Almost 66% of Park County’s eligible voters participated in the November 8, 2022, general election. Unofficial final results of the District 3 Commissioner race reveal Dave Wissel, the South Park Outsiders poster boy candidate, won over Ashley Girodo, a Democrat, by just 440 votes, or 4%. Imagine that.
2018 was the last time the District 3 Commissioner race was run. 65% of eligible voters showed up for that race. In that election, Ray Douglas beat his Democratic opponent by 2,541 votes and his Uaffiliatied opponent by 3,131. He bested the combined votes from both candidates by 658 votes.
The 2020 general election in Park County brought out almost 79% of the eligible electorate, the recent high mark for voter participation. There was a presidential choice on that one, though.
Girodo, a young and energetic first-time candidate, ran against a good ol’ boy who’d held public office in the county for nearly forty years. She ran against a Constitutional Conservative far-right wing Republican whose election should have been a slam dunk. Turned out it wasn’t. So Girodo took Wissel on a white-knuckled drive. One he’ll probably never forget.
To the victors go the spoils. And, as I read through social media this morning, so too go the chest-thumpers and the strutting peacocks. They actually believe a chord has been struck for their side by 440 votes.
What folks may or may not realize is the engagement of the electorate in this election was energized by serious opposition, something rarely seen in Park County. In Park County, the Republican Party is the government, and the government is the Republican Party. So how dare a young, articulate upstart with a Master’s degree in education take on the Good Ol’ Boy! How dare she come within 440 votes of winning.
So, to the winners, congratulations with a caveat: beware. Park County politics will never be the same.
