Candidates for the April 5 election for Dolores mayor and three town board seats attended a March 7 forum held by the Dolores Chamber of Commerce.

Only the mayor’s position is contested, and the candidates are Leigh Reeves and Jerry Whited. Terms are for two years.

The candidates for the three open trustee positions are Ira “Todd” Andrews, Jeff Sand and Mark Youngquist. Terms are for four years, and they will replace outgoing board members Tracy Murphy, Jen Stark and Melissa Waters.

The election will be held by mail, and ballots will be sent to voters in mid-March. They can be mailed back or dropped off at the ballot box in front of Town Hall, 420 Central Ave., by 7 p.m. April 5.

About 20 people attended the forum at the Dolores Community Center. Each mayor candidate had two minutes to introduced themselves, then responded to questions from moderator Kelly Turner of KRTZ Radio and the audience.

Candidate’s answers were edited for grammar and clarity.

Reeves is a co-owner of EsoTerra Ciderworks in Dolores and is also the owner of Zoe the Tail Food Truck. Before moving to Dolores she lived in Houston, Chicago and upstate New York. She has a 35 years’ experience running small and large businesses.

“I have managed teams of 12 people up to 400 people, and the main thing about any team is you have to be a good listener to understand what people in the community need,” Reeves said during her introduction.

Dolores has lots of good things going for it, Reeves said. She praised the people, a strong chamber of commerce that organizes lots of events, and effective town board that “set up the town for good growth with the passage of new land use code.”

Whited is the EMS captain and firefighter for the Ute Mountain Ute Fire Department and is the EMS chief for the Dove Creek Ambulance District.

He served on the town planning board for one term and helped with the initial process to update the land use code and comprehensive plan. Whited said he supports residents’ commitment to help one another, which he experienced when his son had a motorcycle accident three years ago and sustained a traumatic brain injury.

Whether it is helping somebody in crisis, or coming together to build a playground, “people come together here no matter their political differences and look out for each other,” Whited said. “That is what makes Dolores great. Living in a small town is the best therapy you can have.”

Whited: If elected I want to be approachable, I want to have mayoral office hours when you can visit and come talk to me. I want to support our town employees, and work with the town board and manager, who does an amazing job at getting lots of grants. I have been on a lot of boards and will run an efficient meeting to get more done. I will work as part of a team to help Dolores advance and stay strong. I’d like to bring different organizations together to solve problems. We have a strong school district, chamber of commerce and rotary club. We can get a lot more done working as a team.

Reeves: I think listening is really important to find out what the town needs and wants, then work toward consensus on solutions. Building consensus can sometimes be difficult and can lead to contentious conversation, but by treating each other respectfully we can get through all that. I am definitely an approachable person. Politics don’t matter to me, it is really about getting stuff done and being effective. I welcome people to come to board meetings and provide input. I’ve had lots of experience running boards and I know Robert’s Rules of Order to hold efficient meetings. Dolores is going to grow, the question is how to manage that growth in order to keep our friendly, small-town atmosphere. I want to hear ideas from the community, then get everyone together, talk through the ideas and issues, and come to a consensus.

Reeves: I have experience trying to grow my own business. Part of it is culture; people are attracted to Dolores because of the people. We need families. Dolores lost a lot of people between 2010 and 2020. I want to help figure out how to get people to move and work here and how to create affordable housing for them. It is a big issue for small towns all over Colorado. Affordable housing is needed for our teachers, firefighters and the guy that plows the street. To improve housing options, encourage property owners to create accessory dwelling units for rentals. It also provides additional revenue for the property owner. There is a lot of opportunity for economic development, not just tourism.

Whited: When supporting small business, you have to enter and talk with them to see what drives that business, see when down times are, when good times are. You need to see what works for them, and ask is there something we can do as a town to help you grow? Keep businesses in mind when setting ordinances so you don’t make it so hard for them to grow, or make it difficult for new businesses to come here. Help businesses with the permitting process, and make it smooth for them. Social media drives tourism, everyone is checking destinations on their phones. We need to have a social media presence to show visitors what we have to offer here. I would support events the town is known for like Escalante Days and Dolores River Fest. I think more signing is needed to direct tourists to parks, bike trails and river access. They will stop for a couple of hours and check out the shops.

Whited: The board does wonderful job broadcasting meetings on Zoom and YouTube, and I’d like to see that continue. People who work late can log in and see what is going on in town. We need to help our elders so they can watch online. The town should have a Facebook page for putting out information and telling about events and meetings coming up.

Reeves: I feel there is not enough opportunity for the public to provide comments to the town board. People can come with an issue they need help resolving. Also, we want people to come to the meetings when good stuff is going on. It comes down to creating a friendly community space so people want to come out and talk to each other.

Reeves: We need to show people how to start businesses and then support them. EsoTerra started with Southwest Colorado Accelerator for Entrepreneurs, and we could provide instruction on that here to get people on the path to success. Offering tax incentives for new businesses could also help attract them here. On the permitting process, I’d like to see the town put together a pamphlet for small businesses that shows the different areas for businesses and appropriate zoning areas based on the business. I have experience doing that for multiple companies. I’d like to put together a plan and show people how to do it.

Whited: I worked for the Tailwind nutrition startup in Dolores. They’re now in Bayfield because of permitting issues here, and their struggle finding a building big enough to house expanding operations. That was a business who wanted to stay here that we lost. For new businesses we could connect them with Region 9, the chamber of commerce and Small Business Development Center to help them get off the ground. On the permitting process I’d love to see town put together a flow chart on starting a new business that shows the process and next steps.

Whited suggested pocket parks in neighborhoods so children did not have to walk all the way to Joe Rowell Park. He also suggested more paving for high traffic areas like Hillside Drive to control dust. He suggested a program where paramedics visit people in their homes.

Reeves suggested finding funding to improve access to health care in town for basic care. She wants reach out to the elderly to make sure their needs are being met. She noted there is a need for more community events on the east side of town.

In response to a question from a kid, Reeves and Whited agreed that building a skateboard park in town is a good idea.