Crested Butte Fire Protection District will have a contested election this May

Met Rec has five candidates for five seats. GCEA election coming up

By Mark Reaman

The Crested Butte Fire Protection District will have a formal election this spring, while the Gunnison County Metropolitan Recreation District won’t.

Six people have filed the paperwork to fill the three seats up for election on the CBFPD board of directors. Incumbents Paul Hird, who joined the board of directors in 2006; Jack Dietrich, who joined the board in 2010; and Eric Tunkey, who has been on the board since 2016, all will be running to retain their seats.

Three other people have met the qualifications to run for the board. They include Tina Kempin, Sean Riley and Mitch Dryer. Ken Lodovico and Chris McCann are the two members of the five-person board not up for election. Their terms expire in May 2022.

“All board seats up for election this year are for three-year terms that will run through May 2023,” explained CBFPD chief executive officer Sean Caffrey. “There was a recent change in the Special District Act that will move special district elections from even- to odd-numbered years. As a result for this cycle and the 2022 cycle, the terms will be for three years instead of the usual four years. Elections will then be held in odd years starting in 2023.”

Election Day for the CBFPD is Tuesday, May 5 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. It will be a polling place election and ballots will not be sent through the mail. “We have secured the Queen of All Saints Parish Hall in Crested Butte for the election to be held in on May 5,” said Caffrey, who noted such elections are significantly less expensive to conduct than a mail ballot or coordinated election.

Any eligible voter may request an absentee ballot from the CBFPD through April 28. Eligible voters registered through the Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) will receive ballots automatically.

Caffrey said that to be eligible to participate in the election a voter must be registered to vote in Colorado and reside within the boundaries of the CBFPD. Additionally, registered voters in Colorado who are real persons (not corporations, partnerships, LLCs, etc.) who own property within the district may also vote in the election.

The district encompasses 220 square miles of the East River Valley north of mile marker 19 on Highway 135 including the municipalities of Crested Butte, Mt. Crested Butte and multiple subdivisions in unincorporated Gunnison County such as Crested Butte South.

The last contested election was held in 2010. The district itself is prevented from campaigning on behalf of any candidate; however, Caffrey said, the hope is to post pictures of the candidates on the CBFPD website at www.cbfpd.org. Any questions regarding the election process or absentee ballot requests can be directed to Caffrey at (970) 349-5333, ext. 1 or email office@cbfpd.org.

Meanwhile, five people submitted the appropriate forms to run for the five open seats on the Gunnison County Metropolitan Recreation board of directors. Dave Clayton, Cassia Cadenhead and Ian Billick will fill seats for three-year terms, while Derrick Nehrenberg and Loren Ahonen will take the two-year seats. All but Ahonen are current Met Rec board members.

And the Gunnison County Electric Association board of directors will also have an election. GCEA chief executive officer Mike McBride said nomination petitions would be available March 13 at GCEA headquarters. Greg Wiggins of District 1, Michelle Lehmann of District 4 and Tom Carl of District 5 are all up for election. Candidates must return petitions by 4:30 p.m. on May 8. Election Day is June 23.