Local races heating up for November election

Local races heating up for November election

Jan. 26, 2002

By Jim Mimiaga
Journal Staff Writer

November’s local elections are already taking shape, with many candidates already having announced for the six Montezuma County offices up for grabs.

Terms for the incumbent sheriff, treasurer, clerk, assessor, coroner and District 1 of the county commission are all expiring at the end of 2002.

Republican Gary Gardner has announced he will run against Democratic incumbent Joey Chavez for sheriff. Republican Carol Tullis will face off against Democrat "Tammy" Neely for the clerk’s office.

Current Assessor Bob Cruzan, a Republican, cannot run again for his office because of term limits. He will compete against Republican Wanda Martin for treasurer during that party’s primary. The winner will face Democrat Sandy Greenlee, who is running uncontested for the Democratic ticket for treasurer.

County commercial appraiser Mark Vanderpool, a Republican, is running uncontested so far for county assessor.

And it will be a fight to the death, so to speak, between Republicans Charlie Rosenbaugh and William Faught for coroner.

Incumbent Gene Story faces term limits for his seat as county commissioner, will not run again. That leaves District 1 — which represents, generally, the northern portion of the county, including the town of Dolores — open to newcomers.

So far, Republicans Sidney Snyder and Hubert DeWayne Findley have announced their candidacy for the position. The Democrats have yet to put up a candidate for the commission, but "we have a couple people considering it," said Earl Rohrbaugh, Democratic Party chair for Montezuma County.

The deadline for candidates from the two major parties to be named has yet to be determined. According to statutes, that deadline is four days after the party assemblies meet, which can be within 30 days after the April 9 precinct caucuses — in other words, sometime between April 9 and May 13.

The deadline to get on the primary ballot via petition is June 4. Petitioning requires signatures equal to at least 20 percent of the total votes cast in the last primary for that office. For the county commission, that figure would be 233 signatures.

The last day that a write-in, major-party candidate can file an affidavit of intent to run in the primary is June 14.

The primary election will take place Aug. 13, with the deadline to register to vote in it set for July 15.

In a twist of the American political system, elections can be decided solely in either a Democratic or Republican primary if the other party fails to put up a candidate. The result is that Democrats register as Republicans, or vice versa, in order to cast a vote in the relevant primary.

If the winner of the contested primary ends up as the only candidate on the November ballot, he or she is the de facto winner.

If the Democratic party fails to put up candidates for assessor, coroner and county commissioner, then as it is now, those races would essentially be decided in the Republican primary election. So Dems may need to switch horses by the July 15 deadline if they want to vote in those races.

In 1994, that happened in Montezuma County in a hotly contested race for sheriff between Sherman Kennell and Steve Penhall, both Republicans. Kennell won by eight votes.

For those considering running for county commission, be aware that the district lines were changed following the 2000 Census. District 1, the seat up for election, lost territory to District’s 2 and 3.

District 2, which includes Cortez, gained territory to the north of the city limits, bordered by Highway 666 on the west, County Road N to the north and County Road 27 on the east.

District 3 boundaries also moved north. The new section is approximately bordered by County Roads 29 and 30 on the west, Highway 184 on the north and county roads 33, 32 and L on the east and south respectively.

Deadlines to register candidates for special-district elections and to establish party affiliation for precinct caucuses in the county are also upcoming.

Feb. 11 is the last day to register as a Democrat or Republican in order to become a delegate and participate in individual party precinct caucuses on April 9.

Political caucuses — neighborhood gatherings of party members — are used by parties in each precinct to debate who are the best candidates for elected offices. The delegates then vote during assemblies to nominate candidates for the ballot.

If a candidate receives at least 30 percent of the delegate vote, he or she can get on the ballot, with the most votes earning the ballot top line for that office.

"Caucuses are the grassroots of the political process, but people are not as aware of them as they should be," said Carol Tullis, chief deputy clerk for Montezuma County. "They are the best way to learn about potential candidates."

Ignoring or neglecting the caucus process can lead to no candidate running or a watered-down election with too many candidates vying for one seat. In that case, often the incumbent wins easily because of name recognition and the fractionalization in which each challenger draws some votes from a small support group, but never enough to put up a significant fight.

Contact party chairs to find out the time and place for the political caucus in your precinct. Contact the clerk’s office to check candidate or voter status.

Other important dates: Feb. 21 is the last day to register as a candidate for May 7 special-district elections. Two seats will open up on the Cortez Sanitation Board and five terms will be open on the Montezuma County Hospital District board. April 8 is the last day to register to vote in that election.