The La Plata Electric Association’s most recent board election saw unprecedented campaign spending.
Purgatory Resort owner James Coleman, through his affiliated private equity firm, contributed $20,000 to conservative candidates – sparking concern among co-op members about the rising influence of big money in local energy decisions.
Ski Family LP, a private equity firm registered to the Purgatory Sports address and owned by Coleman, donated roughly $5,000 to each of four candidates: Brad Blake, Dusty Mars, Lyle McKnight and Dave Peters.
Coleman’s donations accounted for 25% to 50% of the total spending in each of the candidate’s campaigns.
Other donors gave upward of $3,000 to individual candidates, but no one else spent as much across the entire field as Coleman, who targeted one candidate in each of the four contested races.
The second-largest corporate donor, Crossfire Aggragate Services, LLC, a Southwest Colorado construction company specializing in energy infrastructure, doled out $250 to each candidate.
Crossfire’s total donations were $1,000.
The other candidates – Holly Metzler, Terry Greiner, Greg Barber, Joe Lewandowski and John Witchel – did not receive any money from businesses or interest groups.
LPEA has campaign finance reports dating back to 2020. For at least the past five board elections, Coleman did not donate to any candidates.
So why now?
Coleman did not respond to multiple requests seeking comment.
But Witchel, a two-term incumbent who defeated McKnight in District 4, said the reason behind Coleman’s seemingly sudden interest in LPEA politics is simple: personal gain.
“Jim Coleman attempted to hijack the co-op by spending more in one election cycle than the total cost of the last three election cycles combined,” Witchel said. “He wants to take over the LPEA board for personal profit.”
Witchel clarified that he was speaking as an individual, not in his capacity as an elected LPEA board member.
In April, LPEA raised its service rates for the first time since 2020, following a comprehensive cost-of-service study conducted by a third-party contractor months earlier.
One key finding: The rates charged for snowmaking were less than the actual cost of service.
“What we found is that the rates we were charging for snowmaking were significantly less than the cost of service,” said LPEA CEO Chris Hansen.
As a result, the co-op raised energy costs associated with snowmaking by 10%. The monthly base charge increased from $10,382 to $11,420. On-peak rates rose from $0.1132 per kilowatt-hour to $0.1264, while off-peak rates went from $0.0630 to $0.0690.
Coleman was unhappy with the increase, Hansen said.
Purgatory Resort covers about 20% of the mountain – or 250 acres – with artificial snow. This summer, as part of an expansion, the resort will boost its snowmaking capacity.
“We talked to him (James Coleman) extensively and we know he’s upset,” Hansen said. “He’s expressed that in several ways.”
Hansen noted that while the 10% rate increase for snowmaking was above the 7% average increase for other service categories, the co-op is still charging less that it costs to provide the service.
Arguably, Hansen said the rates should have gone up much more to cover the cost of delivering electricity for snowmaking, but the board capped the increase at 10% to avoid rate shock.
As a result, the remaining cost is being subsidized by LPEA’s members, he said – though he added the dollar figure is relatively small in the context of the entire system.
Blake, recently elected to serve as the District 2 board representative, received $4,800 from Ski Family LP. Blake disputed the idea that Coleman’s donations were motivated by personal financial interests.
To Blake’s knowledge, it had nothing to do with the cost of snowmaking. In fact, in his discussions with Coleman, snowmaking never came up, he said.
Blake said he was unaware that energy is used in snowmaking.
“You’re sure they pump it (water)?” he asked. “Or don’t they just use gravity to feed the water cannons?”
It’s true Coleman opposes rate increases, Blake said, but his main concern is how rising electricity costs affect the overall cost of living.
Specifically, Coleman was worried about the impact on Purgatory employees already struggling to make ends meet, and the broader efforts by local business leaders to develop more workforce housing.
“A 7% increase or more in electricity for their employees is huge,” Blake said. He emphasized that the concern was the burden on workers, not the cost to any one business.
The recent LPEA board election drew the largest campaign contributions since 2020 – and possibly in the co-op’s history.
An LPEA spokesperson declined to confirm that, noting that campaign spending tends to spike in years when more candidates are vying for election.
Still, the scale of spending alarmed some.
It paints a troubling picture of the future, Witchel said.
“Now, all of a sudden we have a private equity firm willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars every year to swing a tiny little election so that he (James Coleman) can save money on his electric bill,” he said.
Witchel warned that Coleman’s influence is likely to grow. Two of the four candidates he supported won their races, and board elections happen annually. On a 12-member board, just a few more wins could give Coleman-aligned members a majority.
“If one person – if James Coleman – gains control of the LPEA board, he’ll be able to direct LPEA construction projects and capital expenditures for his personal gain,” Witchel said.
Blake rejected the idea that campaign donors would shape his decisions.
“I’m not affected by donations,” he said. “I’m affected by what’s going to be the most helpful for people who can barely afford to live here as it is.”
Blake said his focus is on securing the safest, cheapest and most reliable power for the region’s working residents. When it comes to energy policy, he added, no decision would benefit a single person or business alone.
“I don’t know how their (Ski Family LP) donation could affect the way that I vote if I’m voting for the cheapest possible power already,” he said.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
