The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
It is election season and it’s not all about Joe and Donald. Two of the Gunnison County Commissioner seats are up for election and there are two candidates for each position. The Crested Butte News will be asking the local candidates for their views on issues for the next several weeks. We have requested they keep their answers to 500 words or fewer.
If you have a burning question for the candidates, feel free to email it to [email protected]. We are starting the questions early this year because we figure many people will get their ballots the week of October 12-16 and send them back as soon as possible. Who knows what might happen in 2020.
Remember, all qualified voters in Gunnison County get to cast a ballot for one candidate in each district.
And everyone is invited to the Crested Butte News Candidates Forum being held on Sunday, October 11 at 6 p.m. at the Crested Butte Center for the Arts. Given the public health orders, there will be limited seating in the theatre but there is opportunity to attend and watch the debate at various “pods” within the Center. We’ll have more details as we figure it out.
—Mark Reaman
Jonathan Houck
District 2 candidate
Let’s start as we always do with the softballs. We’ll get to the pandemic, second homeowners, TAPP and more in the next couple of weeks. Why are you running for Gunnison County Commissioner?
I have been encouraged by many folks across the county to stay in the arena and keep working on their behalf. I love the work and the challenges that come with being a full-time commissioner and have the energy and commitment to keep working hard. I have spent the last term working on citizen-directed projects and initiatives that I would like to see through to completion.
One current example is the Paintbrush Development, a county affordable housing project, which is now under construction. It contains 76 rental units, of which 68 are deed-restricted. However, I do not want to stop with that build. I plan to take the next steps to identify and begin building the next county-led affordable housing project, hopefully in the north end of the valley. We now have the Gunnison Public Lands Initiative (GPLI) in the legislative pipeline and I want to get it across the finish line in my next term. I have and will continue to work on state level legislation that has delivered results on driving down health care costs directly benefiting folks here in Gunnison County. Additionally, we have to continue our work to address climate change; the ranching and recreational elements of our economy depend on it.
This term we have launched the STOR committee and its programs to address the stewardship and conservation of our public lands and recreation infrastructure. I want the opportunity to continue to build that program to a place of maximum impact and sustainability. I am leading for Gunnison County on the GMUG Forest Plan revision, which will be the baseline for land management for the next 20 years and continuity is critical. As we continue to successfully address the pandemic while opening our economy as safely as possible, I will continue to provide leadership to create a better, stronger, more inclusive and resilient economy. That is a challenge I have been taking head-on in our pandemic response, protecting the community’s health and safety while continuing to lead and innovate as we work toward long-term recovery and resiliency.
What specific experience do you have that will benefit the public as a county commissioner?
Between hard work and dogged tenacity, I have called Gunnison County home for the last 28 years. I have worked in most sectors of our economy (food service, retail, construction, ranching, tourism, education and, along with my wife, am a small business owner) and am intimately connected to the workforce countywide. I highlight my political, professional and personal experience in this week’s ads and that is the foundation on which my leadership is built. That connectivity combined with my civic experience and leadership has delivered results that the citizens have desired.
In this race, I am the most experienced and have a proven record of delivering on community priorities during my time as an elected official. My time on the Planning Commission, Gunnison city council, mayor and two terms on the BOCC is meaningful and result-producing experience. I have extended Gunnison County’s voice and reach into the legislative arena, and have fought for bills and programs that directly bring benefit back to Gunnison County.
What, if any, book are you reading now?
The Last Beautiful Days of Autumn, an enchanting memoir of seasonal change in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains surrounding Taos, N.M., by John Nichols.
What recreational activity did you do this weekend?
Gunnison County Triathlon: Mountain bike ride, firewood gathering and prepping the garden beds for winter.
Trudy Vader
District 2 candidate
Let’s start as we always do with the softballs. We’ll get to the pandemic, second homeowners, TAPP and more in the next couple of weeks. Why are you running for Gunnison County Commissioner?
I am running for county commissioner as an unaffiliated candidate because it is in my heart to govern in a manner that supports people across the entire political and socio-economic spectrum. One-party rule does not lead to healthy debate, include a broader perspective or, in my opinion, good governance. Under one-party rule, large groups of people feel like they are not being represented. I’ve learned this in the many, many conversations I’ve had with people over the past few months. The county desperately needs balance on the board of commissioners. I was asked and encouraged by people across the political spectrum who are worried about the long-term consequences of my opponent’s leadership and decisions that have been made in the past. I am running for county commissioner because I have the right experience, a broad skill set and the temperament to do good governance. I am also beyond everything else, willing to collaborate with all stakeholders to make good things happen for the benefit of our county.
What specific experience do you have that will benefit the public as a county commissioner?
While my advanced graduate degree in Administrative Leadership and Policy Studies from Colorado University of Denver emphasis was on school leadership, it provides me the knowledge and skill set that will transfer successfully to performing the duties of a county commissioner. I believe my formal degree and professional experience in school leadership, along with my life-long attachment to Gunnison County has prepared me to be a county commissioner with fresh eyes and a grounded vision. I believe that not being “political” is a benefit. I have been trained and well-practiced in the following strategic tactics: human capital development, organizational management, systems improvement, leadership development and data-driven change management. I will bring the right experience to this position.
I have the right commitment to be a county commissioner. As an unaffiliated candidate I am not driven by party ideologies, nor have I had political ambitions. I am simply committed to serve all the people throughout the county. I am committed to listening to gain the best understanding of what the primary needs and issues are in the county. I will do this to be able to address and act upon what’s needed for the welfare and benefit of our county. I am committed to use my skills, knowledge and collaborative approach to work with all stakeholders to resolve priority issues.
