Re-elect Joe to LPEA
The Future is Electric!
Re-Elect Joe Lewandowski for LPEA District 3: Moving forward to provide clean, reliable, sustainable power!
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Together we can:
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Support Clean Energy
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Keep Rates Low and the Lights on
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Think Globally, Act Locally
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Don’t let MAGA take a chainsaw to our electric co-op!
Why I'm Running:
For the last six years, as a member of the LPEA board of directors, I’ve worked to keep our mission focused on the future. I want to serve a third term to help drive our co-op’s positive momentum toward independence and to embrace new, clean-energy sources.
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Keeping the power on 24-hours-a-day is no small task. Fortunately, LPEA’s talented staff is keeping the co-op on track, and moving ahead diligently to secure a variety of power options.
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LPEA’s move away from Tri-State brings new opportunities for local generation, and provides the path to plug into non-polluting power sources. One of my favorite sayings is “Think Globally, Act Locally!”. Clearly, co-op members are on board with that message, and for years have stated clearly that they want to do their part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). A year from now, when LPEA’s contract with Tri-State ends, we’ll immediately reduce our carbon emissions by at least 25%. Besides significantly cutting GHG emissions, early indications show that with a diverse power portfolio LPEA’s cost to buy power will be lower than what we pay Tri-State.
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Still another huge advantage for LPEA will result from being detached from Tri-State’s debt load which is more than $3 billion! Soon we’ll be using our co-op’s revenue to build our own “power house” — not paying rent to a financially strapped landlord.
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I am asking for your support. The future of our power supply lies in continual innovation; now is the time to continue moving forward.
About Joe
Growing up in Michigan I spent every minute I could outdoors. But then I got a taste of Colorado — like so many others — on a ski trip during spring break from Michigan State University and decided very quickly to return.
After graduating from MSU in 1977 with a degree in journalism and a natural resources minor, I outfitted a bicycle and, with a friend, pedaled to Colorado on a month-long trip.
I spent a couple of years ski-bumming which included strumming and singing in bars in Vail.
Then I decided to put my degree to work and took my first job as a reporter with the (now defunct) Vail Trail. I followed up with reporter/editor jobs in Steamboat Springs, Fort Collins and a short stint at the Durango Herald. Over the years I’ve also done a bit of freelance writing and have contributed to publications and websites nationwide.
Somewhere in the middle of all that, about 25 years ago, I took a year to travel around the world. I’ve written a memoir about that trip which you can find it on Amazon - it’ll only set you back four bucks: “Bus rides, Baguettes and Buddhas:
On year, moment by moment. around the world.”
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In 2005 I started working for the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife as the public information officer for the Southwest Region. I had numerous great adventures with dedicated researches looking for all manner of wildlife: bears, elk, deer, mountain lions, lynx, bighorns, raptors, bats, native fish, and more.
I’ve always been involved in public service in all the places I’ve lived. I served for 15 years on Durango City Planning Commission, and for the past 10 years I’ve also been president of my townhouse homeowners’ association. I support the Durango Bluegrass Meltdown, KSUT, Music in the Mountains, New Horizon’s womens’ center, the San Juan Citizen’s Alliance, and nationally, environmental and social just organizations.
And yes, I do all the outdoor stuff that our region offers.
​After 40-some years in a variety of jobs and positions, I retired in 2021. I ran for the LPEA board because I’ve always lived by this motto: THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY. LPEA is moving towards a clean and efficient future and I’m glad to be on this innovative, forward-thinking team.
Don’t let MAGA take a chainsaw to our electric co-op!
Member owned and Operated
Electric co-ops were started during the Great Depression to bring electric power to rural America. Establishing co-ops was one of the great social achievements of the 20th Century to level the economic playing field across the United States.
La Plata Electric Association, like all electric co-ops, is a not-for-profit organization owned and operated by its 40,000 members. LPEA does not answer to stockholders, to a profit motive, or to a political ideology — it answers to you, a co-op member.
Leadership
I have served on the LPEA board for two terms - six years - and ask for your help to continue for another term. I am on the LPEA board because I believe in shared values — where the good of all is prized above the good of the individual — that is the co-op way. As a board member I am working to secure a positive long-term future. We’re not looking back.
Think Globally, Act Locally
We know that human-caused climate change is adversely affecting our region and the world. I believe that everyone must do their part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). For more than 80 years, LPEA has
purchased power generated by fossil fuels. Now we have the opportunity to purchase clean, reliable power from alternative energy sources.
Energy Independence
LPEA is no longer shackled by Tri-State’s 50-year restrictive no-win contract. In April 2026, LPEA will gain its independence and build a portfolio of clean, reliable and affordable energy resources. Instead of paying “rent” to Tri-State, we’ll use our money to build our own “powerhouse.”
We’ll also be separated from Tri-State’s $3 billion-plus debt load. The debt carries serious financial risks and is dragging down Tri-State and all of its member co-ops.
Do you trust MAGA?
My opponent in this election is a MAGA supporter. Should we turn our electrical co-op over to an Elon Mush supporter? Have no doubt that MAGA extremists have their eyes on all of America’s free democratic institutions.
MAGA shut down funding for clean-energy projects — even in RED States! MAGA orders are even devastating our national parks and forests. We won’t allow MAGA to demolish our co-op!