In the never-ending recall petition effort to drag Gwen Lachelt kicking and fighting from the La Plata County Commissioner dais, it continues to get weird and drawn out.
First the update: Petition gatherers have turned in the remaining 2,030 signatures plus an added 138 to boot through an extended deadline — we’ll come back to that in a minute.
Now, Tiffany Lee Parker, the county clerk and recorder, has until May 23 to verify the signatures required for a recall election.
But wait, as usual, there’s more.
After the petitions are verified, the Durango Herald informs us that voters can file a written protest and object to the petition.
And guess what? Lachelt is planning to do that herself.
She said she will pursue all challenges open to her, including conducting her own verification and challenges of signatures after Parker completes her verification.
Once that process is complete, the election is held the clerk has 30 days to hold a hearing on the protest.
After that, the election is held Lachelt is threatening court action.
Which brings us back to the recall petitioners, who got an extension to gather the needed signatures after they fell short of the required number plus hundreds of signatures were disqualified.
The Durango Herald says, “An unusual provision in Colorado law allows recall supporters an additional 15-day period to collect more signatures to correct deficiencies in signatures rejected by Parker from the first collection period.”
And that is what Lachelt is threatening to challenge in court.
However, it appears that Lachelt’s will is fading. She gathered supporters at a nearby wine bar as the petitions were turned in, and spoke of herself and her political career in the past tense.
“Every minute was worth it. We were standing for clean air and water and fighting those who are trying to silence us,” she said Wednesday among supporters at Eno wine bar.
We’re pretty sure it wasn’t dirty air or dirty water the voters were thinking about when they signed the recall petition, but dirty politics.