The field of candidates running for two seats on the Ouray County Board of County Commissioners this fall is nearly set, with only one race featuring a competition so far.
No GOP opponent emerges to challenge Niece
The field of candidates running for two seats on the Ouray County Board of County Commissioners this fall is nearly set, with only one race featuring a competition so far.
Ouray County Republicans on Saturday certified Log Hill Mesa resident Mike Perkovich for the primary ballot in June. He’ll face off in November against incumbent District 1 Democrat Commissioner Lynn Padgett. Local Republicans didn’t put up a candidate against incumbent District 3 Democrat Commissioner Jake Niece. No nominees emerged from Saturday’s county assembly at the Ouray County 4-H Event Center.
County Republican Party Chairman Lin Neal told the Plaindealer at the beginning of March he expected someone to announce their candidacy during the county assembly. No one did, though, and no nominations were made.
After the assembly, Neal told the Plaindealer the party was still working on finding a candidate. Other Republicans told the newspaper, however, that party leaders couldn’t convince anyone to run.
Major party candidates who aren’t nominated during their party’s assembly can petition onto the ballot. But the deadline to do so was March 19. A major party candidate can still appear on the ballot as a write-in candidate, but they would have to file a petition by April 19, according to County Clerk and Recorder Cristy Sulewski.
But there’s another way to get on the ballot for the commissioners’ race, for those who are unaffiliated. Candidates not affiliated with any political party still have time to petition onto the ballot. May 16 marks the first day they can circulate a petition. The petition has to be signed and verified by Aug. 1, Sulewski said.
Any unaffiliated candidate interested in running for commissioner this fall would be getting a late start at this point. Two years ago, six unaffiliated candidates announced their candidacy for county office in January.
During Saturday’s Republican assembly, Log Hill Mesa resident Scott Carlisle nominated Perkovich for the District 1 commissioner seat, praising him as a family man, business owner and “great candidate” who “can defeat our nemesis, Lynn Padgett.”
Perkovich criticized county leaders for spending money adding administrative staff, arguing they should instead direct that money toward securing more water for the region. He said while the county is busy hiring a deputy county manager and deputy county attorney, county departments like Emergency Medical Services, the Sheriff ’s Office and the Road and Bridge department remain underserved in both equipment and personnel.
“When was the last time commissioners did a ride-along with (sheriff ’s) deputies or Road and Bridge?” he asked.
The roughly 35 people who attended Saturday’s 90-minute assembly also heard brief stump speeches from House District 58 candidates Mark Roeber and Larry Don Suckla and 7th Judicial District Attorney Seth Ryan.
Roeber, a former Delta County commissioner, and Suckla, a former Montezuma County commissioner, will face off in the June 25 Republican primary. One of them will go up against Democrat Kathleen Curry of Gunnison in the November election. The winner will replace current state Rep. Marc Catlin, R-Montrose, who is term-limited and running for Senate District 5.
Ryan, who was elected in 2020, is currently unopposed in his campaign for a second term.
The Plaindealer will continue to cover campaign events and will publish candidate profiles prior to the Nov. 5 general election.