My leadership ability encompasses identifying and strategically managing needed change in a timely manner. Through my school administrative leadership experience, I have guided policy changes and program development to address key problems like: student emotional and mental health, suicide prevention, reduction of truancy, student homelessness, decreased suspension and expulsion and decreased bullying incidences, improved academic growth, expanded post-graduation readiness, improved staff retention rates and I updated an antiquated curriculum. I am the right proven leader because I know how to focus on real priority issues through the collection of data and information. I am the right proven leader, because I seek timely and meaningful solutions to problems which have the greatest negative impact on peoples’ lives.
What, if any, book are you reading now?
Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman: For the most part, I have read this book once a year since 1994. After all, what better book to read annually for over 26 years than one that plays with the notion of time. Obviously, I love this book. Its prose is lyrical as it flows across the pages. The imagery is crisp and clear. Each chapter challenges the reader to embrace time in unconventional manners. This book is my annual declaration to myself to never get stuck in conventional thinking and always remain creative.
What recreational activity did you do this weekend?
My daughter-in-law, Alysse, and son, Scott, and I rode our horses this weekend. We practiced cutting cattle in my little arena, which we fondly refer to as the “sandbox.”
Liz Smith
District 1 candidate
Let’s start as we always do with the softballs. We’ll get to the pandemic, second homeowners, TAPP and more in the next couple of weeks. Why are you running for Gunnison County Commissioner?
I find the political divisiveness in our culture disconcerting, which is why I spent the past four years as co-chair of the Gunnison County Democratic Party promoting unity as a core value. When I reference unity in my campaign, it goes beyond simply being friendly; instead, it reflects the hard work of actively seeking out virtues in positions we disagree with or find threatening. It’s valuable for all of us to habitually reexamine our own assumptions and stay mentally flexible so we can better understand different points of view. Doing so helps us keep our sense of humanity for others intact as well.
This is a challenging time for anyone to enter local politics. I’m seeking a return to office because it’s a calling. I’m committed to doing everything in my power to benefit our community.
What specific experience do you have that will benefit the public as a county commissioner?
My professional background is as varied as the work that comes across my desk as a county commissioner. I have spent years directing a variety of programs that required me to train and manage staff, develop and oversee operational budgets and cultivate collaborative relationships with numerous stakeholders. My experience as a technical writer and editor has consisted of a broad range of projects encompassing medical law, workman’s compensation litigation, real estate appraisals and eminent domain projects, environmental impact studies and proposals and grants in STEM fields. I’m driven by a strong internal motivation to learn, which is why I pursued and completed a Ph.D. The years I spent in higher education taught me the value of effective project management and honed my ability to carefully analyze complex arguments and create streamlined responses from immense sets of research and evidence.
Since my appointment in July, I’ve met with every program director under the purview of the Board of County Commissioners. This is an enormous job, and to do it well requires a strong motivation to learn and the ability to weave the disparate threads that make the county work into sound policy solutions that respond to our most pressing needs. My background has prepared me to do just that.
What, if any, book are you reading now?
Currently, I’m reading two very different books: Economics of Good and Evil: The Quest for Economic Meaning from Gilgamesh to Wall Street by Tomas Sedlacek and Sabrina & Corina: Stories by Kali Fajardo-Anstine. Sedlacek’s work situates economics within a broad framework that includes moral issues, existential judgments and the complexity of human nature. A much different read, Fajardo-Anstine’s collection of short stories details the lives of Latina women of Indigenous descent in Colorado. It’s a powerful testimony to friendship and community, intergenerational trauma and homelands.
What recreational activity did you do this weekend?
I wish I could say running the Cart to Cart trail race from Crested Butte to Crested Butte South, as I did last year, but I’ve had to scale back my time on the trails this fall to campaign and fulfill my role as county commissioner. I was able to get a few miles in trotting between houses while canvassing Crested Butte South, though.
Dave Taylor
District 1 candidate
Let’s start as we always do with the softballs. We’ll get to the pandemic, second homeowners, TAPP and more in the next couple of weeks. Why are you running for Gunnison County Commissioner?
After a back and forth about property rights, John Messner texted me the following:
April 16, 2020, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” —Theodore Roosevelt
Simply, I think John’s message was, If you think this job is easy, you try it. Not all can enter the fight just to satisfy the message of this quote. I can.
After clearing some technical election hurdles I filed to run on April 24, 2020.
What specific experience do you have that will benefit the public as a county commissioner?
I am educated as an accountant and passed the CPA exam in 1982. Most of my business career has demanded a high degree of customer service. I have owned a temporary labor business with thousands of employees and currently own the Gunnison KOA Campground with over 30,000 guests annually. I can look at an organization from the inside out via the numbers and communicate effectively either in writing or verbally. I am well-known in the community and most know that KOA Dave will speak the truth. I am not driven by politics, I am driven by my core value: “Do the next right thing.”
What, if any, book are you reading now?
Gunnison County Financial Report December 31, 2019; at 116 pages it feels like a book. Generally, I don’t read books, but envy those who have that good habit. My rationalization is, when I write my book I don’t want others’ writings to cloud my thinking. Hey, it works for me.
What recreational activity did you do this weekend?
Played golf Friday in the Gunnison Chamber of Commerce golf tournament. Lost my side-bet with Paula Swenson, as her team smoked our team. Attended the WCU home cross-country meet on Saturday where KOA employees Kaylee Bogina and Charlie Sweeney both finished first in record times. Of course, the KOA takes .000001 percent of the credit. So proud of these two!
