Loveland, March 7, 2008
County Commissioner and longtime Loveland resident Glenn Gibson has decided to circulate petitions to run in the
Republican primary against County Surveyor Tom Donnelly despite receiving only 22% of the votes from delegates
at the recent Republican Assembly in Larimer County.
Voters will be given an opportunity to select their candidates for the general election during a primary vote to be held
on August 12, 2008. Glenn Gibson, the current County Commissioner, intends to be on that ballot despite his poor
showing at the recent party gathering. Each party will select a candidate in the August primary election who will
than represent their party on the general election ballot on November 4, 2008.
Gibson failed to get 30% of the votes from his party’s precinct delegates during their recent assembly which would
have earned him a spot on the August ballot. He needs to gather some 3,800 signatures on petitions before the
County Clerk can place him on the August Republican primary ballot to challenge the current party nominee, Tom
Donnelly, who received 77% of the votes at the assembly.
Gibson talked with LovelandPolitics this morning and said his strategy to get the signatures is the following; “I am
going to get 100 people to each get 50 signatures.” Gibson is counting on the 22% of the 500 some Republican
delegates who did vote for him during the assembly plus family and friends to circulate nomination petitions. He
cannot begin circulating petitions until March 31, and will need to submit the signatures by May 29, 2008.
The County Sheriff, James A. Alderden, seconded the nomination on behalf of Donnelly during the party
assembly. Gibson believes this endorsement was critical for Donnelly, the current elected County Surveyor, in
garnering as many votes as he did against an incumbent Republican office holder. It is very rare that either party
would not nominate the incumbent office holder from their own party.
Local party activists, however, are doubtful that Gibson can get on the primary ballot. Candidates sometimes need
to pay petition gatherers, at a cost of $1 or $2 per signature, just to meet their goal in time. This could cost Gibson
anywhere between $4,000 to $8,000 if he needs to bring in paid political mercenaries to augment the volunteer effort
to make the deadline. The challenge for Gibson isn’t only the number of signatures needed but the relatively short
period of time (less than 60 days) he is allowed to collect the signatures.
While running as the incumbent, the fact he wasn’t allowed onto the ballot at the party assembly means Gibson is
acting more like a challenger. He said his problems with the Sheriff are over budgeting and he believes his opponent
will be a shill for the Sheriff’s budget requests. Gibson isn’t showing any signs of backing down and believes a great
number of people in the County are angry about the party’s choice. Time will tell.
Feel free to comment on the blog
County Commissioner and longtime Loveland resident Glenn Gibson has decided to circulate petitions to run in the
Republican primary against County Surveyor Tom Donnelly despite receiving only 22% of the votes from delegates
at the recent Republican Assembly in Larimer County.
Voters will be given an opportunity to select their candidates for the general election during a primary vote to be held
on August 12, 2008. Glenn Gibson, the current County Commissioner, intends to be on that ballot despite his poor
showing at the recent party gathering. Each party will select a candidate in the August primary election who will
than represent their party on the general election ballot on November 4, 2008.
Gibson failed to get 30% of the votes from his party’s precinct delegates during their recent assembly which would
have earned him a spot on the August ballot. He needs to gather some 3,800 signatures on petitions before the
County Clerk can place him on the August Republican primary ballot to challenge the current party nominee, Tom
Donnelly, who received 77% of the votes at the assembly.
Gibson talked with LovelandPolitics this morning and said his strategy to get the signatures is the following; “I am
going to get 100 people to each get 50 signatures.” Gibson is counting on the 22% of the 500 some Republican
delegates who did vote for him during the assembly plus family and friends to circulate nomination petitions. He
cannot begin circulating petitions until March 31, and will need to submit the signatures by May 29, 2008.
The County Sheriff, James A. Alderden, seconded the nomination on behalf of Donnelly during the party
assembly. Gibson believes this endorsement was critical for Donnelly, the current elected County Surveyor, in
garnering as many votes as he did against an incumbent Republican office holder. It is very rare that either party
would not nominate the incumbent office holder from their own party.
Local party activists, however, are doubtful that Gibson can get on the primary ballot. Candidates sometimes need
to pay petition gatherers, at a cost of $1 or $2 per signature, just to meet their goal in time. This could cost Gibson
anywhere between $4,000 to $8,000 if he needs to bring in paid political mercenaries to augment the volunteer effort
to make the deadline. The challenge for Gibson isn’t only the number of signatures needed but the relatively short
period of time (less than 60 days) he is allowed to collect the signatures.
While running as the incumbent, the fact he wasn’t allowed onto the ballot at the party assembly means Gibson is
acting more like a challenger. He said his problems with the Sheriff are over budgeting and he believes his opponent
will be a shill for the Sheriff’s budget requests. Gibson isn’t showing any signs of backing down and believes a great
number of people in the County are angry about the party’s choice. Time will tell.
Feel free to comment on the blog
LovelandPolitics.com
| Gibson Decides To Petition To Get On August Primary Ballot |
| County Commissioner Glenn Gibson (left) poses for a picture for LovelandPolitics with his challenger Tom Donnelly, County Surveyor, while votes were being counted at the assembly. |
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| Larimer County Commission Dist. 3 Race Menu of Stories |