Court Decree Delays Eads Election to June; Additional Candidates Possible

By Chris Sorensen

KCP Staff

March 26, 2004

Following discovery of error late last week in the number of Trustee seats up for election, Kiowa County District Court Judge Douglas Tallman signed a decree Wednesday morning that postpones the municipal election scheduled for April 6 to June 8.

All six Trustee seats and the office of Mayor are subject to the delayed election. Effective immediately, potential candidates may begin circulating nominating petitions, which must be returned by May 7. The original five Trustee candidates, Bill Barlow, Dennis Pearson, Cardon Berry and Diane Crow, as well as Mayor Larry Michael are all qualified for the postponed election and will not have to re-circulate petitions.

May 10 was set as the last day to register to vote in the municipal election, and candidates may withdraw their names until May 15. Write-in candidates have until May 16 to file affidavits. The full text of the Consent Decree will be published in the April 2 edition of the Kiowa County Press, and will be available at www.KiowaCountyPress.com.

A special meeting of the Board of Trustees, attended by about one-half dozen residents and the candidates for board seats, was called Monday evening to address the discovery of an error made in determining the number of Trustee seats up for election. The meeting was immediately turned over to Gary Davis, attorney for the Town of Eads, who read, in part, from a prepared statement, outlining the issues and possible solution. According to Davis’ statement, it was believed that Jan King and John Philpy were midway through four year terms, however both had been appointed rather than elected in 2002, and according to state statutes, both would have to stand for election at the next regularly scheduled election. The discrepancy was discovered after the town had advertised that only four of the six seats were open, and after the deadline to either petition on to the ballot or file an affidavit to be a write-in candidate had passed. King and Philpy had been told that their seats were not subject to the upcoming election and had not petitioned or filed an affidavit in order to be a qualified candidate.

Though it was within the board’s discretion to cancel the election since there were five valid candidates for six seats, Davis’ statement recommended proceeding with the scheduled election since that would preserve the rights of King, Philpy, the candidates, and the voters to seek court relief if the results of the process were contested.

Berry asked if it was possible to delay the election process. Davis responded that such a move would require the agreement of all involved, and a court order to enforce. In addition, he did not feel he or the current board could ask that of the candidates – it would be up to those candidates to reach an agreement about how to proceed before the current board could take action.

Eads resident Ted DeLong asked why the error was discovered just before the election rather than earlier, which Davis couldn’t answer, but he said he didn’t think anything underhanded had taken place. "I do," responded DeLong, "one [board member] asked four times," about the need to seek election. At that point Davis said, "if anyone is to blame, look to me. I was here, and I carry responsibility for these kinds of mistakes."

Philpy then stated that it did not matter to him that he would not be eligible to run for election, and that he did not want jeopardize the town’s position, though he would have preferred to serve a full term to see some projects to completion. King was not present at the special meeting due to a prior work commitment.

The discussion then turned to a series of questions seeking clarification about how proceeding with the election would preserve the legal rights of the people involved, including the voters. Davis concluded that holding the election would cost very little, and would provide time for people to "do whatever they feel necessary," to preserve their rights. Eads resident Jack Howard said that, "in order to save face with the public, an election is the best way to go."

A verbal agreement was reached with the five candidates to seek a delay in the election and allow additional candidates to petition on to the ballot. Davis was directed draft the agreement, which was signed by all involved Tuesday and approved by Tallman Wednesday.

Prior to adjourning, the board heard from Mayor Larry Michael regarding a proposed bar and recreation hall that investors from outside of the area are interested in opening. Michael stated that he would be unable to vote on the matter if the board chooses to bring the issue to a vote at a later meeting since he currently owns the building under consideration. Mayor Pro Tem Philpy then assumed control of the meeting.

The board will need to address two issues before the project could move forward. Under Colorado statutes, bars and liquor stores cannot be operated within 500 feet of a school. The building in question is located at the corner of 9^th Street and Highway 287, well within the 500 foot limit. Municipalities, however, are permitted to change the restriction. Though several board members and citizens present believed that any potential business should be given consideration, the consensus was to solicit public input at the next regular board meeting regarding the 500 foot rule. Davis suggested that, if the issue is considered to be sensitive, that extra steps be taken to notify the public that the topic will be discussed. Board member Diane Crow stated that she would like to see school board members present at such discussions. RE-1 School Board member Larry Watts said that, while he thought that a school board member would attend, the matter is a state and local government issue, and not directly under the control of the school board.

If changing the 500 foot restriction is approved, the second issue that will need to be considered is the qualifications of the applicant to be granted a new liquor license. Davis stated that the board has wide discretion to evaluate a new applicant to establish grounds to grant or deny the application.

The meeting adjourned at 6:01 p.m. The next regular board meeting will be held April 13 at 7:00 p.m. at Eads Town Hall.