In municipal elections today, newcomers and incumbents earned seats on town councils in Cortez and Mancos. Dolores chose a new mayor. And Mancos approved a ballot question that asked for permission to stop publishing town financials in The Journal.
In the Cortez City Council election unofficial results, the candidates with the top four votes won seats. They are: Matt Keefauver, 1,040 votes; Dennis Spruell, 817 votes; Lydia DeHaven, 814 votes; and Robert Dobry, 676 votes.
Of the 5,600 ballots sent out, 1,708 were returned, or 31% voter participation, a record for Cortez elections, said City of Cortez Clerk Linda Smith.
Dolores has elected Leigh Reeves as mayor, according to unofficial results reported by Town Clerk Tammy Neely.
Reeves earned 142 votes or 54%, compared with candidate Gerald “Jerry” Whited’s 122 votes, or 46%. Reeves will serve a two-year term, and replaces current Mayor Chad Wheelus.
The election for Town Board seats was uncontested. The three who ran were elected – Mark Youngquist, Jeff Sand and Ira “Todd” Andrews. Town Board terms are for four years.
Of the 800 ballots sent out in the Dolores election, 266 were returned, or 33% voter participation.
Reeves is a co-owner of EsoTerra Ciderworks in Dolores and is also the owner of Zoe the Tail Food Truck. Before moving to Dolores she lived in Houston, Chicago and upstate New York. She has a 35 years’ experience running small and large businesses.
In Mancos unofficial results, the candidates with the top three votes won seats on the Town Board of Trustees, including incumbent Betsy Harrison, 174 votes; Nicholas Manning, 144 votes; and Richard W. Tokar, 123 votes.
Voters approved Ballot Question 2A which asked permission for the town to stop publishing town financial information in The Journal, provided that the same information be published on the town website and at Town Hall.
The measure was approved by a vote of 74% to 26%, with 175 voting yes and 62 voting no.
Of the 870 ballots sent out, 245 were returned, or 28% voter participation.
Town of Mancos Ballot Issue 2A read as follows:
“In order to reduce the financial burden with regard to publishing all expenditures in a newspaper of local circulation (by way of example, the Town of Mancos spent approximately $2,421.00 in such publication costs in 2021), shall the Town of Mancos, Colorado be released from publishing all payments of bills, approvals and approvers of the payments, the recipients of all payments and the awards of all contracts and rebates, as permitted under Colorado law, provided that the same will be available for review on the Town of Mancos website and the Mancos Town Hall?”
Following are bios of the winning candidates.
Keefauver, 52, is a seventh grade math teacher in Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1.
He replaced Amy Huckins on City Council in June 2021 when she resigned.
A Cortez resident of 19 years, he also has served on the boards of the Four Corners Child Advocacy Center, Cortez Cultural Center, Willowtail Springs and CARS.
He served as mayor pro tem for eight years, and was selected as Best Educator of Montezuma County for the past three years.
“I really dig races, I really seriously love this kind of stuff,” he said during the campaign.
Spruell, 64, owns Cortez Animal Bed and Breakfast, is a retired law enforcement officer and has lived in Cortez his entire life.
He served as the Montezuma County Sheriff for four years and spent 30 years with the Cortez Police Department.
“I've been out of sight for about five years, and I decided ‘Hey, it's time to get back in it,’” Spruell said.
He’s done work with The Bridge Shelter, U.S. Police Canine Association and Fraternal Order of Police.
DeHaven, 34, is an archaeologist for the federal government with a master’s degree in cultural resource management.
Originally from Pittsburgh, she has lived in Cortez for 4½ years and in Montezuma County for nine.
“I chose to live here because I fell in love with the values, and I would really like to help out as the city develops and to create more economic development and affordable housing moving forward,” she said during her campaign.
DeHaven is on the board and executive committee of The Bridge Shelter and volunteers at Grace’s Kitchen at St. Barnabas of the Valley Episcopal Church.
