MONTEZUMA — This teeny town at a dirt-street dead end high in the mountains of Summit County has long been included on lists of Colorado ghost towns. But lately, political set-tos are proving that there’s still a lot of life in this historic mining community.
The mayoral and town board election — that only coincidentally took place on April Fools Day — has blown up into a full-on political tempest of micro proportions. It has sparked a voter fraud investigation.
“I guess it was hard for some people to not treat it like an election for class president,” said new Montezuma Mayor Lesley Davis, who edged her across-the-street neighbor by three votes.
The election was the first here with contested races in more than a quarter of a century. It drew an unprecedented dozen candidates from among the town’s 65 residents. The problem arose because 13 of the 51 voters and two of the candidates allegedly aren’t really full-time residents of Montezuma and thus are not qualified to vote or run for office there.
The matter has been turned over to the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s office to determine whether any voters committed perjury or knowingly violated criminal law. The new town officials took their oaths of office Tuesday, but if the investigation finds fraud and some votes are negated, it could result in a town-governance shake-up.
The problem began before election day. A new town clerk was “hornswoggled” — as her husband puts it — into taking on the duty even though her full-time job as an elementary school kitchen manager had not prepared her for running an election.
From the start, Helen Moorman had her hands more than full. She wasn’t given the statutorily required 60 days to start the election process. And she didn’t know what to do with more than 100 signatures on candidate petitions when there are only 57 registered voters in the town and no voter is supposed to sign more than one petition.
But the election went forward, and voters trooped into the drafty, 300-square-foot log cabin that serves as the town hall. Some residents had learned that second-home owners were planning to vote. Those residents notified them that their votes would be challenged and that they would have to sign affidavits swearing that they reside in Montezuma.
“The people who live up in the trees that we never see” is the way Davis describes them. She cites their snow-clogged, unplowed driveways as proof they don’t live there.
“Some of them I didn’t even recognize,” said poll-watcher Laura Johnson, who thought she knew everyone in town.
Montezuma, which sits at 10,200 feet 5 miles above Keystone, wouldn’t seem to have much fodder for this kind of political intrigue. It has a single stop sign, about 30 homes and four cottage industries. The biggest controversies in recent decades have centered on parking, snow and dogs.
The new mayor said she thinks fear over possible property-tax increases drove more of the second-home owners to vote than usual.
If she retains her seat after the investigation, she has big plans to improve Montezuma. They include parking and street signs, less spending on contract lawyers and a large town picnic — for residents and second-home owners alike.
Nancy Lofholm: 970-256-1957, nlofholm@denverpost.com or twitter.com/nlofholm
