DENVER – Southwest Colorado’s state legislators are gearing up for the 2017 session that will begin Jan. 11 – although there could be some shifting of jobs.

That’s because of a Senate vacancy that Republicans won’t fill until Jan. 7. The party holds a one-seat majority in the state Senate and is outnumbered by Democrats in the House of Representatives, 37-28.

Sen. Ellen Roberts of Durango announced in October that she would resign her District 6 seat, effective Dec. 31.

This leaves an opening on the Senate for which there are two contenders from Montrose: Rep. Don Coram, who holds the House District 58 seat, and Montrose County Commissioner David White.

A vacancy committee hearing is set for 10 a.m. Jan. 7 in Dolores to determine who will take over Robert’s seat, Coram said.

The 152-member committee, with members drawn from precincts within the eight-county district, will decide who will take the seat with a simple majority, said Roberts, who will be a voting member.

“This is a very unique situation when you have a vacancy, and the party the elected official belong to makes the selection,” White said. “You are campaigning and petitioning to a select group of people and not the broader community,”

Coram is the favorite to take over for Roberts in the new year, White said. “He certainly has the advantage. He’s been working through the eight counties diligently over the past months.”

Roberts wants to help in the transition for whomever takes her seat.

“I certainly want to pass the baton on to whomever is going to get the votes and encourage them to continue to be a strong advocate for Southwest Colorado,” she said.

Roberts is confident in both candidates for her seat but cautions residents of the southern counties, such as La Plata, that there will be a learning curve as this would be the first senator for District 6 to come from north of Red Mountain since Ben Alexander in 1999, she said.

“Whoever is appointed will understand that there are eight counties to cover and the expectation at least that I always had, and I think my constituents had, was that no matter where you live in the district, it is part of the job to do outreach to each county,” Roberts said.

If Coram moves into the Senate, there will still be a spot to fill in the House. “If I do get the vacancy, then immediately following will be a vacancy to fill my position from the four counties in District 58,” he said.

The follow-up vacancy hearing would begin at 2 p.m. the same day should Coram be named to the Senate.

Three individuals are applying for Coram’s seat in the House should it become available: Marc Catlin, Montrose County Water Rights Development coordinator; Charli Oswald, assistant secretary of Montrose County Central GOP Committee; and David White, who is also running for the Senate seat.

“In the event that he (Coram) is in fact voted for and receives the go-ahead for the Senate seat, I felt I should cover my bases too because my intention was to run for House District 58 in 2018,” White said.

Regardless of which seat Coram will fill, he said he has the same priority: being an active legislator. “I usually run a lot of legislation, I’m one of the most active legislators there, so I get lots of requests for bill sponsorship. That won’t change.”

Last year, Coram was credited as the prime sponsor on 26 bills. In comparison, his counterpart, Rep. J. Paul Brown from District 59, was the prime sponsor of 16, according to the Colorado State Legislation website.

Among Coram’s top priorities are affordable housing in rural areas, designated funding for the Colorado Water Plan and a bill that is aimed at recouping damages to individuals caused by the 2015 Gold King Mine spill.

“I know Congressman Tipton and Sen. Gardner are working on getting things resolved, but I’m just trying to add some fuel to the fire to get this done,” Coram said.

If White finds himself in either the House or Senate, his priorities include re-evaluation of laws on the books that do not fit the times and economic rejuvenation of the Western Slope, he said. “Economic development for our rural areas would be at the forefront of what I’d be looking at.”

For Barbara McLachlan, who will be sworn in Jan. 11 as the representative for House District 59, this legislative session will be a new and exciting experience, she said.

Part of this is because of the mystique and history of the Capitol building itself, McLachlan said. “It’s wonderful and it’s exciting and it’s important work we are doing, and the building itself reinforces that daily.”

McLachlan wants to deliver on her campaign promises but knows that it will not happen overnight.

“Part of the campaign platform was to get more money to education; taking the money didn’t happen in a day, and getting the money back will not happen in a day either,” she said.

She plans to push bills that will reduce the number of unfunded mandates placed on school districts and help in the retention of high-quality teachers in rural and low-income communities in Colorado, with a focus on the western portions of the state, she said. “I want to put education and the Western Slope first.”

Lperkins@durangoherald.com