Editorial: Water-district elections should reflect open, simple nominating process
What if you organized an election that attracted only enough candidates to fill available seats, prompting a cancellation of that election and automatic appointments for the few who chose to run?
Were that scenario to occur for any of a myriad of municipal, state or federal elections, it would be scandalous, a betrayal of our democracy.
And yet, that’s exactly the state of affairs for some of the most consequential governmental entities in Colorado, namely water districts.
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A BizWest review of board elections going back to 2012, including water and sanitation districts in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado, found that more than 80% of possible elections were canceled because of a dearth of candidates.
Water-district officials say that a lack of candidates demonstrates confidence in how a given district is being managed. It’s not top of mind for people to run unless there is controversy, they say, adding that board continuity is important, given the complexities of water issues.
And when elections do occur, voter participation is scant, with perhaps a few dozen or couple thousand votes in total, depending on the district.
It’s probably true that apathy is a factor in lack of candidates, and lack of votes. But we believe lack of transparency on the part of the districts, along with an opaque nomination and electoral process, plays a larger role.
Special-district elections in Colorado are governed by state law. In 2022, May 3 is the scheduled election date, but would-be board candidates had to submit self-nomination and acceptance forms by end of day Feb. 25.
But how do they obtain those forms? BizWest reviewed more than two dozen water districts in the region and found only a couple that posted the form on their websites. They do adhere to state law requiring notices to be published in newspapers, as well as on websites or newsletters.
In most cases, however, to obtain the form, would-be candidates have to contact a designated election official, often an outside attorney. Some include phone numbers and email addresses to request a form, but others provide only a physical address.
If water districts truly are interested in promoting competitive races, they would actively engage in getting the word out about what board seats are available and would make it an easy nomination process.
Water districts are not without controversy, as we have seen with a tap moratorium imposed by the North Weld County Water District and an ongoing lawsuit between the Central Weld County Water District and the town of Firestone.
But controversy or not, districts should review their policies and make board nominations an easy, open process.