A lobbying organization that bills itself as the voice of the Western Slope is now dominated by oil and gas interests, according to Pitkin County Commissioner Rachel Richards.

Club 20 “has changed,” said Richards, who has served as a voting member of Club 20’s board of directors for 10 years. She said energy companies are encouraging employees to join Club 20 as individuals to influence policy on energy issues, that club members were asked at a dinner meeting this spring to pray for Shell and Exxon, and that moderate amendments proposed on a recent energy policy paper were rudely dismissed by the group’s board of directors.

“There has been a declining caliber of the conversation,” Richards said of the 55-year-old organization. “There are a lot of one-sided presentations.”

And she questioned whether it is worth the time to participate in the organization. “There are so many other meetings to go to, and perhaps other coalitions,” she said.

Richards made her remarks at a recent meeting of the Pitkin County and Gunnison County commissioners where Club 20 was on the agenda.

Earlier this year, San Miguel County Commissioner Art Goodtimes of Telluride resigned from Club 20, saying “the Club has been taken over by the oil and gas industry, from its recent leadership to its big-gun funders.”

Club 20 now has eight corporate “gold” sponsors, six of which are in the energy sector, including EnCana Oil & Gas, Chevron, Williams Production Co., and ConocoPhillips. But Club 20 Executive Director Reeves Brown said the energy industry accounts for only 15 percent of the organization’s budget.

“It is a reflection that we don’t have a lot of other large industries in Western Colorado,” Brown said.

He also said that of the organization’s 1,300 members, he does not think an undue number are energy company employees.

“I know about four people from EnCana who have joined,” Brown said, referring to the oil and gas company with a large presence in Western Slope gas fields.

Club 20 positions itself as “a coalition of individuals, businesses and local governments.” The group takes stands on issues and lobbies for or against proposed legislation at the Colorado state House.

“There is no other entity that tries to represent the breadth of the Western Slope demographic,” Brown said.

The organization does not officially represent county governments, but news reporters frequently position it that way. For example, an Aug. 6 Denver Post article stated: “Club 20, which represents governments on the Western Slope...” Part of the confusion stems from the fact that each county on the Western Slope is represented in Club 20, but not each county government.

Anyone can join Club 20 as an individual member for $100 and then vote at the committee level on policy positions. Companies and organizations, including county governments, can join for between $200 and $500 per year, depending on their size. They also get one vote each, although they can have multiple members at a meeting.

Every two years, members in half of the counties in Club 20 meet to choose the person who will represent their county on the organization’s board of directors, which has 23 members. The person chosen does not have to be a county commissioner, but many members of the Club 20 board are commissioners. Richards was chosen to represent Pitkin County at Club 20 while she was on Aspen City Council.

At the group’s spring meeting this year, Richards said, she was dismayed that suggestions made by Gunnison County Commissioner Paula Swenson on a position paper about new state oil and gas drilling regulations were rudely dismissed by the Club 20 board of directors. Richards said that Swenson moved to include moderate language about balancing oil and gas interests with other interests on the Western Slope, such as ranching, agriculture and tourism.

“They were just shot down on a voice vote,” said Richards, adding that another motion related to protecting water quality was also rejected by the board.

The position paper that was eventually adopted stated, “Club 20 believes that rules regarding the development of Colorado’s oil and gas reserves should support and encourage the development of Colorado’s oil and gas reserves.” But it also says that the rules “should provide appropriate protections for public health, wildlife and the environment.”

While Richards and Swenson believe their minority viewpoints were discounted, Rikki Santarelli, chair of the Club 20 board of directors, said it was more a function of the board’s not wanting to “wordsmith” a document at a late hour.

“There may be a perception that it is a heavy-handed group, but there is a tendency of the board to resist wordsmithing and inserting new ideas, as they want that done back at the committee level,” said Santarelli.

Santarelli did say, however, that he would talk with Club 20 leaders about being more sensitive to minority viewpoints.

“I think it is a fair point,” he said. Santarelli also emphasized that Richards’ point of view is important to Club 20. “She is always there, she is always participating, she’s always consistent in the view that she presents, and she has gained a great deal of respect,” he said.

Richards, Swenson and Goodtimes, at least until he resigned, were viewed as the “progressives” on the Club 20 board, just as Aspen, Telluride and Crested Butte are progressive outposts in a mostly conservative Western Slope landscape. Brown, Club 20’s executive director, said the liberal commissioners have made a difference at Club 20.

“They have moved the ball more to the center,” he said.

Brown said emotions are indeed “ratcheting up,” both inside Club 20 and on the Western Slope, especially as many newcomers to the area are more liberal than many longtime residents.

“That is unsettling to some of our members,” Brown said. “And there is an ongoing discussion about ‘who do we represent and who are our constituents?’”

As to whether Gunnison County and Pitkin County should keep participating in Club 20, Hap Channell, a Gunnison County commissioner, wondered if it is appropriate for county governments to be represented by a non-governmental entity. But, on the other hand, he does not think it makes sense for either Gunnison or Pitkin counties not to have a representative at Club 20 meetings.

“We risk not being at an important table,” Channell said, to the agreement of his fellow county commissioners.

Meanwhile, Frank Bell, the Telluride town manager, has been chosen by Club 20 members in San Miguel County to serve on the Club 20 board.

But the commissioners from Pitkin and Gunnison counties also agreed that Club 20 does not speak for their respective county governments.

“If the public thinks Club 20 is representing our governments, that is a problem,” said Pitkin County Commissioner Jack Hatfield. “It is very hard to find what we have in common with other Club 20 members.”

bgs@aspendailynews.com