Four candidates file for District 3 seat
Four candidates file to run, one withdrawsMike Potter
Staff Writer
Four candidates for the Park County District 3 Commissioner seat filed to petition onto the Republican primary ballot last week, and one dropped out.
Alma Town Mayor Mark Dowaliby, Hartsel-area resident and writer Kathleen Thomas, and Como-area resident Bonnie Edmondson were all seeking signatures as of May 27 to make it onto the Republican primary ballot.
Park County Clerk and Recorder Debra Green said Fairplay resident Bobbi Gore filed a candidate affidavit on May 15 and withdrew May 16, saying she would instead support Dowaliby.
By press time, none of the three candidates had turned in petitions to the Clerk and Recorder's Office, so it was unclear which candidates had received enough valid signatures to be placed on the primary ballot.
Lillian Wissel was appointed on May 16 by the Park County Republican vacancy committee to fill the vacant seat left by former District 3 Commissioner Doc McKay, who passed away on May 8, and Wissel was also selected by the committee to go on to the primary ballot for the seat.
Park County Democratic Chairman Soren Frederiksen said on May 27 that the Democrats had not yet appointed anyone to go on the Democratic primary ballot for District 3, but Frederiksen was calling potential candidates to determine if anyone was interested. The Democratic vacancy committee had until May 30 to appoint someone to the primary ballot.
Green said candidates trying to petition onto the primary ballot had until May 29 to collect 158 valid signatures to make it onto the ballot.
Here are the three new candidates, in the order of their responses to The Flume.
Kathleen Thomas
Green said on May 22 that Thomas hadn't filed a candidacy affidavit, but she was expected to do so if she received enough signatures.
Thomas writes a weekly column for The Flume.
On May 22, Thomas estimated she had a third of the signatures she needed on her petition, and on May 27 she thought she had more than enough valid signatures.
She said she had never run for public office in Park County, although she ran unsuccessfully for a place on the Breckenridge town council years ago when she still lived in Summit County.
If elected to the county commissioner seat, she would serve with an "open mind and an open heart," she said.
"I've lived here for 14 years, and I do not have a personal agenda," she said. "After 14 years, I think maybe I'm a local."
She said there are certain issues that will affect the residents of District 3 in the future.
"I'm pretty interested in the uranium mining. I'm always interested in what's going on with water," she said.
She said she would also like to see some sort of light industry come to the county.
She expressed concern about the economy and how that might affect tourism revenue generated in the county.
"I lived in Breckenridge for 20 years, and I saw what I believed to be the ramifications of hitching your wagon to the single star of tourism," she said. "I'm not trying to say tourism in the county is going to dry up, but I think diversification will be really good."
Thomas also said she was happy to see growth in the town of Fairplay in the form of a supermarket and a new hotel.
"Prather's [Market] has been a terrific boon to the South Park area, and I love seeing the Best Western going in," she said.
Grady Miller, pastor for the Faith Freedom Fellowship church in Hartsel, said he knows Thomas fairly well and thinks she has a sound business mind.
"She has a good business head on her," he said. "I think she'd make a good commissioner."
Miller also said Thomas has kept her word while working with the church.
"She backs up her commitments, and that rates pretty high with me," he said.
Mark Dowaliby
Alma Mayor Mark Dowaliby said he filed to run on May 16 and has been collecting signatures since that day.
"I've been trying to play catch-up," he said.
As of May 27, Dowaliby said, he had over 158 signatures on his petition, but said he would keep seeking more in case some of the signatures weren't valid.
Dowalibly said he feels getting signatures is an advantage for candidates.
"I've been out meeting people and shaking hands, getting positive responses from the people of Park County" he said.
Dowaliby ran against McKay in the 2006 primary election and lost, but still earned 42 percent of the votes.
While serving as the Alma mayor, Dowaliby said, he was able to positively impact the town and wants to do something similar for the county.
"I felt as though I've been able to positively help the town by getting the sidewalks and drainage, which helped us to get more business and improve our economy in Alma," he said.
He also wants to see the county's economy grow.
"Park County is sorely missing businesses," he said. "If we're ever going to accomplish anything in Park County, [like] get our roads fixed, it's going to have to be through getting more businesses in Park County."
An increase in businesses would create more revenue from taxes for the county, and also decrease the burden current businesses feel.
Dowaliby said he planned to turn in his petition on May 29 and to continue seeking signatures up to that point.
"I feel like I've got the support of the county and I should be the next county commissioner," he said.
Bobbi Gore said she threw her support behind Dowaliby because splitting the votes in the primary election wouldn't help the party and because of his experience as mayor of Alma.
"He has a strong background with his experience in Alma," she said. "I was impressed with Mark when he had run before and I felt that he was a good candidate."
She cited the improvements made to the town under Dowaliby's watch.
Bonnie Edmondson
Bonnie Edmondson said on May 27 that she had been seeking petition signatures, wasn't sure if she would have enough to make it onto the primary ballot, but would continue trying to gain enough signatures.
As of 5 p.m. on May 27, she had 82 on her ballot, she said.
"I'm not going to give up," she said.
She said she had a number of ideas for the county, but declined to discuss them.
"I think there needs to be a change. This county needs a lot of help," she said.
Ricki Ramstetter said she has known Edmondson for 17 years.
"She's pretty honest. She cares about the county and she cares about the people here," Ramstetter said. "She wants to see the county go in the right direction.
