Candidates announced for Health District board election

Eight people have declared their candidacy for the Health District of Northern Larimer County's board of directors. They will compete for three open seats on the board in an election that will be held May 4.

Two four-year seats and one two-year seat are up for election.

Running for the two four-year spots are incumbents Laurie Steele, 42, director of client services for Burns Marketing, and Averil Strand, 60, community health services director for Larimer County's Department of Health and Environment. Steele and Strand are residents of Fort Collins.

Running against Steele and Strand are Robert Weber, 52, a retired fire captain and resident of Livermore; Ronald Thaemert, 63, a civil engineer from Bellvue; and Rob Cagen, 57, owner and manager of Performance Tune and a Fort Collins resident.

Seeking a two-year term on the Health District board is Joe Hendrickson, 56, a retired assistant superintendent for Poudre School District. Hendrickson was appointed to the board in December to fill a vacancy.

Running against Hendrickson are John Rennick, 55, a physician-psychiatrist and medical and clinical director of Larimer Center for Mental Health, currently living in Fort Collins; and Jassen Bowman, 26, a technology-based marketing consultant living in Fort Collins.

A five-person board of directors governs the Health District. Board members are elected at-large from the district, which encompasses the northern two-thirds of Larimer County and includes the communities of Fort Collins, Timnath, LaPorte, Livermore and Wellington.

Voting will take place at three polling locations: the Health District main office, 120 Bristlecone Drive; Harmony Presbyterian Church, 400 E. Boardwalk Drive; and the Wellington Federated Church, 8445 Third St.

Early voting will be available at the Health District main office April 26 through 30.

To be eligible to vote in the election, a person must be 18, registered to vote in Colorado and be a resident of the district for not less than 30 days. Nondistrict residents may also vote if they or their spouse own taxable real or personal property within the district.

The last day to register to vote is April 5.

Absentee ballots can be mailed to voters. Applications must be made in writing to the designated election official for the Health District. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is April 30.

For more information on the board election, contact Judith Robison-Bullard, designated election official for the Health District, at 224-5209. Election information is also available online at www.healthdistrict.org/election.