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Urgent Update on Palmer Lake
Recall & Vote to Annex Election
Attend the 7/10/2025 Trustee Hearing. Send an email - sample provided below. Takes seconds to do.
Why is Palmer Lake Leadership forcing the taxpayers to spend 7x more than needed to hold the election on September 9th, 2025 for $22,500 versus the Coordinated El Paso County Election on 11/4/2025 for approximately $2,800?
Integrity Matters has been working for the last two weeks to show the Palmer Lake leadership that it's not only arguably mandatory, but the leadership's fiduciary duty to the taxpayers of Palmer Lake to coordinate with El Paso County and add the Recalls and the Ballot Initiative to give the Palmer Lake voters the power to approve annexations to the 11/4/2025 El Paso County Coordinated Election (to avoid the costly efforts to undo votes like Karman Line flag-pole annexation which cost upwards of $1 million for the voters of Colorado Springs to undo). You can read that analysis here.
Regardless of whether or not the mandatory argument is accurate, what is certain, per El Paso County Clerk Steve Schleiker, and state law, the Town CAN coordinate with the County to save costs and have higher turn-out in a November election where D38 school board seats are also on the ballot. It's SEVEN TIMES more expensive to hold the election on September 9th, 2025 managed via a PRIVATE LLC, GovPro run by former Town Clerk in Alamosa who has charged $8,000 in consulting fees (almost 3X the cost of the total election run through El Paso County) that included the hiring of the election judge to hold the bogus protest hearing where the subject of the hearing was denied the ability to attend. Moreover, the election judge for that protest hearing (filed by the direct neighbor of Trustee Dreher, also under Recall), brazenly stated she ignores the law requiring notification of the County which they did not do. Additionally, they had a quorum in that meeting with 3 Trustees, Tim Caves, Kevin Dreher and Amy Hutson plus spouses Laura McGuire (Mayor Stern's wife), Kent Hutson (Amy Hutson's husband) and Amy Dreher (Kevin Dreher's wife), in attendance making it a public meeting we asked, in advance, they stream. When we asked for the link to the recording, the Town initially told us we would have to CORA it until we noted that they had a quorum at that hearing which makes it subject to Open Meetings Laws. Aside from the legal requirements, this hostile attitude towards transparency in governance and reckless spending of Palmer Lake citizens tax dollars punctuates the reason for both the Recalls and the Ballot Initiative to give the people the power to vote on annexations when their leadership is so clearly biased and irresponsible.
We are concerned about lack of oversight, chain of custody and controls that the County routinely has in place given the volume of elections they hold. Why is the Town so intent on having a private company run the Recall/Ballot Initiative election?
Sample Emails to Quickly Copy/Paste and Send
Email to Palmer Lake Board of Trustees
Note: It's important to copy us and the media for transparency. They want to hear from you.
To: dstern@palmer-lake.org, ajurka@palmer-lake.org, ahutson@palmer-lake.org, kdreher@palmer-lake.org, sball@palmer-lake.org, tcaves@palmer-lake.org
cc: integritymatterscos@gmail.com, trilakespreservation@gmail.com, jim.carlton@wsj.com, oliviaprentzel@coloradosun.com, achalfin@krcc.org, Tony.Keith@koaa.com, savannah.eller@gazette.com, breeanna.jent@gazette.com, mary.shinn@gazette.com, emily.coffey@krdo.com, newsroom@denverpost.com, jalvarado@denverpost.com, maggie.bryan@koaa.com, ASack@kxrm.com, jesse@coloradosun.com, RossKaminsky@iheartmedia.com, news@fox21news.com, news@kktv.com, newsroom@coloradosun.com, news@krcc.org, news@7news.com, news@krdo.com, kktv-news@graymedia.com, tips@ap.org, tips@cnn.com, tips@kdvr.com, tips@thefp.com, news@koaa.com, talkshow@aol.com, news@cpr.org,, news@krcc.com,, peter.scamarado@mysa.com, spencer.soicher@9news.com, rick.rojas@nytimes.com, editorial@nytimes.com
Subject: Urgent Request to Address Palmer Lake Election Concerns
Subject: Immediate Intervention Needed on Palmer Lake’s Reckless Election Scheme
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Dear Trustee,
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The Town of Palmer Lake is moving forward with plans to hold a standalone special election on September 9, 2025, for the recalls and the ballot initiative on annexation. This decision would burden Palmer Lake taxpayers with costs exceeding $20,000, a staggering seven times more than simply coordinating with El Paso County for the November 4, 2025 general election—an option that would cost only $2,800.
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Even more troubling, the Town intends to pay a private LLC, GovPro, run by a former Alamosa Town Clerk charging $8,000 in consulting fees—nearly three times the entire cost of the County-run election. Did GovPro LLC recommend the election judge who oversaw the dubious protest hearing filed by Trustee Dreher's direct neighbor, denying the subject of that hearing the right to even attend.? That election judge openly admitted (it's in the video recording) she ignored the statutory requirement to notify the County. Will this same judge also be recommended to oversee the privately run September 9th, 2025 Recall/Ballot Initiative election?
