Cleave Simpson signaled Tuesday to the Rio Grande Water Conservation District board that his time as general manager is coming to an end.
Simpson also serves as state senator representing the San Luis Valley and much of western Colorado, and was elected in June as minority leader for the senate Republicans in the Colorado Legislature.
The dual roles – general manager of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District and state senator and GOP minority leader – are becoming too much, he said.
“I think the time is right to reconsider how this arrangement works,” he said. “I don’t have enough capacity to devote to the district that I’m comfortable under the arrangement we’re working under right now because it doesn’t feel fair to the district.”
Illustrating his hectic schedule, Simpson spent the morning at the quarterly meeting of Rio Grande Water Conservation District board and by 11 a.m. was on the road to make a late afternoon meeting at the state Capitol.
Rio Grande Water Conservation District’s management committee will convene with Simpson sometime in the next few weeks to work through a recommendation on how Simpson separates from the fulltime job as general manager.
Amber Pacheco serves as acting general manager when Simpson is away during the Colorado General Assembly sessions. He has returned to the fulltime role of general manager once the legislative session ends, but his appointments to various legislative committees and now his expanded role as GOP minority leader has added to his legislative workload.
“The time that I’ve had to devote to the legislative role, my senator role, has increased incrementally every year since we started this,” Simpson said.
Pacheco, who has worked the past 20 years with the Rio Grande Water Conservation District, has expressed her interest in the general manager role. “She’s been a godsend to me, a lifesaver,” Simpson told Alamosa Citizen earlier. “While I’m at the General Assembly, having her there gives me great comfort.”