The Peyton Fire Protection District will hold a mail-in ballot election May 6 to fill all five seats on the district’s board.At the district’s special board meeting March 4, election official Leon Gomes announced the names of the nine people who have filed to run for the seats.The five candidates for the two seats that have a two-year term include Jack Rauer, former Peyton volunteer firefighter; David Stoddard, incumbent board president;Troy Anderson, former Peyton volunteer firefighter; John Harris, incumbent board director; and Jody Heffner, real estate broker.Four candidates are vying for the three seats that have a four-year term: Charles Burnett, incumbent board vice president; Rob Finley, assistant El Paso County fire marshal; Robert Joly, former board president; and Steve Whitaker, incumbent board secretary.”I’m excited that we have so much interest in the district,” Stoddard said.On the advice of the board’s attorney, the board voted in March to rescind a change to the bylaws. The change required that any firefighter who became a board member had to resign as a firefighter.”We believed it was a conflict of interest when deciding on a personnel policy where the firefighter would be setting policy for his boss, the chief,” Whitaker said.To replace the rescinded policy, the board adopted a state statute requiring that board directors disclose a conflict of interest or disqualify themselves from voting when there is a conflict of interest.Residents of the Peyton fire district who want to vote in the election must submit an application for a mail-in ballot. For information on how to apply, call the El Paso County elections department at 719-520-6222 or visit car.elpasoco.com/election.The county election department will mail ballots April 11 through April 21 to qualified voters who have requested a mail-in ballot, Gomes said. Voters can drop off their ballots at the Peyton fire station on Railroad Street from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The fire station will also be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 6, Election Day. Ballots that are mailed must be received by May 6.
