The race for La Plata County treasurer will be competitive this year – sort of.
Incumbent Ann “Moni” Grushkin, who was appointed by the Board of County Commissioners after the resignation of Allison Aichele last November, will appear on the ballot as an independent candidate for the position of treasurer and public trustee.
Below her name will be a blank line where voters can write in the candidate of their choosing, although only one name will count: Miles Walsh.
In Colorado, only votes for write-in candidates who filed with the secretary of state in advance are counted.
“Otherwise, Mickey Mouse and Van Halen would be president,” Clerk and Recorder Tiffany Lee joked.
Walsh, a Democrat, filed to run as a write-in after he saw a blank list of candidates for treasurer on the primary ballot. Grushkin has been clear since her appointment that she intends to run for the seat this year. She did not appear on the primary ballot because she is running as an independent. However, her name will appear on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.
Walsh’s candidacy sets up a competition, of sorts. Write-in candidates almost rarely win, Lee said. And given that lack of name recognition, it’s unlikely that he will be able to wage a competitive campaign.
Although he became interested in running when he thought no one else wanted the job, Walsh said he still intends to run a campaign.
When pressed on whether he was going to try and put up a fight, he answered, “OK well, let me answer like this: My name is Miles Walsh. That’s M-I-L-E-S W-A-L-S-H and please vote for me.”
The treasurer is responsible for collecting, managing and distributing tax dollars to taxing authorities in the county. As public trustee, they also act as a neutral third party during foreclosures and administer the sale of foreclosed properties.
A Fort Lewis College graduate and an accountant with experience working at a certified public accounting firm, Walsh said he has the technical savvy to do the job.
“It’s not a partisan policymaking position, it is a functional working accountant position, and I am an extremely experienced and talented career accountant who can fill it very well,” he said.
Grushkin, who held several senior vice president positions at multiple banks, served as the director of technical project management at PeopleCare Health Services and as the director of revenue and yield at Purgatory Resort, says the job is not just about accounting.
“It basically is on the job training – it doesn’t matter how much information you read (or) what you do, it really was, just dive right in and start to learn,” she said. “And I will tell you, there is a lot to learn. The job description does not reflect the level of detail and effort and what’s required to do this job.”
With a year of experience under her belt, Grushkin is asking voters for the opportunity to prove herself.
“I am just getting started,” she said. “I want to continue the job. I want to apply what I’ve learned. I want to continue to implement the changes that I’m putting in place.”
Whoever wins the position in November will have to run for a standard four-year term again in 2026.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
This story has been updated to reflect that Miles Walsh is an accountant and worked at a CPA firm, but is not a certified public accountant.
