The Elephant in the RoomThursday, Oct. 6, at 5:30 p.m., there will be a “Meet and Greet” at UNM-LA, hosted by the Republican Party of Los Alamos, for the GOP candidates and the Charter Amendment speakers participating in that night’s League of Women Voters forum.
The Republican candidates participating at the LWV forum, which follows at 7 p.m. include:
- Sharon Stover – candidate for State Rep. Dist. 43;
- Yvonne Chicoine – candidate for District Attorney; and
- Abe Dispennette – candidate for Los Alamos Probate Judge.
The Citizens speaking on behalf of the Los Alamos Charter Amendment are:
- Robert Gibson (for); and
- John Horne (against).
They are not candidates, but since this Charter Amendment is important and is a non partisan issue, we felt it was important for them participate in the “Meet and Greet” as well.
We realize you have choice and we feel confident that once you meet our candidates, they will gain your support. This “Meet and Greet” not only gives you the chance to ask questions of the candidates, but will also give you a chance to have some refreshments before the LWV forum begins.
About our candidates and speakers on Oct. 6:
Sharon Stover was born and raised in the Pojoaque Valley. Her father “Smokey” Stover was posted to Los Alamos as a soldier in the Army Corps of Engineers and met her mother Barbara Roybal during the Manhattan Project. Stover’s family is best known in Los Alamos and the Valley for the La Mesita Restaurant in Pojoaque, which opened in 1951. Stover has been a Los Alamos County resident for more than 33 years since marrying Steven Girrens and moving to White Rock were they raised their two now grown children, Quinn and Craig, graduates of LAPS. Stover has worked at several levels in county government, and believes she has accomplished a lot during her time in County government. She has developed solutions to problems. She helped create the school crossing guard program at Piñon Elementary School, was a founding board member for the Los Alamos Public Schools Foundation and worked with Judge Alan Kirk to establish the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board in Los Alamos. Stover also was part of the team that ignited Leadership Los Alamos and Los Alamos Youth Leadership and she served on the YMCA Board for more than 10 years.
Stover also brought community leaders together to open a teen center in Española and formalize the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities. She wants to apply her knowledge, skills and effort to the challenges confronting New Mexico. Stover states that “County governments are concerned about the State’s current tax structure. They feel that the State has punted a lot of issues to the counties, and these issues could be more effectively addressed at the state level. I am running because I believe that the broader interests of District 43 are not being represented or defended by the incumbent. I am running for this seat because I care about all of our District’s communities. I am passionate about our youth, about our culture and about making northern New Mexico the best it can be, and most demonstrably, I have a record that substantiates these passions. I was finally spurred into action when I learned that our seating State Representative voted against legislation that would permit local professional expertise to serve as adjunct teachers in our local schools, an issue supported by the District”.
Stover served nine years as a Los Alamos County Councilor and currently serves as the Los Alamos County Clerk. Her accomplishments span crisis management during the Cerro Grande and Las Conchas wildfires, guiding new County infrastructure and services, and founding the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities. Her ability to lead under pressure has been tested and proven. This past year, Stover completed her one-year term as president of the NM Association of Counties and is currently the appointed Chair of the statewide Juvenile Justice Advisory Council. She is a member of the United Church of Los Alamos, a Mexico Mission Adult Volunteer, and a Leadership New Mexico Graduate. Stover states that, “As your State Representative, I’ll work to improve any and all opportunities for New Mexicans to thrive in New Mexico and always put my community, the place of my birth and home, above partisan politics”. For more information about Stover, go online to https://m.facebook.com/SharonStoverNM/ or http://www.sharonstovernm.com/.
Yvonne Chicoine is the candidate for District Attorney. She is dedicated to making us safer and more secure in our homes and on our streets. As chief law enforcement officer for the district, she is committed to restoring respect for the rule of law. In order to ensure justice for victims and the community, she will make prosecution decisions based on established law. She will reject selective law enforcement, which encourages cronyism, political expediency and political correctness. Chicoine will make better use of legislatively sanctioned diversion programs, and will focus on effective prosecution of misdemeanor crimes as a means of preventing more serious felony offenses. Chicoine will bring nearly four decades of professional experience to the job.
During the four years she worked in the First Judicial District as an assistant district attorney, she prosecuted hundreds of cases, including domestic violence, battery on a peace officer, murder, DWI, white collar crimes and probation violations. She cleared a backlog of almost 1500 open DWI cases. During the more than four and one-half years she worked as assistant attorney general, Chicoine argued dozens of cases before the New Mexico Supreme Court and the New Mexico Court of Appeals. In 2015, Attorney General Balderas recognized Chicoine one of the State’s top prosecutors and appointed her to his special prosecutions team. Chicoine left the Attorney General’s office in March 2016 to seek election as district attorney. You can learn more about her background and platform by visiting her webpage, www.Respect4theLaw.comor her Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/Respect4theLaw.
Abe Dispennette is running for Probate Judge because the position requirements are a direct reflection of his own experience. While an Army chaplain, he was constantly surrounded with families in heart wrenching wartime situations. These folks needed real guidance during these times and Dispennette was humbled to be the one trusted to bring that to them. Dispennette is comfortable aiding grieving families through hard decisions, which is exactly what this county needs in this position. Dispennette also has had a wealth of business experience, both here with his State Farm agency, and other interests he has managed in other states, which has taught him to quickly and properly analyze problems to make complex decisions. He believes both of these backgrounds make him uniquely qualified to handle the emotional and intellectual needs of this elected position. Dispennette hopes everyone reading this agrees and will vote for him to be Los Alamos’ next Probate Judge.
In May, of 2016, the decision was made to ask the voters to decide about the future of the Office of Sheriff. The 2016 Charter Amendment will ask the voters to decided the following:
Shall Articles III, IX, and X of the Charter of the Incorporated County of Los Alamos be amended pursuant to Resolution Number 16-14 related to the office of Sheriff, to amend subsections 304.1 and 304.4, and sections 911 and 1006 to consolidate all remaining powers and duties of the office of sheriff to the police department and to abolish the office of sheriff as an elective office effective January 1, 2019?
This is an exciting time in our county, in our state and our nation. There are many excellent Republican candidates running for office this year and non partisan measures to consider. We welcome you to contact us with any questions you may have. Please stop by our Headquarters, which is located between Violas and Subway. Watch for our posts on our Facebook page for all upcoming events at:https://m.facebook.com/RepublicanPartyofLosAlamos/or check our website at www.losalamosgop.com.