“Being involved with my community and assisting people in need is a core value that has been instilled in me from my family, which includes multiple Baptist preachers and a strong line of community service. I believe we need to support all of our neighbors in order to have a safe, healthy and thriving community for everyone,” DeHaven stated in a candidate form.
Dobry, 41, a Cortez resident for six years, is director of corporate support and digital projects at KSJD public radio station.
He replaced the late Sue Betts on City Council in October 2020.
He has also served on the Montezuma County Hospital District since 2018, and was elected as treasurer/secretary in 2020. He served on the Southwest Memorial Hospital foundation from 2016-2021, on the Dolores Town Board from 2016 to 2017 and on the Dolores Planning and Zoning Board from 2015-2016.
“My main interest is in kind of the financial accountability and making sure that we’re stewarding the money of the taxpayers of Cortez,” Dobry said during his campaign.
During a candidates forum Reeves introduced herself.
“I have managed teams of 12 people up to 400 people, and the main thing about any team is you have to be a good listener to understand what people in the community need,” Reeves said.
Dolores has lots of good things going for it, she said. She praised the people, a strong chamber of commerce that organizes lots of events, and effective town board that “set up the town for good growth with the passage of new land use code.”
In response to her goals as mayor Reeves responded:
“I think listening is really important to find out what the town needs and wants, then work toward consensus on solutions. Building consensus can sometimes be difficult and can lead to contentious conversation, but by treating each other respectfully we can get through all that. I am definitely an approachable person. Politics don’t matter to me, it is really about getting stuff done and being effective. I welcome people to come to board meetings and provide input. I’ve had lots of experience running boards and I know Robert’s Rules of Order to hold efficient meetings. Dolores is going to grow, the question is how to manage that growth in order to keep our friendly, small-town atmosphere. I want to hear ideas from the community, then get everyone together, talk through the ideas and issues, and come to a consensus.”
In response to how she would support tourism and business Reeves said:
“I have experience trying to grow my own business. Part of it is culture; people are attracted to Dolores because of the people. We need families. Dolores lost a lot of people between 2010 and 2020. I want to help figure out how to get people to move and work here and how to create affordable housing for them. It is a big issue for small towns all over Colorado. Affordable housing is needed for our teachers, firefighters and the guy that plows the street. To improve housing options, encourage property owners to create accessory dwelling units for rentals. It also provides additional revenue for the property owner. There is a lot of opportunity for economic development, not just tourism.”
During her candidate campaign, Harrison said she ran for the board for the same reason she did four years ago.
“I care a lot about community, and I thought I could have some sort of impact to make it a friendly, inclusive town,” she said.
Harrison is retired, and channels much of her time into the Mancos Common Press and the board of the Mancos Creative District and Mount Lookout Grange.
Mancos is moving in a “very healthy” direction, she said.
That includes government and its collaboration with organizations like the Mancos Valley Chamber of Commerce and Mancos Creative District, she said.
Harrison would like to cater to the needs of youths.
“We have a lot of new, young people in town and they’re getting involved,” she said.
Manning is the CEO of New Life Property Management.
“I feel a lot of responsibility and care for the town and I want to see it grow,” Manning said.
He doesn’t want to resist growth already occurring, he said during his campaign, but he wants to embrace and enhance it in a way that is “equitable for everybody.”
“I can see it changing,” Manning said.
Among his goals for the town are attracting more young people, respecting the natural environment with consideration for factors like water and sewage plants, adequately planning and allocating funds and facilitating an overall “vibrant” community.
Tokar said he ran for the council “to help the community.”
He’s a supervisor for Colorado Department of Transportation and has been with CDOT for more than 25 years.
His goals for the future of the town are growth, more people, affordable housing and better streets, he told The Journal.
All three municipal elections were managed by the Montezuma County Election Department.
The Journal reporter Kala Parkinson contributed to this story.
