With ballots due back soon to La Plata Electric Association in the election for four seats on the LPEA board, we take this opportunity to repeat our endorsements for the La Plata County districts.
LPEA board members live in and represent specific districts. The seat on the board representing District 1 (Archuleta County) will remain held by incumbent Bob Lynch (unopposed). In District 2, the south and west portions of the county, incumbent Davin Montoya is opposed by Kim Martin.
District 3, comprised of the city of Durango, is an open seat this year. Michael Bell is running against Rachel Landis.
North and east La Plata County comprise District 4. Incumbent Joe Wheeling is opposed by Guinn Unger.
Montoya has served 27 years on the LPEA board. He knows LPEA’s operations intimately. His critics are fond of portraying him as old-fashioned, but that is a shallow assessment. Montoya is a supporter of renewable energy, but he is also meticulous in his study of all the economic factors that contribute to the rates LPEA members pay for affordable, dependable electricity. Newer members on the board tell us that it can take a full year just to get up to speed. Because of his knowledge, and his opponent’s notable lack of experience in the industry, we endorse his re-election.
Vote for Davin Montoya.
Landis, coordinator of Fort Lewis College’s successful environmental center, will be a new face on the board. But her degrees in biology and environmental studies and her experience in organizational leadership make her the smart choice to help guide LPEA into a future that is far less dependent on coal. For her, the step from a college campus to a larger community stage should come naturally, and her collaborative working style will balance what some in the county refer to as the older generation’s less-than-patient (or polite) demeanor.
Vote for Rachel Landis.
Wheeling, LPEA’s current delegate and vice chairman on the Tri-State board, has served LPEA for nine years. Contrary to election rhetoric, having Wheeling in that position is a benefit to LPEA, not a hindrance. It is easy to forget that LPEA is just one of 44 local cooperatives that make up Tri-State’s customer base. His record, reputation and current leadership positions make him a valuable member of the board, and we need to keep him there.
Vote for Joe Wheeling.
We know that the landscape of power generation and distribution in the West is changing rapidly, moving away from polluting, carbon-emitting sources like coal much more quickly than energy giants like Tri-State, and local co-ops like LPEA, could foresee when purchase contracts were negotiated.
Cutting ties with Tri-State, like Kit Carson Electric did in Taos, New Mexico, seems an attractive move, but it is not a practicable or affordable option at this time. Voting for a resolution to seek an increase in its distributed generation allowance from Tri-State (from 5 percent to 10 percent), as the LPEA board did unanimously on April 19, is a solid step toward the independent and renewable future LPEA members embrace.
Voting for Montoya, Landis and Wheeling for seats on the board of directors is another.
The deadline for ballots is 4 p.m. on May 12. Members can also vote in person at the LPEA annual meeting on May 13.
