District 2
Why are you seeking public office?
My vision is to build a stronger sense of community and manage the unprecedented growth in our county with a sustainable balance between residents, open spaces, and wildlife. As County Commissioner, I will draw on my breadth of experience working with people from diverse backgrounds to develop policy that best serves all people of Douglas County.
A successful executive, lawyer, and community leader, I am a proven problem-solver focused on strategy, change management, and long-term planning. I am seeking office to put my skills in innovation and collaboration towards solving the complex problems facing our residents and businesses.
What will your top three priorities be if elected?
My top three priorities are:
Economic recovery and development: I will focus on building an infrastructure to support county businesses, including addressing deficiencies in our communications infrastructure.
Working with experts in water and environmental policy to ensure we create and implement a county-wide strategy for a sustainable balance between our residential development, open spaces, and wildlife.
Establishing a youth commission to give young people, not often included in policy decisions that affect them, a voice.
Key factors guiding my decision-making are fiscal responsibility, constituent accountability, and doing what is in the best interests of our county as a whole.
Should decisions about public health — such as requiring mask wearing — be made by elected politicians, local public health officials or a combination? Explain your answer.
Public health is the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. Achieving public health necessitates the research of illness and injury alongside the rigorous detection, prevention, and mitigation of infectious disease. These are needs that can only be met by scientific experts. Therefore, these decisions should be made in combination with public health experts, economists, a community health commission, as well as elected officials. This would provide needed accountability, rooted in the voices of experts and constituents, required to make a sound decision that represents the needs of residents and businesses.
Do you support efforts to cap growth at the county or regional level? Why or why not?
Growth caps are about people — not numbers. Thatap why I don’t believe in potentially arbitrary blanket caps that are not data-driven or supported by expert analysis about our community. It is important to tie our county growth rate to water and other limited resources. Additionally, development decisions ought to be holistic, with government listening to the residents of affected communities and ensuring that residents’ voices ultimately play an equal role in policy decisions. My vision is for our Board of County Commissioners to use disciplined decision-making to shepherd a sustainable balance between our residential & business growth, open space, and wildlife.
Do you believe SB 217, the state police reform bill, will improve policing and citizen safety in your county? Why or why not?
Sheriff Spurlock has trusted me with his endorsement. And SB 217, in essence, is about building trust between communities and law enforcement. In my conversations with Douglas County law enforcement officers, they have already managed public safety under the provisions in SB 217 for years. While we may not face the same problems as other counties, the programs established in Douglas County by Sheriff Spurlock — fostering officer wellness and community mental health — typify SB 217’s intentions and should be lauded as standard-bearers for public safety. We must build community between law enforcement and residents statewide — Douglas County sets a great example.
Why are you seeking public office?
Douglas County is an amazing place to live, work, and raise our families; the opportunities afforded here are better than anyplace else in the state. And I’d like to continue our legacy of conservative, judicious, and forward-leaning commissioners who work hard to represent the best interests of our residents and the generations of Douglas County residents to come.
What will your top three priorities be if elected?
The same three priorities I’ve had for the last 6 years: improving transportation, mitigating the negative impacts of growth, and keeping government in-check.
On DRCOG, I’ve successfully prioritized crucial transportation projects in the county and have a proven record of success, with the necessary experience, to hit the ground running as commissioner. I’ll continue to focus on regional solutions that improve safety, decrease congestion and expand necessary arterial road networks. And I’ll keep government out of your way while allowing you to keep more of your hard-earned money. Again — just as I’ve done for the last six years.
Should decisions about public health — such as requiring mask wearing — be made by elected politicians, local public health officials or a combination? Explain your answer.
I’m a local-control guy, and just as our county has its own School District and (in 2024) Judicial District, we deserve to have our own County Health Board and Department that singularly serves Douglas County residents, allowing for greater autonomy and locally-represented authority.
Do you support efforts to cap growth at the county or regional level? Why or why not?
No. I support private property rights and free-market principles. Moreover, caps on growth don’t help in the development of better neighborhoods and they most certainly don’t increase the availability of low to mid-level housing.
If, on the other hand, we want to manage the negative impacts of growth, we can do that through better government and increased collaboration among development partners. Yes: we can build better infrastructure, invest in long-term renewable water solutions, and secure our neighborhoods while still allowing families the opportunity to own their homes and new residents the ability to achieve a better life by living here.
Do you believe SB 217, the state police reform bill, will improve policing and citizen safety in your county? Why or why not?
No. Douglas County’s law enforcement professionals are some of the best in the country. And I know this because as an elected official of a municipality that manages its own police and firefighters, I’ve helped to provide the support and resources our Chief’s need to attract the most talented rookies, train the best officers, and retain top-notch veterans. As commissioner, I’ll continue to support our peace keepers thereby ensuring the safety and security of our residents and their property.
