{"id":45391,"date":"2021-08-05T01:15:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-05T01:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/recall-effort-underway-for-three-silverton-town-board-trustees\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T09:24:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:24:49","slug":"recall-effort-underway-for-three-silverton-town-board-trustees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/recall-effort-underway-for-three-silverton-town-board-trustees\/","title":{"rendered":"Recall effort underway for three Silverton town board trustees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Silverton
Silverton residents launched a recall effort in late July against three town trustees. (Durango Herald file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Silverton residents have launched a recall effort against three town trustees, taking issue with them for various reasons, including failure to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance, opposition to allowing off-highway vehicles in town and a general lack of keeping campaign promises.<\/p>\n

Petition organizers asked for the resignation of Mayor Shane Fuhrman, Mayor Pro Tem Sallie Barney and Trustee Jordan Bierma. About 130 people signed the recall petitions, which have been certified by the town of Silverton, according to Fuhrman and Cole Davenport, one of the petition organizers.<\/p>\n

None of the town trustees contested the recall effort before Tuesday\u2019s deadline. A special election will be held to decide the matter, Davenport said.<\/p>\n

Gloria Kaasch-Buerger, town administrator, declined to comment for this story about the recall process. It will be discussed during a board meeting Monday, she said.<\/p>\n

Davenport, Gigi Raine and Floyd Barela led the recall effort. Barela is the husband of Molly Barela, one of the four town trustees not named in the recall effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey lied to people on their (campaign) platforms. They said they were going to do this and that for the community. They turned around and threw the community under the bus,\u201d said Davenport, who owns the Silverton Green Works marijuana dispensary.<\/p>\n

Mayor Fuhrman said some of the stated reasons on the recall petitions are false and \u201cridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the grounds aren\u2019t even complete sentences,\u201d Fuhrman said. \u201cThese grounds are pretty preposterous across the board.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sallie Barney<\/div>\n

The petition against Barney seems to take issue with her stance on whether to allow off-highway vehicles in town.<\/p>\n

The town has considered banning, fully allowing or maintaining current regulations for OHVs on town roads. Residents are going to vote on the regulations Oct. 12.<\/p>\n

The recall petition against Barney reads: \u201cHer view on OHV\u2019s were she \u2018didn\u2019t have any data to make any recommendations\u2019 and \u2018they must have benefit.\u2019 She \u2018liked seeing OHV\u2019s when the train wasn\u2019t there.\u2019 Sallie also wanted \u2018people to live here all year round without job insecurity.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The petition then accused her of a lack of transparency, incompetence for not knowing how trustee meeting laws work and a lack of knowledge about community issues.<\/p>\n

It also reads: \u201cSallie Barney took an oath to uphold the constitution of the state of Colorado, which shows she isn\u2019t here to stand up for Silvertonians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jordan Bierma<\/div>\n

The petition against Bierma accuses him of refusing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of town board meetings, something the mayor has also declined to do in past meetings. In fact, the mayor suspended reciting the pledge at a past meeting, which sparked a community uproar and led to national media attention.<\/p>\n

The petition reads: \u201cBierma said he would like to see more Veteran help in our community. By refusing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, shows he isn\u2019t here to stand up for Silvertonians.\u201d<\/p>\n