Pitcher said she wants to continue creating a diversified energy mix, such as solar, natural gas, biomass, geothermal and hydropower. Continuing to diversify LPEA’s energy mix will make the cooperative more reliable, increase local investment and make it more environmentally responsible.
Pitcher said wildfire mitigation and grid hardening, along with transparent communication with cooperative members, are central to her platform.
“We have a potential to become a community that powers itself,” Pitcher said. “That’s the future that I’m working toward.”
James Lane
James Lane is challenging Pitcher for her seat representing Archuleta County on LPEA’s board of directors. He said his platform focuses on transparency, reliable power transmission and clean energy sourcing – as well as taking the politics out of energy decision-making.
If elected, Lane, who has lived in Archuleta County since 1977, would draw from his 30-year career as an electrical engineer – including stints at BP, Mock Natural Resources and Ford. Lane said he would approach his role on the board as an engineer might.
“I'll take an engineering approach and with real numbers and with their concerns in mind, and not with a limited set of personal interest,” Lane said.
Lane said his unique set of experiences – particularly in technological advancements and emissions reduction engineering – would allow him to further LPEA along on its goals.
Lane supports expanding renewables like wind, solar and geothermal, while using natural gas as a stabilizing fuel. Additionally, cutting emissions and improving LPEA’s battery storage capacity are things he would work toward.
At the same time, though, he said he was wary of current financing models for solar procurement and installation that he thinks could leave co-op members paying more on their rates. Maintaining clear communication with members is a way he would be able to address those concerns, Lane said.
Greg Barber
Greg Barber is running unopposed for LPEA’s District 2 seat.
Barber moved to La Plata County in 2024 from Phoenix, Arizona, where he spent 45 years working as CFO for a utility provider. He said he wanted to draw on that experience to help LPEA make smart purchasing decisions now that it is out of Tri-State – in turn helping cooperative members get the most bang for their buck when paying for energy.
“I’m excited having utility experience,” Barber said. “I’ve done a lot of the things that LPEA is now having to do for (itself), because Tri-State used to do that for them.”
Barber said his experience as a CFO is something he can use on the board to help LPEA as it transitions to more local power generation.
Additionally, Barber said he wants to help relieve the sense of uneasiness surrounding the Tri-State withdrawal that many of the members he has spoken with have expressed – something he thinks can be done with increased communication.
“The uneasiness about switching from Tri-State was really just that the members that I’ve talked to feel kind of left out of that decision,” Barber said. “When we have big decisions like that, I want to be more inclusive of members.”
In his candidate bio on LPEA’s website, Barber said he will further help secure affordable electricity rates, controlling costs and pursuing clean energy – especially solar.
Jennifer Jenkins
Jennifer Jenkins, who has lived in Durango since 2013, said she wants to make LPEA a community nucleus that emphasizes clean electricity generation.
With a 20-year background in renewable energy – including advocating for policies at the federal and state levels to help implement a nationwide move toward more renewable electricity generation – Jenkins said she wants to be part of LPEA because the cooperative is a leader in that transition.
“The most important thing that our voters know is that I have a background in renewable energy,” Jenkins said. “My entire career has been working to get policies approved at the federal and state level.”
Jenkins said she wants to increase transparency between the board and cooperative members – especially with decisions like leaving Tri-State. Jenkins said she wants to make LPEA a “nucleus” that brings community members together and makes power generation more reliable – something transparency will help with.
“Maybe the Tri-State situation could have been handled differently,” Jenkins said. “My goal in Durango and on our board is to make sure that everybody feels heard and that they’re not confused.”
Jenkins’ work has also focused on implementing renewable energy in rural communities – including leadership roles with the Rural Energy Academy in partnership with the National Association of Counties, which provided technical assistance to empower rural counties to be more independent.
Jodi Zuber
Jodi Zuber said she was first inspired to run for LPEA’s board after she started hearing rumors that the co-op might leave Tri-State.
“I wanted to run because of the lack of transparency with the board that the members didn’t really know what was going on and didn’t get a say so in the matter of getting out of Tri-State,” Zuber said.
Zuber, whose family moved to Durango in 1974 and has owned and operated several businesses in the time since, said she wants to give back to the community by providing a more clear line of communication between LPEA and its members. That business background, she said, it one that would be useful to her if she is chosen by voters to serve on the board.
At first, Zuber was not a fan of the move out of Tri-State, but she has since changed her mind because it would enable LPEA to buy more cost-effective power and have more flexibility in how it would do so.
“It’s not a bad thing that we’re out, because now we have more flexibility,” Zuber said.
If elected, Zuber said she wants to work with the board to secure cost-effective, reliable energy for members through a balanced mix of sources, rather than relying solely on renewables. Additionally, LPEA has two years left on its contract to buy energy from Tri-State, and in that time must figure out the right blend of energy sources to power itself afterward.
“My commitment to this will be doing all the research I can do,” Zuber said. “To keep looking into stuff, working with the board, trying to come up with good solutions to any problems, and trying to find a good, reliable sources of energy going forward.”
David Luschen
Incumbent David Luschen is running to keep his seat on the LPEA board, promoting his nearly three-decade career in energy management and a three-pillar platform based on energy affordability, reliability and grid resiliency.
Before Luschen was elected to LPEA’s board in 2023, he worked on the “wire side” of the CSP Energy in San Antonio, Texas, where he oversaw transmission and distribution operations, managed major capital projects and built out industrial power infrastructure.
“I’m leaning heavy on my experience,” Luschen said. “I love what’s coming out in the future, and I’ll make sure we go the right direction.”
Luschen was on the board when LPEA announced a 10% power purchasing cost reduction, improved reliability and fire safety, and opened Sunnyside Community Solar. That experience, he said, would make him a good choice to elect back onto the board, especially now that the cooperative is out of Tri-State.
Luschen’s energy policy is to keep power affordable and reliable by shifting to a more diverse mix of energy sources while fortifying the grid against outages and wildfires. Additionally, he said his time on the board and experience with CSP Energy both demonstrated his ability to make responsible fiscal decisions.
John Purser
John Purser is running as the challenger for LPEA’s District 4 seat.
This is his fourth go at the position, following unsuccessful campaigns in 2021, 2023 and 2024. This time around, Purser said he is running to increase transparency between LPEA’s leadership and its members – something lacking in the Tri-State exit.
“The problem with the Tri-State deal is that the board didn’t allow the members a vote on it, which, in my opinion, violates their statement of governance,” Purser said.
Purser said responsible fiduciary decision-making is paramount. He said he sees the co-op’s current leadership as taking on unnecessary debt, and that the decision to join the Southwest Power Pool had put LPEA into more competition, which threatens affordability.
“Opening us up to the southwest Power Pool opens us to a broader market, but that market’s open to a lot of other people too, so we’re in a very competitive situation,” Purser said.
Purser said creating a concrete plan for when the two-year bridge period during which LPEA will buy power from Tri-State and making viable local power generation sources are key parts of his platform.
“We need to have long-term secured contracts with somebody who actually produces power,” Purser said. “That should be the duty of a board member – not politics – but making sure that we have long-term secure power for our members (and) a fiduciary responsibility, not political gains.”
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
