Due to unopposed candidates in three of four voting districts, the La Plata Electric Association (LPEA) Board of Directors today voted to cancel the 2023 LPEA director election in Districts 1, 2, and 3. The District 4 election will still be conducted, and all LPEA member ballots will include a proposed bylaw amendment.
In accordance with LPEA Bylaws, one seat in each of LPEA’s four districts comes up for election annually. If there is only one nominee for a position on the board for a district, the board may cancel the election for that district and, by resolution, declare the sole nominee elected to the board.
As no challenger applications were received, new candidate Nicole Pitcher (District 1 – Archuleta County) will fill the seat vacated by retiring director Bob Lynch, and incumbents John Lee Jr. (District 2 – South & West La Plata County) and Rachel Landis (District 3 – City of Durango) will be re-elected as director of their districts as of June 8, 2023.
Two new candidates, John Purser and David Luschen, will vie for the open seat vacated by retiring director Sue McWilliams in District 4 (North & East La Plata County).
Members in all districts will receive an LPEA ballot in the mail in early May. Members in District 4 will need to vote on their director candidate and a proposed bylaw amendment. Members in all other districts will vote just on the amendment. The proposed amendment would update the bylaws to align with state law, better reflect current member preferences around communication, and allow the LPEA Board of Directors to add electronic ballots as another voting option in future LPEA elections in conformity with state law.
Ballots and voting instructions will hit member mailboxes in early May and must be received by June 7, 2023, at 4pm (or delivered in person to the LPEA Annual Meeting) to be counted. Election results will be announced at LPEA’s 2023 Annual Meeting at LPEA headquarters in Bodo Park – or via Zoom – on Thursday, June 8, at 5pm.
For more details, visit https://lpea.coop/annual-meeting.
LPEA is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric distribution cooperative serving La Plata and Archuleta counties and segments of Hinsdale, Mineral, and San Juan counties. LPEA is the fifth largest cooperative of 22 in Colorado and aims to provide safe, reliable electricity at the lowest reasonable cost to approximately 35,000 members.
Contact LPEA at (970) 247-5786 or visit lpea.coop for more information.
Hillary Knox is VP of Communications at La Plata Electric Association, Inc. (LPEA)