Moffat County GOP announces precinct leaders
Local Republicans prepping for county assembly in March
Moffat County Republican Party chairpersons by precinct:
• Precinct 1 — Forrest Luke/Joe Ence*
• Precinct 2 — Michael Anthony/Lynne Krause*
• Precinct 3 — Randy Call/Stephanie Beckett
• Precinct 4 — T. Wright Dickinson/Barbara Nottingham
• Precinct 5 — John Strange/Lucila Strange
• Precinct 6 — Robbin Schiffbauer/Joyce LeFevre
• Precinct 7 — Robert Aaberg/JB Chapman*
• Precinct 9 — Stacy Razzano/KC Hume
• Precinct 10 — Sherman Romney/Jim Cooper
• Precinct 11 — Ann Dodd/Kent Nielson*
• Precinct 12 — Paul Anderson/Janette Harris
• Precinct 13 — Pam Foster/Lorrie Butler*
- Denotes newly elected chairpersons.
Note: Precinct 8 in Dinosaur is currently vacant.
Moffat County Republican Party chairpersons by precinct:
• Precinct 1 — Forrest Luke/Joe Ence*
• Precinct 2 — Michael Anthony/Lynne Krause*
• Precinct 3 — Randy Call/Stephanie Beckett
• Precinct 4 — T. Wright Dickinson/Barbara Nottingham
• Precinct 5 — John Strange/Lucila Strange
• Precinct 6 — Robbin Schiffbauer/Joyce LeFevre
• Precinct 7 — Robert Aaberg/JB Chapman*
• Precinct 9 — Stacy Razzano/KC Hume
• Precinct 10 — Sherman Romney/Jim Cooper
• Precinct 11 — Ann Dodd/Kent Nielson*
• Precinct 12 — Paul Anderson/Janette Harris
• Precinct 13 — Pam Foster/Lorrie Butler*
- Denotes newly elected chairpersons.
Note: Precinct 8 in Dinosaur is currently vacant.
Moffat County Republicans turned out in droves Feb. 7 for the statewide precinct caucuses, the most grassroots form of the political process in Colorado, organizers said.
In addition to participating in a statewide presidential preference poll, caucus participants also elected precinct chairpersons.
KC Hume, Moffat County Republican Party chairman, announced the precinct chairs over the weekend.
“For the most part, the precinct chairs are the same people,” Hume said. “But, we did get some new additions this year.”
Similar to county assembly delegates, precinct chairpersons can volunteer for the position or be nominated by another precinct member.
Joe Ence, Precinct 1 co-chairperson, is one of the newcomers nominated for the job by his peers.
He said he has been a delegate to the county assembly in the past, but has never served on the Moffat County Republican Central Committee.
“I didn’t really volunteer for it, but I didn’t turn it down either,” Ence said. “I don’t have any aspirations or goals (for political office), but I find the process interesting and I just feel like I can help.”
Where Ence was nominated, Lorrie Butler felt it was her duty to volunteer. She is now serving as co-chairperson for Precinct 13.
“I am very interested in politics,” Butler said. “I feel our country is going in the wrong direction and we need some help.”
Also among the new faces are Lynne Krause, Precinct 2 co-chairperson; John and Lucila Strange, Precinct 5 chair and co-chairperson respectively; Joyce LeFevre, Precinct 6 co-chairperson; JB Chapman, Precinct 7 co-chairperson; and Kent Nielson, Precinct 11 co-chairperson.
But precinct caucus participants weren’t finished at electing new chairs. They also had to decide on delegates for the Moffat County Republican Party Convention on March 24 at Sandrock Elementary School.
Moffat County was allocated 94 delegates for the current election cycle, Hume said, which is four more than in 2010.
Although the number of delegates each precinct is allocated varies on the number of registered Republicans in the respective precinct, Hume said all of the county’s 94 slots are filled.
As part of the agenda for the county assembly, delegates will cast votes to determine which local candidates will appear on the June 26 Republican primary election ballot.
Dave DeRose, a Republican candidate for the Moffat County Commission’s District 1 seat, is one of the candidates seeking a spot on the primary ballot through the assembly.
“Colorado has decided to maintain the caucus process by asking the public whether or not to do away with it,” DeRose said. “I think it is a sign of respect to go through the process the people have chosen.”
Republicans Audrey Danner and Chuck Grobe, who are both vying for the Moffat County Commission’s District 2 seat, are also going through the assembly process.
Danner said she enjoys the grassroots process of moving through the stages from the precinct caucuses to the assembly.
Grobe, a former Hayden mayor, quipped that he hasn’t met the learning curve yet and wasn’t aware of any other method to get on the ballot.
“I didn’t know there was another process,” Grobe said. “I go through different emotions every day on this process and now it is a matter of contacting all of the delegates to see where you stand.”
To secure a spot on the primary ticket, candidates must earn the support of at least 30 percent of the 94 delegates.
Should any candidates fail to garner the support of at least 30 percent of the delegates, but receive the support of more than 10 percent, they have until April 2 to petition onto the ballot.
Any candidate who fails to earn the support of at least 10 percent of the county assembly is disqualified from participating in the primary.
Although the county assembly process is the preferred method by the majority of the candidates, it is not the only way to secure a place on the primary.
Rick Barnes, a Republican candidate for the Moffat County Commission’s District 2 seat, is the only candidate in the race thus far to choose the second avenue for a primary ballot berth.
He is bypassing the assembly process altogether and has elected to try to petition his way into the primary.
“I looked at who the delegates are and feel I could get the 30 percent, but if I didn’t I would only have two weeks to get the signatures I need to petition on,” Barnes said. “I also decided to go with the petition process because my name is not as well known as the others in the race.
“This gives me the opportunity to get out, shake hands and talk with people.”
Barnes needs to acquire 463 signatures from registered Republicans in Moffat County to make it on the ballot.
Stephanie Beckett, Moffat County elections supervisor, said the required signatures represents 20 percent of the total number of Republicans who cast a ballot for the Moffat County Commission’s District 2 race during the 2010 primary.
In addition to setting the local primary ballot, Hume said Moffat County Republican Assembly delegates will be able to elect 28 people to represent the county at the April 14 Colorado State Republican Convention in Denver.
Colorado Convention delegates will have the opportunity to help set the rest of the state’s Republican Primary ballot.
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
Readers around Craig and Moffat County make the Craig Press’ work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.