The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“Giving the voters an alternative…”
A familiar political face is tossing her hat back in the ring to represent the area at the Colorado statehouse. Former state legislator Kathleen Curry is attempting to petition her way onto the November ballot and get in the race for House District 61 as an “unaffiliated” candidate.
Under last year’s state reapportionment plan, House District 61 now includes Crested Butte but not the city of Gunnison. Curry resides just outside the city limits of Gunnison. If elected, Curry wouldn’t officially represent her hometown.
“That is a line on a map, not the line in our hearts and I’ll represent Gunnison and the county if I am elected,” Curry promised. “We need someone at the statehouse focused on the welfare of Gunnison County.”
In her official announcement, Curry cited rising partisanship as one of the reasons for running.
“I recently made the decision to run for House District 61 because we need experienced, nonpartisan representation at the statehouse,” she said. “I believe our elected representatives should be focused on the needs of the people in their district vs. the wishes of the Denver political establishment. The Colorado Reapportionment Commission’s decision to divide Gunnison and Delta Counties into multiple house districts is a great example of how the needs of the people on the Western Slope were not the priority of the decision makers in Denver.
“As I did for the six years I served in the statehouse, I will continue to provide strong leadership on the issues that are so important to those of us that live in the mountain communities—water, oil and gas development, agriculture, and tourism and recreation,” she continued.
Curry said her decision to get into the race wasn’t easy, especially with Gunnison not being part of House District 61. “I took a hard look at the geographic boundaries and decided I wanted to give the voters an alternative,” she said. “I feel I can contribute.”
Curry said the reapportionment process was one factor that made her want to get back into the fray. “That was completely unacceptable,” she said. “The process was very objectionable. It had the potential to be good and fair but ended up being partisan at the end of the day.
“The second thing that occurred that put this idea back on my radar was the degradation of the integrity of the legislative process when it came to civil unions,” she added. “When the speaker refused to bring up the last 30 bills because he had a problem with that one, it indicated to me a complete dysfunction and disrespect for the institution. I think if I had been there, it would have been different. I feel I can help improve the process that I feel has sunk to a new low this year.”
The Colorado Secretary of State’s office has approved Curry’s petition format and now she needs to gather 400 valid signatures on a petition and submit them to the secretary before July 2. “I’ll be hanging out at the post offices here soon,” she admitted. “If anyone wants to help, please feel free to get in touch with me.”
On the Democratic side, Millie Hamner of Dillon will be running to represent the district. The Republicans have a primary election to choose their candidate. David Justice of Gunnison County and Debra Irvine of Breckenridge are vying for the honor.
