Director Elections
San Miguel Power members elect their board of directors by secret ballot at the Annual Meeting of Members held each summer or by mail-in vote. Board members are elected from the membership, by the membership. They are chosen from seven different districts within SMPA's service territory. Each district contains approximately 1,500 members and votes for their specific director representative. SMPA's board members serve four-year terms.
SMPA directors have the responsibility of setting the strategic direction for the cooperative. (See the current Strategic Objectives) Directors are required to represent the membership on a fair and impartial basis for the best interest of all members and attend regularly scheduled board meetings. Attendance at national, state and local meetings, where the interest of San Miguel Power is concerned, is often necessary as well.
The 2026 Annual Meeting has been scheduled for June 4, 2026
The 2026 Annual Meeting will be a hybrid in-person and streaming virtual event, held on Thursday, June 4th, 2026, at 5:30 PM. The meeting will take place at the SMPA Office in Nucla.
Online voting will be closed at 12:00 PM MT, Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026. This day will also be the last day for paper ballots to be received by mail or in ballot boxes at our Ridgway or Nucla offices lobbies.
This year, the Board seats up for election are:
- District #3,including parts of Montrose, San Miguel, Ouray, Dolores and San Juan Counties including Dunton, Norwood, Placerville, Rico and Sawpit.
- District #6, including part of Ouray County including Ridgway and much of Loghill Village.
The date by which potential candidates were to have submitted 15 verified member signatures nominating them for candidacy, was April 2nd. By that date, two candidates in District #3 had turned in completed packets with enough verified signatures: Incumbent, Dave Alexander and challenger, Joanna Yonder. In District #6, two candidates, including incumbent director, Valentine Szwarc, and challenger, Tricia Savage had turned in a completed packet with enough verified signatures. The nominations for each of these candidates are viewable below:
District 3:
District 6:
Voting Options
All SMPA members have the right to vote for the director representative in their district and to run for election in their district. Members elect their board of directors by secret ballot. Several balloting options are available.
To assure your election-specific broadcast email arrives safely in your inbox on or around May 14, simply add the following email address as an approved sender noreply@directvote.net. (See Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo! Instructions.)You can also access your e-ballot on your SmartHub web or mobile app.
Those District #3 and District #6 members for whom we have an email on file have the option of receiving a paperless ballot. They may express their wish for this option on the Voter Intent Survey, which will be emailed in the last week of April. To ensure that you receive this survey, please add the following email address as an approved sender noreply@directvote.net. (See Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo! Instructions.)
For those voters who don’t opt-out of a paper ballot in the Voter Intent Survey, paper ballots will be mailed in mid-May. Mail-in ballots must be RECEIVED by the close of business on June 3, 2026.
All Paper Ballots: The voter's signature must correspond to the name on the account. (This name is shown on the outside envelope in which all voting materials are enclosed.) Ballots of joint memberships may be signed by either party. For voting members other than individuals, signatures should include a title.
Ballots may be dropped off at either the SMPA Ridgway Office at 720 N. Railroad St. or at the office in Nucla at 170 W 10th Ave. Ballot boxes will be removed at the close of business on June 3, 2026.
Members may also vote in person between 4:30 PM and 5:30 PM at our NuclaOffice at at 170 W 10th Ave. on June 4, 2026, just before our Annual Meeting.
All Paper Ballots: The voter's signature must correspond to the name on the account. (This name is shown on the outside envelope in which all voting materials are enclosed.) Ballots of joint memberships may be signed by either party. For voting members other than individuals, signatures should include a title.
BOD Service Area Map
Election Schedule
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February, 2026:
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March, 2026: |
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April, 2 2026: |
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April 20, 2026: Date of Record (New District #5 and District #7 members or those who switch their primary account to one of these Districts after this date will not be eligible to vote in 2025.) Paperless voting email campaign allowing members to “turn off” their paper ballot, if they wish.
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Mid-May, 2026: |
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June 3, 2026: |
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June 4, 2026: ELECTION AND ANNUAL MEETING (Election results announced.) |
Upcoming Elections:
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2027 ~ District 2
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2028 ~ Districts 1 & 4
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2029 ~ Districts 5 & 7
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2030 ~ Districts 3 & 6
