The papers are signed, and the formalities are complete: Two candidates will appear on the ballot for Director in SCEC District 3, where David Orf has chosen to not seek re-election after 12 years on the St. Croix Electric Cooperative Board of Directors.

District 3 includes the Town of Hudson and a small southwest corner of the Town of Warren: Candidate John Collins lives in Hudson and candidate Gary Maier lives in Warren. 

Incumbents William Peavey in District 6 and George Yates in District 9 are the only candidates in their districts. Pursuant to bylaw updates approved by members at last year’s Annual Meeting, ballots will not be mailed for those districts, but instead members at this year’s Annual Meeting will be asked for ratification of the election of the single candidates.

Paper ballots including biographies of the two District 3 candidates will be mailed March 30 to the 1, 218 members in District 3. The deadline for returning ballots is 4:30 p.m. on Friday, April 17 – the day before the 2020 Annual Meeting & Member Breakfast, which will be held at St. Croix Central High School in Hammond. 

Ballots are kept sealed until the Annual Meeting when volunteer tellers, coordinated by SCEC Plant Accountant Kris McNamara, will open and tabulate the results, which will be announced during the meeting that is called to order at 9:35 a.m.

Your electric cooperative is not owned by far-away investors, and it is not run by an appointed board of directors. Your electric cooperative is run by a democratically elected board that is given the privilege to serve because of your vote.

SCEC’s service territory includes nine director districts, with roughly the same number of members. The board’s role is to define expectations for the co-op’s CEO and provide policies and strategic goals. A director has a duty of loyalty to SCEC and a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the Cooperative and its members, even if t may conflict with personal interest.

Director terms are three years, so each year three districts are up for election. In 2021, those districts will be:

District 2 – Town of Troy (minus a small northeast corner): Incumbent Alan Wilkie

District 5 – Towns of Rush River, Pleasant Valley, Kinnickinnic and small northeast corner of Town of Troy: Incumbent William Findlay

District 8 – St. Croix County towns of Forest, Glenwood, Springfield and Cady, western edges of Dunn towns of Tiffany and Lucas and northern edge of Pierce County town of Spring Lake: Incumbent Douglas Faber

For more information on director roles and elections, visit scecnet.net or contact Communications & Events Coordinator Michele DeLong at micheled@scecnet.net or 715-796-5613.