The Town of Pagosa Springs (unofficially) finalized its mail-ballot election on Tuesday, April 3 and the town’s voters elected two Council members — write-in candidates Clint Alley and Matt DeGuise — and re-elected their incumbent mayor, Don Volger, all to four-year terms. Clint Alley will retain the seat to which he was appointed last May; Matt DeGuise will be serving on the Council for the first time.
The election — which saw relatively light participation —also asked the voters to make two amendments for the Town’s Home Rule charter. The voters favored both the proposed charter amendments.
The first question proposed to eliminate the charter requirement that three of the six Council members be drawn from the Town’s three neighborhood districts. A ‘yes’ vote was a vote to allow all six Council members to be elected at large, from anywhere in the town. (The Mayor is already elected at large.) Town voters approved this charter amendment by a 3-to-1 margin.
The second question asked the town voters if they wished to institute term limits for the Mayor and the Council members. The Home Rule charter originally allowed the elected officials to serve an unlimited number of terms. This amendment was approved by a 2-to-1 margin.
The Town election did not generate any candidates for District 3, and will be soliciting candidates for that currently-vacant seat, to be appointed by the Council. But due to the elimination of Town districts, the vacant position will now be open to all eligible electors living within the Town boundaries. The Town intends to advertise the position over the next two weeks, and plans to make an appointment in May.
The following are unofficial results:
Mayor Don Volger: 187 votes
Council member Clint Alley: 6 votes
Council member Matt DeGuise: 18 votes
Eliminate Town election district requirements
Yes: 163
No: 56
Institute term limits for Mayor and Council
Yes: 153
No: 72
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can’t seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.