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On top of this, three Trustees—Tim Caves, Kevin Dreher, and Amy Hutson—were present at that protest hearing, alongside spouses Laura McGuire (Mayor Stern’s wife), Kent Hutson (Amy Hutson’s husband), and Kevin, creating a quorum that triggered the Open Meetings Law. When citizens demanded a recording, the Town first tried to hide it behind CORA requests until reminded of their legal obligations. This posture reveals a leadership hostile to transparency, precisely why voters are seeking the power to approve annexations directly.
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Town Attorney Krob’s analysis claiming only September 9th, 2025 was the option OMITTED THE CRITICAL SECOND SENTENCE of Palmer Lake Code §â€¯2.28.010 and fails to fully advise the Town of its clear authority under both state law (Titles 31 and 1) and local ordinance (§â€¯2.28.010) to conduct the recall and initiated ordinance election by coordination with the County on November 4, 2025.
Any decision to proceed with an expensive, PRIVATELY MANAGED election should be made with full transparency to the public, including acknowledgment of these alternative lawful and significantly less expensive mechanisms.
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Palmer Lake’s own Town Code 2.28.010 requires adherence to state election law unless an explicit decision is made to follow the Uniform Election Code—something they have not done. Integrity Matters has laid out in detail over the past two weeks why this is arguably mandatory under law and certainly a fiduciary duty to Palmer Lake taxpayers. That analysis can be reviewed here.
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But even if one were to debate the “mandatory” angle, what is absolutely clear—per El Paso County Clerk Steve Schleiker and Colorado election law—is that Palmer Lake has the unambiguous ability to coordinate with El Paso County to save taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars, achieve higher turnout (with D38 school board races also on the ballot), and benefit from the County’s well-established chain-of-custody protections and oversight.
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Instead, the Town seems determined to offload this election to a private company, with none of the County’s institutional safeguards, at vastly higher cost. Why? What justifies such a reckless use of taxpayer dollars and such deliberate avoidance of the County’s experienced election infrastructure?
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This is not simply about dollars. This is about trust. Palmer Lake’s current leadership has demonstrated repeated hostility to transparency, blatant disregard for the principles of open government, and a willingness to funnel public money into private hands without sound justification. The recall and the ballot initiative exist precisely because of this pattern.
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As a Trustee, we call on you to stand up for your constituents and demand accountability and insist that the Board comply with the law, protect the integrity of this election, and honor your duty to the taxpayers by coordinating with El Paso County for the November election.
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Respectfully,
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[Your Name]
Email to County Commissioner Wysong
cc: integritymatterscos@gmail.com, trilakespreservation@gmail.com, jim.carlton@wsj.com, oliviaprentzel@coloradosun.com, achalfin@krcc.org, Tony.Keith@koaa.com, savannah.eller@gazette.com, breeanna.jent@gazette.com, mary.shinn@gazette.com, emily.coffey@krdo.com, newsroom@denverpost.com, jalvarado@denverpost.com, maggie.bryan@koaa.com, ASack@kxrm.com, jesse@coloradosun.com, RossKaminsky@iheartmedia.com, news@fox21news.com, news@kktv.com, newsroom@coloradosun.com, news@krcc.org, news@7news.com, news@krdo.com, kktv-news@graymedia.com, tips@ap.org, tips@cnn.com, tips@kdvr.com, tips@thefp.com, news@koaa.com, talkshow@aol.com, news@cpr.org,, news@krcc.com,, peter.scamarado@mysa.com, spencer.soicher@9news.com, rick.rojas@nytimes.com, editorial@nytimes.com
Subject: Urgent Request to Address Palmer Lake Election Concerns
Dear Commissioner Wysong,
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As you are aware, the Town of Palmer Lake is setting a date for the upcoming recall and ballot initiative election. Despite an estimated cost exceeding $20,000, the Town is attempting to hold a standalone special election in September rather than including it in the coordinated county election this November, which would cost only $2,800.
This decision appears to circumvent both state statute and town code. CRS 31-4-503 states “If a regular election is to be held within one hundred eighty days after the date of submission of said petition, the recall election shall be held as a part of the regular election.” Additionally, Town Code 2.28.010 reinforces this requirement by stating “All elections shall be held and conducted in accordance with the Colorado Municipal Election Code of 1965, unless the Town, by ordinance, resolution, or agreement with the coordinating county, determines to follow all or part of the provisions of the Uniform Election Code for any election.”
I am deeply concerned about the fiscal irresponsibility of this proposed September election. More importantly, given the Town’s documented history of malfeasance, it is critical that this election be conducted in a way that ensures public trust. Holding the election during the county’s coordinated November election would both preserve the integrity of the process and respect taxpayer funds.
As the county commissioner representing this area, I urge you to fulfill your duty to your constituents by attending the Palmer Lake Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at 6:00 PM, where this resolution will be discussed. Your public comments urging them to comply with statutory requirements and uphold fiscal responsibility would be both honorable and invaluable.
Thank you for your continued leadership and for speaking truthfully on behalf of the people at recent Palmer Lake board meetings. Your involvement in this matter is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]