Liz Qualman and Sarah Smith Hymes Run for Holy Cross Energy Board

It’s easy to assume that when you pay your electric bill to Holy Cross Energy, you’re just funding a utility. You’re not wrong. But you’re also missing the point. You’re a member-owner. You have a vote. And right now, two women are asking you to pick them to sit on the board that decides where that money goes.

Liz Qualman and Sarah Smith Hymes are running for the Northern District seat. They’re competing against each other, not just for the title, but for your attention in an election where most of you probably won’t even cast a ballot.

The question is whether folks around here realize they hold the keys. According to Jenna Weatherred, Holy Cross’s vice president of Member and Community Relations, the turnout has historically been low. That means a small group of active members often dictates the direction of the cooperative that powers homes from Vail to Aspen.

Qualman, an educator at Colorado Mountain College, says that’s exactly why she’s running. She didn’t set out for politics. She set out for understanding. Last year, she took a local leadership course where Weatherred spoke about the cooperative model. That sparked something.

“So that’s where my passion really began, learning more about Holy Cross Energy, the member-owned cooperative,” Qualman said.

She’s been an Eagle County resident since 1994. She sees the evolution of the grid from the ground up. And she’s pointing to a specific metric that matters to anyone worried about their bill or their carbon footprint.

“I’m very excited about how it has evolved over the years and that (Holy Cross President and CEO) Bryan Hannegan was recently quoted in an article saying that we consistently stay at 85% renewable energy,” Qualman said.

That 85% figure isn’t just a press release stat. It’s the baseline. Qualman wants to know how to push it higher, how to keep rates stable while the rest of the West burns through resources. She’s betting that her background in education translates to better governance. If you can teach a class, you can manage a budget. If you can manage a budget, you can protect the member-owner.

Smith Hymes, running from Avon, is making her case in the same race. They’re the only two candidates for the Northern District, which stretches from East Vail to the eastern edge of Glenwood Canyon. The other seat, the Southern District, has three candidates: Dave Munk, Karen Page, and Ryan Slack. But for residents in Edwards, Avon, and Eagle, this is the race that matters.

The stakes are low-key but real. Board members make $1,000 a month, plus expenses for meetings and training. It’s not a fortune, but it’s compensation for people who are supposed to be watching your back. Voting happens online until June 9. You can also show up in person at 4 Eagle Ranch in Wolcott on June 11 from 5 to 6 p.m.

If you don’t vote, someone else does. And they might not care about the same things you do.

Qualman isn’t asking for a revolution. She’s asking for stewardship. She wants to ensure that the cooperative stays true to its mission while it scales. The expansion of CMC to 11 campuses in the Rockies is a sign of growth, and Qualman sees that same growth happening in the energy sector.

“I feel like I’ve been advocating for human resources here for years,” she said, noting that her run is her first elected office bid, but her passion for the community’s resources is long-standing.

The vote is online. It’s simple. It’s quiet. But it determines who sits in the room when the big decisions happen. Don’t let the low turnout be an excuse to stay home.

“Me entusiasma mucho,” Qualman said. “I’m very excited.”

The outcome remains uncertain, but the choice is clear. Pick a side. Or don’t. The grid will keep running either way.