Butler grew up on the family farm on Summit Ridge in the house where he resides. He attended schools in Cortez and Dolores and graduated from Dolores High School. When not at school, he worked on the farm.<\/p>\n From 1974 to 1992, Butler worked for Ponderosa Timber as a saw filer and millwright. During that time, he married and started a family with three children. In 1993, he started up his own business, Lone Cone Lumber, manufacturing house log kits. He also continued to farm. In 2004, Butler started work as a millwright for Aspen Wallwood. Currently, he holds the position of foreman, millwright and mechanic for Aspen Wallwood and Aspen Wood Products.<\/p>\n Butler is a member of the Cortez SDA church and has been the school board chairman for Cortez Adventist Christian School for more than 20 years. He has been on the Summit Reservoir and Irrigation Co. board for more than 24 years and has served as president for more than 10 years. He is running for the Empire Electric Association board because as a lifelong resident, he said, he cares about the needs of the community.<\/p>\n Mate is proud of the rural freedom of the area, and if elected, she said she would advocate for greater energy independence and lower bills.<\/p>\n She says Empire\u2019s restrictive energy contract through 2050 misses out on opportunities to generate local power that is cheaper and cleaner and would create jobs. Mate believes there is opportunity to change the energy future for the benefit of families, businesses and the agriculture community.<\/p>\n She is an active community member and has served as mayor of Dolores, and on many local boards and nonprofits in her 24 years living in Dolores. Mate said she has brought fiscal discipline to local government projects and grown economic opportunity with new programs including a local farmers market, the Dolores River Festival, new trails, sports investments and local infrastructure upgrades.<\/p>\n She applauds Empire Electric Association\u2019s hardworking and professional staff and said it has a proud history of providing reliable energy and keeping the lights on. If elected, Mate said she would carry on that tradition by advocating for more affordable energy solutions, new local jobs and smart investments in energy independence.<\/p>\n Hernandez operates a small business in Colorado to provide help for local businesses and private entities with obtaining and interpreting easements. He is an active member of the local Elks Lodge and has served on the board of the Galloping Goose Historical Society for a four-year term.<\/p>\n He has a background in land development as a surveyor for 20 years and a land manager for San Diego Gas & Electric for an additional 20 years. His company, Dolores River Valley Consultants Inc., remains a paid consultant to the utility industry.<\/p>\n Hernandez said he understands the complexity of the utility business, and if elected, his goal is to use his experience and knowledge of the utility industry to address needs of the region and maintain the rural culture. With \u2018alternative energy\u2019 on the minds of residents in the area, Hernandez will seek to maximize the efforts of Empire Electric in this arena and maintain the low electric rates of the cooperative.<\/p>\n He and his wife moved to Dolores in 2007 from Southern California.<\/p>\n The District 7 candidate is Larry Archibeque, and he is unopposed.<\/p>\n Archibeque has been a lifelong and multigenerational resident of Montezuma County.<\/p>\n \u201cI grew up in the sawmill camps of Fish Creek, Red Cloud, once located north of Dolores,\u201d he said. \u201cMy elementary education was in the Dolores School District, and I attended high school in Mancos, graduating from Mancos High School.\u201d<\/p>\n He received a bachelor\u2019s degree from Fort Lewis College, a master\u2019s from Adams State College, and a post-graduate endorsement in education from the University of Northern Colorado.<\/p>\n He retired after 34 years in education in Montezuma County and has served on the Pi\u00f1on Project Board, the Montezuma County Habitat for Humanity Board. He also assisted and coordinated commodity distributions in Dolores for several years.<\/p>\n \u201cService to the community and giving back to the community has always been a lifetime goal as many have given back to my family and myself throughout our lifetime,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He said his goal as a candidate for the Empire Electric board is to enhance the organization for its constituency.<\/p>\n \u201cI pledge to all that I will be committed, value-oriented, transparent, accessible and hardworking for all members of Empire Electric while maintaining a focus on fiscal responsibility and service to the community at large,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n