May Day ushered in the beginning of nominations for Democratic and Republican candidates around Colorado. The caucus and assembly process has dwindled over the years, but the Park County Republicans managed to assemble 75 delegates from around the county. The delegates were charged with nominating candidates for the fall elections, electing delegates to the State Convention, and voting on resolutions presented to the Assembly.

Republicans vying for the nomination for District 1 Commissioner included the incumbent Commissioner, Don Staples, and challengers John Tighe and Mike Williams. Tighe currently works for the Park County Sheriff's Department as their representative in Platte Canyon High School. Williams is an accountant and co-owner of Bugling Elk Builders, Inc. When additional nominations were called, Velma Jean Wagner announced her intention to throw her hat in the ring for this nomination as well. Wagner ran against Staples in 2000 and lost in the primary.

For District 2, the field was much smaller. Incumbent Commissioner Leni Walker was the only candidate announced prior to the assembly. A call for further nominations brought a response from Carolyn Hartshorn, who announced her intention to run for the nomination. Hartshorn previously lost in a primary race against Walker in 2000, then ran unsuccessfully for Park County Coroner against current Coroner Sharon Morris in the 2002 general election.

The candidates enjoyed some enthusiastic support from speakers who stood to nominate them or second their nominations. Walker and Tighe had to cut their speeches short because of the lineup of people wanting to speak in support of their candidacies.

Following the nominations and speeches for each District, Chairman Jack Pullman called for the votes. When all is said and done, getting supportive delegates to County Assembly is the challenge for those who want to be on the fall ballots. A candidate at Assembly needs 30% of the delegate votes to be guaranteed a spot on the primary ballot. If only one candidate in the party wins more than 30%, there is often no primary. However, any candidate who wins at least 10% of the Assembly vote may petition to be placed on a primary ballot for the party.

The vote count was not close in either District. Park County Republican Central Committee reports the official results as follows:

The Park County Clerk's office confirms that two Republican candidates who failed to win enough votes at assembly to be placed on the Republican primary ballot have now picked up paperwork to file by petition. In District 1, Mike Williams needs 131 valid signatures to have his name placed on the ballot, according to the Clerk's office; Carolyn Hartshorn will need 132 signatures to be included in the District 2 primary.

The Democratic Assembly included no primary contention for county offices. Tiffany DiBlasi will represent the Democrats in the fall election for County Commissioner, District 2. As a result of district-wide Assembly votes, Emily Tracy remains standing as the sole Democratic candidate for the State House District 60 seat. Park County Democrats also voted on more than 30 resolutions, some of which will be passed on to the Colorado Democratic Party for further consideration.

For a listing of local party and independent candidates who announced prior to the assemblies, please visit Candidates.