Colorado Politics

Truck-mudding event leads to Rockvale recall election

A sleepy southern Colorado town in Fremont County may have a completely new government come January. The Rockvale mayor and board of trustees are being recalled over a slew of charges leveled by a community group.

The town leaders are accused of wrongly terminating the clerk, breaking Colorado sunshine laws and misusing town funds after a truck-driving event, according to a report from the Cañon City Daily Record last week.

The paper’s Sara Knuth has been following the events leading up to the anticipated recall election, which hasn’t technically been confirmed. The new city clerk couldn’t confirm the election date to Knuth, but rather referred the reporter to the citizen group leading the recall effort. They say that election will take place Jan. 16.

Back in August, Knuth reported a recall was in the works. Then, a group of citizens were concerned a city trustee, Heather Criner, didn’t keep track of ticket sales at “Mudfest,” the two-day truck event, which apparently featured pits of mud, trucks and somewhere around 600-700 spectators.

Per the Daily Record:

Criner, who has been on the board since December and organized the inaugural MudFest in June 2016, disputes the claims. She said the town allowed her to organize the event, which, she said, made $2,695.20.

But the former clerk, Kimberly Greer, said the event should have made much more money, and after questioning the funds was asked to resign her position – which she did and then filed a suit against the city, which has a population of less than 500 people.

“The town gave it me (sic) and my husband to run the way we wanted to, as long as all the proceeds came back to the town,” Criner said. “We never claimed it as ours, we told people that they gave us the right to do it the way we wanted to. And they didn’t like that because they weren’t there for the first one.”

The community group said those interested in running for mayor or the board of trustees, should drop off an application with the city before Dec. 26.

 


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