The candidate list is now final, for the Buena Vista (BV) Trustee election coming up on April 7, 2020. Four candidates are registered for the three trustee seats up for election. Norm Nyberg and Lawanna Best are running for re-election to their trustee seats, while Devin Rowe and Amy Eckstein are vying for the third seat currently held by Mark Jenkins, who is not running for re-election.
“The way the Buena Vista election works is that the candidates with the top three vote totals win,” said Buena Vista Town Clerk Paula Barnett. “While Devin and Amy are vying for Mark’s position, they may get more votes than Norm or Lawana. Devin was a trustee before 2018 and chose not to run then due to his work.”
The Board of Trustees is the policymaking legislative body of the town. It consists of one mayor and six trustee members elected at large, each for a four-year term. The terms of office are staggered so that terms don’t expire all at once, and elections for board members are held every two years. After each biennial election, the board elects a mayor pro tem from its members. All members of the board must have resided within the town limits for at least 12 months prior to election.
“’We had an excellent turnout in 2018 and I expect that we will again with this election, said Barnett. She added that the town is working with the League of Women Voters to arrange a candidate forum event to allow the public to meet the candidates, ask questions, and learn more about their vision for the trustee role.
Barnett says she expects a smooth election. The entire election will be conducted with mail ballots, which will mail out beginning March 16. This year, one of the things the town is handling a bit differently than in the past, is the addition of more ballot drop boxes.
“We’re coordinating with Chaffee County Clerk Lori Mitchell, to add two additional drop boxes at the Chaffee County Motor Vehicle Department Annex at 112 Linderman Ave., that will be put up on March 17, so people can drop their ballots 24 hours a day, ahead of time,” said Barnett. “With this election,we’ll still have our drop boxes here at town hall (210 East Main St.), but we’ll have two over at motor vehicle too. The inside box will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. any days the motor vehicle office is open.
Barnett said that new residents of the town of Buena Vista who might not have registered, and therefore aren’t now on the town’s database of registered voters to receive mail ballots, still will have a way to vote on election day.
“The Chaffee County Clerk’s office will have staff over in the Annex building on election day, so people can go there to register as a county voter, then come over to Town Hall and get registered to vote in BV and get a ballot and vote that day.”
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