La Plata County’s Democratic Party leadership has announced its three favorites to succeed county Commissioner Clyde Church, who has announced he’s stepping away from the position to spend more time with his wife, Paulette, who is dealing with a recovery from knee surgery. Church is serving his second four-year term, having most recently been elected in 2022. Whomever is selected will hold the office for about 18 months until January 2027, following the November 2026 election.
While the party’s three choices look to be accomplished each in their own right, the Herald’s editorial board suggests something very different: select a Republican, instead.
Why? To provide the approximately 58,000 La Plata County residents with a variety of values and perspectives that an elected board, a significant one in this case, should rely on in its decision-making. After all, about a quarter of active registered voters are Republicans.
What have Republicans been known for? More limited government and lower taxes, and a reluctance to initiate progressive policies. Those values can add to the discussion.
Republicans on the county commission have been few, largely because while commissioners come from districts, heavily blue Durango smothers the outlying red areas at voting time. Most recent was Brad Blake who served for a single term that ended in 2018. He lost to Church by 23 votes. That’s telling. There was an almost equal number of voters who wished for a Republican and a Democrat to serve in 2018. And in 2022, three candidates ran for Church’s seat – Blake again who garnered 37% of the vote to Independent Jack Turner’s 22%. Church won with 41% of the vote. Not a mandate.
The very important selection of an incoming county manager is underway, and in a few months the county commissioners will begin shaping the 2026 budget, one that will almost certainly have to grapple with an already strapped county and future reduced revenue from property taxes and federal funding.
Federal funding is declining because of ideologies and attempts at deficit cutting in Washington. As to property taxes, the Colorado Legislature, in response to steeply increasing property values, recently voted to give property owners tax breaks. For property owners that’s very welcome, but for county government delivering property tax-supported services, that makes for a serious challenge. Revenues have been on the decline for decades.
In April, county Manager Chuck Stevens remarked that the county’s sales tax had not been raised since 1982. “We’re running an organization in 2025 on revenue streams set in the ’80s,” he said (Herald, April 23).
Applying Republican perspectives to how revenues and expenses are considered could be very helpful, as could a Republican explaining to county Republicans whatever fiscal changes are being considered and why.
To address the deficit and respond to community needs, it’s very likely the county will ask voters to approve an increase in the lodgers tax now that the Legislature has allowed counties to ask for as much as 6%, up from the current 2% that La Plata County collects.
In November, voters overwhelmingly approved the county reallocating the lodgers tax to spend 70% of the current $1 million collected annually on workforce housing and child care (Herald, Nov. 6). A “yes” vote on an increased lodgers tax paid by visitors can be expected, but where might that additional revenue be directed beyond funding tourism marketing?
The county has also floated the idea of increasing county sales tax by three-quarters (0.75%) or one-half cent (0.5%) on every dollar spent. Tax talk with a Republican commissioner would be worthwhile.
We’d like to think that elected officials always vote issues up or down based on an issue’s merit, but if party is at play, the majority – two out of three – would still be Democratic.
Let the Democratic Party show that without fear it can reach across the aisle to provide La Plata County residents with a possible breadth of leadership conversations and decisions.
Perhaps most importantly, doing so will allow Republican voters to feel like they have a voice and are represented. Here’s an opportunity to expand representation and thus democracy.
