OPALCO Board Candidates Forums

— from Chom Graecen —

Come hear candidates running for two open positions from Orcas on the OPALCO board of directors.

LOPEZ: Tuesday April 7th, 5 p.m. – 6.30 p.m. at Lopez Library

ORCAS: Thursday April 9th, 7p.m. – 9 p.m. at Orcas Library

Candidates Randy Cornelius (recently retired General Manager of OPALCO) and Ed Sutton (chosen by OPALCO search committee) are running against the two incumbents, Winnie Adams and Chris Thomerson.

The forums are sponsored by the Islands Energy Coalition (IEC). The IEC is a group of islanders who meet periodically to discuss energy issues and share information regarding our involvements with local to global energy issues.

This is an excellent opportunity for members-owners to ask questions and help shape OPALCO’s direction regarding rate increases, broadband policy and more.

Ballots will be mailed out April 8, and voting closes on May 2. (Editor’s note: see correction in comments below)

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2 Comments

Suzanne Olson March 31, 2015 at 6:22 am

Correction to Chom’s announcement: the deadline for absentee ballots (the ballots you’ll recieve by mail) is 10:00 am on Friday, May 1 – you can vote online or by mail (note: your mailed ballot must be received by the deadline). Absentee ballots will not be accepted at our offices (it’s an election security issue) but we will have online voting kiosks at our Eastsound and Friday Harbor offices. Members can also vote on the boat if you attend the annual meeting on Saturday, May 2 – you’ll be given a annual meeting ballot when you register (absentee ballots can not be accepted at this point).
Chom Greacen April 6, 2015 at 8:29 am

For the upcoming OPALCO Board Candidates Forums, two candidates (Randy Cornelius and Chris Thomerson) have submitted their written statements. They answer the following list of questions:

1) why you are running;
2) what your qualifications are or what contributions you hope to bring to the position;
3) what your goals are if you are re/elected;
4) what challenges you see facing OPALCO and what strategies you have in mind for helping OPALCO navigate the challenges; and
5) For incumbent candidates, two significant decisions were made while you served on the board: 5.1) the decision for OPALCO to purchase Rock Island and jump into the retail broadband business, and 5.2) the historic rise in the base rates for electricity. What was your role in each of these decisions? Reflecting on them, what is your opinion on the decision-making process and results of these two decisions? For non-incumbent candidates, what is your position and opinion on the process and outcome of the two afore-mentioned decisions by the OPALCO board?

A comparison of their statements can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/punx7n2.