Firestone – Old guard vs. new. Past vs. present. Pasture vs. pavement.
For years, Weld County politics and leadership were framed by farming interests and respect for the rights of property owners to develop land as they see fit.
But as the county’s population continues to surge, the government’s live-and-let-live philosophy on growth is facing a serious challenge.
Tuesday’s election will decide two county commissioner races that pit those who say the surging number of rooftops signals a healthy county against those who believe the stewardship of such development has been haphazard at best.
Status quo vs. change.
“This election will be a referendum on growth,” said Steve Mazurana, political science professor at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. “And of the county’s growth policies.”
Weld County saw its population jump from 131,821 in 1990 to 228,943 in 2005, and is home to eight of the 10 fastest-growing cities in the state. Most are in southwest Weld, where farms are giving way to housing projects and local leaders are battling the county over the growth.
Nowhere is the debate over development more prevalent than in the commissioner race for District 2, which covers most of southwest Weld and includes the north-metro Interstate 25 corridor.
Unaffiliated candidate Sharon Socher, 36, moved to a small farm outside Frederick three years ago. She has a doctorate in biology and said it didn’t take long for her to realize the county is growing in the wrong directions.
County commissioners have ignored the advice of some of the top planners in the state, she said, and have chosen to strip the land near I-25 for housing projects that enrich only large landowners and strain resources of local communities.
“They have an arrogant attitude that prevents them from listening to anybody else,” she said.
The county must preserve farmland, create a unified growth plan with Weld cities and develop new water-storage projects, Socher said.
One of her opponents, Republican Doug Rademacher, 49, is a third-generation farmer near Mead who embraces the traditions of Weld County. He has served on several local boards and has been a volunteer firefighter for 23 years.
He said too many land restrictions will only hurt Weld farming families, noting that his family had to sell off land for development to keep their farming operation afloat. They recently sold a large parcel that will be developed into a 5,000-home spread north of Firestone.
The commissioners are right to allow landowners to better themselves as the population grows and demand for housing rises, Rademacher said, adding that the best way to preserve land is for cities to buy it.
“I have no problem with the concept of keeping open space, but you can’t condemn land through zoning,” Rademacher said. “If municipalities want a buffer zone, they should open their wallets to do so.”
Like Socher, the Democratic candidate for District 2, Rich Lopez, 66, said the current group of five commissioners is responsible for the tensions in southwest Weld.
“They have hurt some of the communities by creating huge housing enclaves, and they have excluded the communities from many of the discussions,” said Lopez, who owns a print shop in Greeley.
In the race for an at-large seat on the commission, Democrat Duane Leise, 60, faces Republican Bill Garcia, 34, a well- established Greeley lawyer.
Leise has worked in the computer software industry for 25 years and is a resident of rural southwest Weld. He said the county’s mismanagement of growth helped lead to the nation’s highest foreclosure rate and will ruin local economies.
“We need to get the towns and county working together to combat sprawl and to frame policies that will lead to a fiscally sound economy,” Leise said.
Garcia, however, said growth is only one issue in the election and most residents don’t have any major complaints about the current governing board.
“When I’ve toured Weld, I’ve found that the leaders of these communities have the biggest problems with the county and not the residents themselves,” he said.
While Republicans still hold a sizable edge in the county, Mazurana said it’s only a matter of time before population growth leads to diverse, formidable voting blocks. Socher and Leise represent the new generation of Weld residents who already have different demands, he said.
“This new type of resident moving in is well-educated and not afraid of telling the commissioners what they think,” Mazurana said.
Firestone Mayor Mike Simone, who has been critical of the commissioners, said he’s not sure if or when the county board will change direction, but he believes residents are ready for a change.
“I think people … are ready for a new way of thinking.”
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or at mwhaley@denverpost.com.
