Some area municipalities canceling April elections

    A lack of candidates is forcing some area municipalities to cancel April elections. 


    Monument and Green Mountain Falls won't hold elections because there are no contested races. Palmer Lake could be in the same situation.
    That's not unusual in small towns, said Liz Olson, manager of the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder's Office. 


    Monument, for example, has four spots open on the town board - the mayor and three trustees - and four people running for election. The deadline to file has passed, Town Clerk Scott Meszaros said, and the town plans to cancel the election next week. 


    One person is running for mayor - the incumbent, Byron Glenn, Meszaros said. Two incumbents, Gail Drumm and Tommie Plank, are running again, and planning commission member Rafael Dominguez has filed for the seat being vacated by Dave Mertz.
    "I don't like sitting on the sidelines, wondering what's going on," Dominguez said.
    Mertz, who joined the planning commission in 2000 and the board of trustees in 2004, said he wants to spend more time with family.
    "I've just decided I've finally done enough for the time being," Mertz said.
    Other area towns with April elections: 


    - Palmer Lake's election is scheduled for April 1, but so far no seats are being contested, Town Clerk Della Gray said. 


    Six spots on the town's seven-member board are up for election, Gray said. Two board members resigned last fall, and the appointees must run for the seats this spring. 


    Incumbents Gary Coleman, Bryan Jack and Max Stafford filed for seats on the board, as did newcomer Dan Reynolds and former mayor Nikki McDonald, Gray said. 


    Mayor Max Parker isn't running again, and newcomer John Cressman has filed for his spot. Cressman is a member of Palmer Lake's planning commission.
    Residents have until 4 p.m. Friday to apply as write-in candidates, Gray said. 


    - Woodland Park will hold a mail-ballot election on April 8 for mayor and three City Council seats. 


    By noon Tuesday, two people had filed for mayor: council member Steve Randolph and newcomer Darwin Naccarato, City Clerk Cindy Morse said. Four people had applied for the trustee spots: newcomers Val Carr and Betty Clark-Wine and incumbents Jon DeVaux and George Parkhurst.
    The deadline to apply for a spot on the ballot is 5 p.m. Friday, Morse said, and ballots should be mailed out late next week. 


    - Calhan will hold an election April 1 for mayor and three board seats, Town Clerk Cindy Tompkins said. 


    By noon Tuesday, one person - board member Blair Bartling - had applied for mayor, Tompkins said. Four people had filed for the board seats: incumbents Margie Miller and Mark McCrary and newcomers Regena Tumbleson and Marion Tumbleson, a married couple.
    The deadline to apply for a spot on the ballot is 4 p.m. today, Tompkins said. 


    - Green Mountain Falls plans to cancel its April 1 election, Town Clerk Chris Frandina said. 


    All the incumbents have refiled, Frandina said. Running again are Mayor Tyler Stevens and incumbents Marshall Worthey, Robert King and Dick Bratton.
    Monday was the deadline to apply as a write-in candidate. 


    - Ramah is also canceling its election, with only two people filing for six open positions, said Town Clerk Cindy Tompkins, who also works for Calhan.
    Incumbent Dan Sotomayor is running for the board again, as is Mayor Turner Smith, Tompkins said.
    These two men will join with the sole remaining board member to choose and appoint four new members, she said.