Republicans unveil slate of candidates

Republicans unveil slate of candidates

Jan 5, 2002

THE MONTEZUMA COUNTY Republican Party’s candidates for county positions pose on Thursday outside the Anasazi Restaurant after a luncheon at which the candidates were announced. In the top row, from left, are Ray Rose, Charles Rosenbaugh, Bob Cruzan, Mark Vanderpool, and Sidney Snyder. In the bottom row, from left, are Gary Gardner, Carol Tullis, Wanda Martin, Kay Alexander, Bill Faught, and Dewayne Findley.

By Janelle Holden
Journal Staff Writer

Incumbent Sheriff Joey Chavez will face a Republican challenger if he chooses to run again for the sheriff’s position, the local Montezuma County Republican Party revealed Thursday at a luncheon at which a whole slew of candidates announced their intention to run for county positions.

In addition to Chavez’s challenger, two county-commissioner candidates, two coroner candidates, two treasurer hopefuls, and one candidate each for county clerk and assessor announced their intentions to run.

Gary Gardner of Dolores, who is seeking to become sheriff, said he began his career in law enforcement May 2, 1966, and has been involved ever since both in the private and public sectors.

"I’d do the very best that I can do with all my experience, training, knowledge, and education," he said. Gardner ran for sheriff four years ago, and lost in the primary.

Sidney Snyder and Dewayne Findley will face off in the primary election to replace outgoing County Commissioner Gene Story. At the end of 2002, Story will have served two terms and will not be eligible to run again, but both candidates said they would like to follow in his footsteps.

"I’d kind of like to continue on with the same programs and way of doing the things that he’s been doing," said Snyder. Findley, an area business owner who is serving on the county planning commission, said he would also like to address growth in the county.

Two Republicans will also vie for the position of county coroner. Charles Rosenbaugh, chief of the Cortez Fire Deparment, and Bill Faught, a retired police detective from South Florida who teaches at the Cortez Middle School, are running for the position.

The current county assessor, Bob Cruzan, is ineligible to run again for a position he’s held almost 20 years because of term limits and is running instead for county treasurer.

Cruzan said he is "ahead of the game" because of his experience.

"In spite of the fact that I have worn the black hat in this county for 20 years, I have developed some very positive relationships with taxpayers in this county," said Cruzan.

Cruzan will face an opponent in the primary, Wanda Martin, who said she has 10 years’ experience in business accounting, and has been treasurer of the Home Builders Association for two years as well as treasurer of the Sheriff’s Posse.

Mark Vanderpool, who currently works in the assessor’s office, told the group he has 26 years’ experience in property taxation and is running for county assessor.

"If elected I would do my darnedest to run the office so that assessments are equitable and fair, and as much as the law allows, tilted in the taxpayer’s favor," promised Vanderpool.

Carol Tullis, currently chief deputy county clerk, is running for the county clerk position. Tullis’s mother, Dorothy Higman, was also chief deputy, and Tullis has worked in the clerk’s office, in one way or the other, since the 1960s.

Tullis reported that there are 14,733 registered voters in the county, and 6,321 are registered Republican, a majority.

Kay Alexander and Ray Rose, previously announced candidates for state Senate District 6 and House District 58, respectively, were also on hand to update the party on their campaigns.

"We Republicans have got to win in this election; we’ve got to take back Senate District 6," Alexander told the gathered crowd.

So far, Alexander is running unopposed in the primary, and will likely face former Sen. Jim Dyer’s replacement, Sen. Jim Isgar (D-Hesperus), in the general election.

Alexander, who has served 2 1/2 terms in the state Legislature already, said she expects to run a "grassroots" campaign and is encouraged by the support she has already received.

Rep. Mark Larson (R-Cortez) has not announced his candidacy to run again for House District 59, but said he won’t be running against Alexander for the Senate.

Rose, a retired U S West/ Qwest communications worker from Montrose, is running for House District 58, Alexander’s seat. He said, if elected, he’ll focus on transportation, education, and economic development. Among his education interests, Rose said he will try to clean up the curriculum at Fort Lewis College.

"One of my firm beliefs is that we should not have classes offered at our colleges at taxpayers’ expense called the ‘Poetics of Porn,’" said Rose.

The class in question has been suspended.