District 3
Why are you seeking public office?
I am seeking to continue the work I have started — to set Douglas County on a course to realize its coming-of-age as one of Colorado’s premier counties. I have focused on three closely-intertwined projects: 1) a new judicial district that begins in January 2025; 2) a new governance model for Douglas County’s public health department; and 3) improved infrastructure for transportation and water. After more than half a century, it is time Douglas County’s services, planning and infrastructure rise to meet the needs of more than 370,000 residents.
What will your top three priorities be if elected?
First, I will focus on water and transportation infrastructure for a more secure future for DougCo; opportunities for improved water and wastewater solutions for the northwest corner of the county must be explored. Second, careful planning is needed for the new judicial district that DougCo will anchor in 2025, along with preparations for improved governance of public health that better serves the needs of our own residents. Finally, the Douglas County Mental Health Initiative needs continued support and oversight to remain focused on keeping individuals from falling through the cracks and removing barriers to effective mental health care access.
Should decisions about public health — such as requiring mask wearing — be made by elected politicians, local public health officials or a combination? Explain your answer.
Public health decisions such as lockdowns and mask mandates should be made by our elected officials, not unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats. Citizens have the constitutional responsibility of electing leaders tasked with representing the values, interests and needs of their constituents. While consultation with qualified experts should always be part of the process, decisions that deeply impact important aspects of our daily lives should rest with those who are directly accountable to those impacted by those decisions. Our Founders devised this system of electoral accountability because they wanted as much power/authority as possible to rest with the People.
Do you support efforts to cap growth at the county or regional level? Why or why not?
I do not support the imposition of artificial growth caps at any level of governance. As a county commissioner who has made land use decisions for the last four years, I recognize the importance of a strong master plan process that identifies the needs and desires of each community or subarea which is part of a larger whole. This plan needs to be supported by zoning regulations and criteria that must be met in order to have orderly and sustainable growth. If a community is not growing, it is stagnating or dying; smart growth is always better than no growth.
Do you believe SB 217, the state police reform bill, will improve policing and citizen safety in your county? Why or why not?
As a retired State Trooper who has overseen funding of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, I believe that our residents received excellent policing and public safety before this legislation. Most deputies already wore body cameras, which have proven useful, and soon all will wear them. Providing officers with the ability to obtain insurance due to the loss of qualified immunity was an unfortunate/necessary expense to prevent a mass exodus of experienced officers. Also, the exemptions of the Colorado State Patrol from the impositions of SB 217 have raised concerns how CSP assistance to local law enforcement will be affected.
Why are you seeking public office?
I’m running for Douglas County Commissioner because we deserve a leader who listens and makes decisions driven by science, data, and facts. I am eager to serve my community and bring a fiscally responsible, business-friendly perspective to our county commission.
What will your top three priorities be if elected?
—HEALTH— Increase support for mental health and public safety, including common sense gun safety. Make it easier for families to connect to mental health supports BEFORE they are in crisis. Now that we’re in the midst of a pandemic, public health as a top priority is even more clear. —JOBS— Attract companies that bring high-paying jobs into Douglas County, enhance communications infrastructure so people can successfully work and learn from home, and remove barriers for start-ups. — CONSERVATION — Our family chose to make Douglas County home because our quality of life here is second to none — and I’d like to keep it that way for future generations. I will preserve, protect, and promote our beautiful open spaces, and ensure clean air and sustainable water sources.
Should decisions about public health — such as requiring mask wearing — be made by elected politicians, local public health officials or a combination? Explain your answer.
Public health officials should make decisions such as mask mandates. As our country descended into the pandemic and recession over the spring and early summer, my opponent posted anti-science sentiments on social media on a regular basis. She shared the Plandemic video, QAnon quotes, and warnings about the dangers of healthy people wearing masks. CORA requests reveal Lora Thomas attempting to bully the three Douglas County members of the Board of Health not to close the county or issue the mask mandate. The day before the first of 60 Douglas County residents died of Covid, Lora’s e-mailed Board of Health arguing against the shut-down: “We can’t save all people from dying. Everyone dies.” Clearly, nonpartisan public health officials, NOT politicians, should make decisions about our health.
Do you support efforts to cap growth at the county or regional level? Why or why not?
I don’t believe capping growth is necessary right now — we have room to grow. The biggest issue of concern is whether or not we have enough water, and there are multiple ways to ensure this is possible — but we have to make it a priority.
Do you believe SB 217, the state police reform bill, will improve policing and citizen safety in your county? Why or why not?
I support Sheriff Spurlock. He and I discussed SB 217 as it was debated in the state legislature, and he told me he supports accountability. Douglas County is already very safe.
