One hundred and seven Park County Republicans gathered as delegates on Saturday, March 8, to elect representatives to higher conventions, take care of party business, and select candidates for local offices. They gathered with 16 alternates and interested guests in the Jefferson Community Center in snowdrifted South Park. Among the Republican delegates to this assembly were elected county officials, county employees and department heads, the county attorney, long-time active members and a number of first-timers.

State Senator Colonel Steve Ward (left) and State Senator Ted Harvey, Candidates for CD6. Photos by Jack Pullman	Candidates for state and national offices attended to campaign with the group of possible delegates to the state convention. For Congressional District 6, which will be vacated by incumbent Congressman Tom Tancredo, State
Senator Ted Harvey and State Senator and Marine Colonel Steve Ward attended in person and spoke to the delegates. Secretary of State Mike Coffman's wife, Cindy, and Deputy Campaign Manager Debbie Brown from Wil Armstrong's campaign also addressed the Republicans and stayed for the assembly.

Campaigning for Congressional District 5, which encompasses most of Park County, were spokesmen from the Lamborn, Crank, and Bentley-Rayburn campaigns. Joe Rall spoke for incumbent Congressman Doug Lamborn. Park County Assessor Dave Wissel addressed the delegates on behalf of challenger Jeff Crank, and Campaign Manager Mike Hesse represented challenger Air Force Major General (Ret.) Bentley Rayburn.

The party's nominees for these contested races will be decided at State Convention in May or in a Primary Election in August.

On the local level, businessman and volunteer firefighter Doug Tamminga challenged incumbent District 1 Commissioner and volunteer Sheriff's reserve officer John Tighe. Tighe's nomination came from his son, Josh, with seconds from wife, Lisa, and supporter Judi Boles. Tighe was praised by his family and Boles for his fairness and sincere concern for the entire county. Tamminga was nominated by former Park County Republican chair Jack Pullman, with the nomination seconded by Tamminga's nephew Andrew Ward. Tamminga's supporters cited his common sense knowledge of business and management as well as his dedication to volunteer community service as a firefighter among their reasons for recommending him for election to the office.

Both candidates will appear on a primary election ballot in August after receiving the required number of votes to pass on to that process. Challenger Doug Tamminga received 42% of the delegate votes to incumbent John Tighe's 58%. A showing of 30% is required for automatic placement on the primary election ballot. For District 2 Commissioner, candidate Richard Hodges was unopposed by any other Republican and placed on the ballot by acclamation of the delegates present. Hodges was formally nominated by wife, Carol, and supporter, Patricia Sapp.

Commissioner Candidate Doug Tamminga Photo by Jack Pullman

In other business, the assembled delegates considered 20 resolutions presented by the various precinct caucus attendees. The resolutions passed at county assembly will be forwarded to the state level of the Republican party for consideration by the State Convention. The majority of the local resolutions dealt with immigration issues, support of the military, reforming the income tax, and other matters of concern to local Republicans.

The last order of business was a question that is normally a standard housekeeping issue, but turned contentious among some delegates. Under the bylaws of the Park County Republicans, the party's elected Executive Board serves as the Vacancy Committee to appoint a county commissioner in the event of the death or resignation of a sitting Republican commissioner. This is the only county position that the party's Vacancy Committee fills. The county commissioners fill all other vacancies among elected officials, department heads, or other staff in the county. The BOCC is not required to seek input from other officials or the public in making the various appointments. The remaining county commissioners cannot appoint a fellow commissioner, however, under Colorado law. An elected committee serves in that capacity. If the deceased or resigning commissioner is a Republican, then a Republican Vacancy Committee appoints the replacement. If it is a Democrat, then the same type of committee from that party appoints someone to serve out the term. Under state law, the committee has only ten days to appoint a replacement or the power falls to the Governor to make the appointment.

The party rift on this issue arose with the loss of District 3 Commissioner Jim Gardner who passed away in 2006. The members elected to the PCRCC Executive Board in 2005 were Jack Pullman, Lillian Wissel, Kent Kalb, Joyce Lang, and Mary Ann Melvin. The challenge of appointing an interim commissioner to serve the remaining eight months of Gardner's term fell to this board acting as the Vacancy Committee. Two people considered to fill the vacancy were Kent Kalb and Lillian Wissel - both officers on the Executive Board. Neither of those board members could participate or vote in the appointment process. In accordance with the bylaws, the remaining voting members of the Vacancy Committee made the decision and unanimously chose to appoint Wissel to the position.

Certain county officials within and close to the administration were unhappy with the actions and procedure of the Vacancy Committee and felt that they should have a stronger voice in the appointment of the interim commissioner, according to sources within the party. A few of these individuals publicly questioned the manner in which the appointment was made and expressed frustration that the committee did not consult the commissioners or others in the party regarding the choice made. In spite of the protests, Wissel was sworn in and served out the remaining months of Gardner's term. Doc McKay was elected as the new District 3 Commissioner in November of the same year.

At the 2008 assembly on Saturday, the issue was raised again in the form of vocal opposition to ratifying the role of the Executive Board serving as Vacancy Committee. One segment of the delegation argued that the entire PCRCC should be called together to select a replacement for commissioner, should the need arise in the future. Proponents of the current system debated that it would be impractical to try to notify and gather the committee representatives from every county precinct to vote on the appointment within the ten days allowed by law. They pointed out that the full Central Committee elects the Executive Board/Vacancy Committee every two years, so all of the members are represented in the appointment process. According to proponents of this system, the process is similar to the election of county commissioners who are then responsible for county appointments without putting each appointment before the county voters for approval.

When the vote was called, proponents of the current system carried the majority.

The assembly was adjourned, followed by an Executive Board interview with the new commissioner candidates.