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LPEA elections

In two races, the incumbents get our nods to move the board carefully ahead

Four of the 12 seats on the La Plata Electric Association board are up for renewal in April, as four are every year. One seat is tied to Archuleta County to the west, where newcomers Holly Metzler is competing against Michel Whiting. The Herald’s editorial board did not interview those candidates.

One of the La Plata County seats will go to Joe Lewandowski, who alone wants to succeed Fort Lewis College Business School professor Doug Lyon, who is not seeking a second term. Lewandowski is a member of Durango’s Planning Commission, the spokesperson for Colorado Parks and Wildlife in this corner of the state and a former reporter and editor at The Durango Herald.

The remaining two seats are contested. Incumbent Dan Huntington, a fourth-generation rancher in western La Plata County and a 25-plus-year member of the Basin Co-Op board of directors, who has served a single term, is being challenged by Jeff Mannix. Mannix is a literary critic who formerly raised longhorn cattle and with his wife Linda operated a popular summertime rodeo in Durango. The two of them continue the very successful fall Cowboy Gathering in Durango.

Mannix says he sees a “tectonic shift” in electric generation taking place and wants to be a part of it. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association with its coal is outdated, he says, and he would “look to the future rather than defend the past.” Electricity is too expensive now, he says, and he would work to lower its cost. (Mannix is personally cost-conscious with his energy decisions, heating his house on La Posta Road with coal, saying it’s a quarter the cost of propane.)

The Herald’s editorial board likes Huntington in this contest. Experience means a lot in the complex world of setting power acquisition and distribution policies, and having served an initial term with its mandatory classes and experiences gives Huntington a head start on the next three years. This familiarity is especially important now as LPEA’s membership considers replacing some or all of its fossil fuel-generated power from Tri-State with renewables acquired from other sources.

During his first term, Huntington has advocated for transparency and openness on the part of the board as it considers replacing Tri-State with other providers. That transparency is critical.

Huntington himself is a believer in going slow when it comes to significant changes, and would look out for all LPEA power users if the co-op moves to more renewables. It is important that that cautious viewpoint be represented on the LPEA board, and Huntington does it with civility.

The fourth seat is a contest between Jack Turner, who is seeking a third term, and Sarah Ferrell, a Fort Lewis graduate in resort management who believes in market forces.

Farrell favors a move to renewables, but not at a stressful financial pace. She would do what is best for all LPEA members. Ferrell is not as critical of Tri-State’s decision-making as are others. Tri-State has been a reliable energy provider, she says, and it wants to move in the direction of renewables, and is doing so.

Farrell has attended LPEA meetings and talked to Tri-State representatives. She looks to be a quick study, and would be a strong contributor to board decision making. But, again we favor experience, and Turner has that. Turner points to his roles in creating LPEA’s strategic plan and its strategic committee which led to the Power Supply Committee. He is pleased that LPEA has a 2030 goal of reducing its carbon footprint by 50 percent.

Turner looks forward to the Power Supply Committee’s report, and says any conversations about buying out the contract with Tri-State or taking the question to the membership are premature.

Depending on your district, vote for Dan Huntington and Jack Turner to continue their service on the LPEA board.

Ballots should arrive the middle of this week.



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