Brief by Central Staff
Water politics – September 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine
Paul Weissmann, a former state senator from Louisville in Boulder County, may be going back to the statehouse. He won the August 13 Democratic primary for legislative House District 12.
This is good news for the folks in the Upper Arkansas and Upper Gunnison water conservancy districts who have tried to use existing law to elect directors. If Weissmann wins the general election in November, he has promised to introduce legislation calling for direct election of WCD boards.
As it is, the boards of Colorado’s 51 conservancy districts are appointed by judges, except on the rare occasions (five times in the state’s history) when residents petition for an election.
Under Weissman’s proposal, conservancy districts would go under the same election rules as other special districts (i.e., hospital, fire protection, sanitation, etc.).
