Colorado District 3 Republicans announce interim Board of Education seat

Sherri Wright has been sworn in to represent a Congressional District 3 interim seat on the Colorado State Board of Education.

Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District spans 50,000 square miles from the Wyoming border to New Mexico and includes 27 counties, including Pitkin and Garfield counties. 

The Cortez resident was appointed by the Republican Party Congressional District 3 Vacancy Committee to fill the seat left by Stephen Varela, who resigned earlier this month to take a school-based position. Wright will serve in this role through Jan. 8, 2025.

Wright is one of two candidates running for the seat in the upcoming Nov. 5 general election, which will determine who serves until January 2027.

During the nominating process, Pitkin County Republican Party Chair Jon Kelly said he wanted to be as transparent as possible for this process.

“The CD3 chair has put out a request for nominations, and we have nominated Sherri Wright,” he said. “We will hold a Zoom meeting sometime in mid-October, where the candidates will speak, followed by a discussion and a vote by eligible GOP members.”

Wright was selected during the mid-October Zoom meeting.

A retired public school teacher, Wright taught middle school language arts for 20 years in Colorado and Texas. She has also held several leadership roles, including serving on the Montezuma Cortez RE-1 School Board and the Colorado Association of School Boards board. Additionally, she was a board member of the San Juan Basin Technical College, where she served as president for five years.

Wright will be running against her Democratic opponent Ellen Angeles in the Nov. 5 election.