Lathen promises a different tone

The days of contention and endless 4-1 votes in the affairs of El Paso County government may be over.

Saturday, a vacancy committee of the El Paso County GOP voted to appoint Amy Lathen to take the county commission seat of anti-tax crusader Douglas Bruce, who resigned to serve in the state House of Representatives. Bruce’s time on the board was marked by confrontation with other members, and he was frequently the lone vote against most county spending measures.

Lathen — the preferred candidate of the other four commissioners and just about every other elected Republican in county government — promised a different tone.

“Leadership is not just about taking a 4-to-1 vote. I intend to be better than that,” Lathen said. “I am just filling a seat if all I do is sit there and obstruct.”

Of 85 members of the vacancy committee, 48 voted for Lathen. Michael Burton got 23; Kenneth Bull, 14.

Each had eight minutes to address the committee. Lathen, who kicked off her campaign 10 months ago and has immersed herself in county affairs, said she has the knowledge to start serving effectively. She sits in the front row of most commission meetings, volunteers with the county’s Citizens Outreach Group and has worked on campaigns, including running John Newsome’s successful 2004 campaign for district attorney.

Lathen, a former employee of Focus on the Family, touted her conservative views.

“I will reiterate to you that I will never support liberal biggovernment tax measures,” she said. “I will always, and I have always, been true to my fiscally conservative credentials.”

Bull espoused a Bruce-like opposition to tax increases and suggested Lathen was being favored just because she has long been a GOP faithful.

“I’m not Douglas Bruce by any means, but there are many issues on which I agree with Douglas Bruce, and one of them is that just volunteering for the party is not a reason to select them as a candidate,” Bull said.

Burton, on the other hand, said his experience in the business world is needed to set county finances right.

“I’ve got over 30 years in business. I’ve got over 30 years of making tough decisions.”

Before the voting, Greg Garcia, chairman of the El Paso County GOP, implored candidates to be civil and avoid attacking each other. He cited a letter Bruce recently wrote to the committee, accusing Lathen of lying and flip-flopping about whether she would vote in favor of a tax increase.

“Mr. Bruce’s letter is not reflective of the way Republican leaders in El Paso County ought to be conducting themselves,” Garcia said to applause.

While the votes were being tallied, Bruce got up to the podium to respond.

“It was more important to disclose that information than curry favor with the probable winner,” said Bruce, who then launched into an explanation of the incident in the House of Representatives in which he kicked a newspaper photographer. A House panel has recommended he be censured for the action.

After the election, he said he was surprised by how close the race was.

He said Lathen is “going to vote with the other tax-andspenders on the board.”

“Now they’re going to have there be a 5-0 vote, so you can expect to see a tax measure on the ballot,” Bruce said.

Lathen disagreed.

“He thinks I’m not going to disagree with anybody,” she said. “I don’t have any problems fighting or arguing with anyone.”

“Five-zero votes are great, if they’re in my favor,” she said.

Other commissioners, meanwhile, said they look for a change of tone on the board.

“There’s still going to be disagreements, but you can disagree without being disagreeable,” said Commissioner Sallie Clark. “For me, it’s a breath of fresh air, restoring some civility to county government and also being professional in what we do.”