Snowmass-Wildcat fire board faces first contested election since 2006
Four candidates competing for three seats on board
Four candidates have tossed their hat in the ring for three open seats on the Snowmass-Wildcat Fire Protection District Board of Directors, marking the first contested election for the board since 2006, according to the district’s designated election official Susan Herwick.
It’s been just as long since anyone has run against an incumbent for the board, Herwick wrote. Term limits for the board went the way of the dinosaur in 2006, according to Herwick.
Incumbents Elizabeth Striegler and William Boineau are running for re-election. Also on the ballot will be prospective board newcomers Greg Balko and Scott Arthur.
Donna Aiken currently fills the third seat up for grabs but will not be running for re-election. Dave Heivly and Drew Detrick also are on the board; their seats are not up for election this year.
Candidates had until Feb. 25 to nominate themselves for the election. The election is May 3 and Herwick plans to set up a polling place at Station 45 at 5275 Owl Creek Road in Snowmass Village.
Anyone who owns property in the Snowmass-Wildcat Fire Protection District is eligible to vote in the election, according to Herwick. Voters have until the close of business on April 26 to file an application for an absentee ballot with Herwick (sherwick@roaringforkfire.org), according to the “Call for Nominations” announcement for the election.
Winning candidates this year will be elected to three-year terms because the state of Colorado is working to align all special districts to an election calendar that follows years ending in odd numbers, according to Herwick. The seats will be up for election again in 2025.
Both the Snowmass-Wildcat Fire Protection District and Basalt and Rural Fire Protection District are part of the Roaring Fork Fire Rescue Authority.
The Basalt and Rural Fire Protection District Board of Directors also had three open seats this year, but because no one opted to run against the three incumbents in those seats, Herwick canceled the election. Ed Van Walraven, John Young and Vonda Williams automatically retained their seats on the Basalt and Rural board; Leroy Duroux and Mark Kittle fill the other seats on that board.
The board of directors for the Roaring Fork Fire Rescue Authority includes three members from each of the district boards. Snowmass-Wildcat’s Boineau, Striegler and Heivly and Basalt and Rural’s Van Walraven, Young and Duroux currently serve on the board for Roaring Fork Fire.
