[Published Oct. 16, 2014, in the Jeffco editions of the Denver Post's YourHub section]
No, the Jeffco School Board members are not on this year’s ballot which you received in the mail this week. However, the root cause of the school board’s chaos is shared by Jeffco’s Board of County Commissioners, one of whom is on this year’s ballot.
There are five members of the school board, each one theoretically representing one-fifth of the county but all elected by the entire county. Three of those seats were up for election last year and there were three conservatives running as a bloc against three non-conservatives. It was inevitable that either all three conservatives or all three non-conservatives would win, then constituting a majority of the 5-seat board.
If each seat were elected by its theoretical constituents from one-fifth of the county, it is unlikely that all three conservatives or all three non-conservatives would have been elected, and the board would not be as dysfunctional as it is now.
The same dynamic is at work on the Board of County Commissioners. The incumbent on this year’s ballot, Dan Rosier, is opposed to changing to the election of commissioners by district. It’s a good reason to vote for his opponent, John Flerlage, who supports that change.
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