2026 Primary Election: County Commissioner

County Commissioners have two primary responsibilities. First, they approve major land use deals in their constituent counties. This is very important because land use decisions impact economic development, traffic, the environment, and so much more. County Commissioners also manage the county budget. This is also a very important task because Adams County's budget (pre-cuts, of course) is almost $1 billion.

I think the biggest responsibilities relevant to land use are making sure that natural resources are used wisely, preserved for future generations and wildlife when possible, produce economic value that doesn't just concentrate among the wealthy, and makes our communities safer, closer, happier, cleaner, and healthier.

With regard to the county budget, we must prioritize our own county staff, protecting social safety net programs, and public health and safety programs.

A County Commissioner's main role is to be a public servant representing the people, businesses (shop local!), and environment for their county. In my opinion, one of the most important ways to do this is by building genuine, empathetic, and respectful relationships with people and communities from across the county, including citizens, elected leaders, municipal leaders, staff, businesses, and visitors.

On a day to day basis, these relationships help inform the decisions Commissioners make on land use, developments (commercial, industrial, and residential), transit/roads, infrastructure (water conveyance/treatment, electrification, etc), the county budget, and public health and safety (funding our public health and law enforcement departments). Of course, every responsibility is important and should be handled with care and integrity; but the most important responsibility is to make these decisions with the communities and people of Adams County in mind.

I think that it's important to ensure that resources are specifically allocated for vulnerable and underserved communities because their federal resources are being explicitly targeted. My biggest priorities are protecting trans and gender-nonconforming people, disabled people, and immigrants, but also people of color and LGBTQ+ people more broadly.

I think we also need to make smart investments, not political ones. As a career social scientist, I'm going to consult expert organizations, peer-reviewed literature, and the facts before I consult a paid consultant or lobbyist.

If there are opportunities to force the wealthy and powerful to pay higher fees, I think it's important we look into them. I'm not opposed to circumventing TABOR with creative ways to raise revenue and level the playing field. On such priority, as mentioned above, is protecting public resources and lands by making strict environmental, human rights, and economic conditions for developers, big business, etc.

I would start by working with county agencies to identify which programs serve residents with the fewest alternatives. In practice, that means protecting direct services first: behavioral health, survivor support through the new Family Justice Center, food security, early childhood programs, and services for seniors and people with disabilities. These are programs where a cut has an immediate, tangible effect on a real person's life.

I would also push agencies to look hard at every alternative before accepting a cut is inevitable. Adams County has real opportunities through federal grants, state partnerships, and philanthropic relationships that can sometimes fill gaps state funding leaves behind.

When cuts are unavoidable, my guidance would be to show me who bears the cost of this decision, and show me what we lose. Decisions made without that clarity are not real decisions. I will not ask residents to absorb a reduction I cannot explain and defend.

We need to work with our labor partners to ensure that we agree on these issues and speak with one voice whenever possible. When it's not possible, we need to avoid ideologically-charged conversations and just speak to the facts. For example, community policing, police oversight boards, requiring officers to live in-county, anti-bias training, strict use of force guidelines, data-proven protocols for arresting and detaining gender non-conforming people, funding afterschool and diversion programs, and much of what makes up the "woke" agenda for public safety is proven by data to save taxpayer dollars, save officers' lives, and deliver better outcomes for marginalized communities. Growing up in a law enforcement home, I feel very uniquely prepared to make the necessary arguments for further reforms to public safety.

We also need to ensure that county staff benefit from these same trainings in their own work. What has happened with our current County Treasurer is another sore reminder that Adams County needs stricter HR protocols, better training, and, frankly, outcomes that protect the exploited and punish the powerful when they exploit.

County staff are often the first and only point of contact residents have with county government. Whether someone is accessing public health services, applying for housing assistance, or interacting with our criminal justice system, that interaction shapes whether they trust county government. This is an investment into our community, undertrained staff often results in worse outcomes for residents, higher staff turnover, more grievances, and legal liabilities for the county.

I would advocate for the relevant cultural competency training for all staff who work directly with the public, with deeper ongoing training for those in health, social services, law enforcement, and child welfare. That training should be developed with the communities being served in mind, including immigrants and refugees, LGBTQ+ residents, and communities of color. Moreover, our county staff should be representative of the populations they serve, including our LGBTQ+ community.

First of all, we need to fight for their funding. One of my top priorities is to restore the nearly $1 million in TANF funds cut last year by the County Commissioners.

I have other ideas though. We can use community work agreements and project labor agreements to set hiring and training quotas, force employers to provide childcare, force neutrality on union elections, and so much more. These are being underutilized right now, and unfortunately with only the input of the whitest, wealthiest, and most heavily cis-hetero male labor unions. We need to bring others into the process to see what other fruits these important tools might bear.

Finally, I was very disappointed by the events surrounding the demise of the homelessness navigator center in my own community (Arvada/Westminster). Centralizing services cuts costs, reduces redundancies, and ultimately financially helps both the county government and our nonprofit partners. We need to find ways to revive the project, secure another site that can serve Thornton and Commerce City, and do what we can to support the navigator center currently being developed in Aurora.

County staff are often the first and only point of contact residents have with county government. Whether someone is accessing public health services, applying for housing assistance, or interacting with our criminal justice system, that interaction shapes whether they trust county government. This is an investment into our community, undertrained staff often results in worse outcomes for residents, higher staff turnover, more grievances, and legal liabilities for the county.

I would advocate for the relevant cultural competency training for all staff who work directly with the public, with deeper ongoing training for those in health, social services, law enforcement, and child welfare. That training should be developed with the communities being served in mind, including immigrants and refugees, LGBTQ+ residents, and communities of color. Moreover, our county staff should be representative of the populations they serve, including our LGBTQ+ community.

In general, I think that proclamations and resolutions are problematic. They often insight division more than they solve any problem. There are a few exceptions, and I think they almost exclusively focus on two things: 1. Recognizing cultural contributions and legacies; 2. Affirming support and protections for vulnerable communities.

I think recognizing our history is always important. Adams County has a tradition of multiculturalism that deserves social recognition. By honoring the roles of individuals and communities, we bind our community more closely. Likewise, when an artist or activist from Adams County in the current moment makes a contribution to State or national culture, that deserves recognition for similar reasons. This kind of recognition is especially important in these times for members of our immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities.

Given these trying times, I think it's also important to take symbolic measures to make it clear that immigrants, transgender people, and others currently being scapegoated and targeted by the Trump administration know that they have equal protection under the law here. Unfortunately, it's also important to let bigots know that they don't get special rights in Adams County, no matter who's President.

A proclamation or resolution is a public act of recognition, and it should be granted consistently and transparently based on clear criteria, not on which communities have stronger political relationships with the board.

The criteria I would apply to my support of a proclamation include the following:1) Does this recognition reflect a real constituency in Adams County? 2) Is there genuine community support for the proclamation? 3) Does it align with county values around inclusion, public health, and civic participation? 4) Has a similar request been honored under comparable circumstances?

When considering denial of a proclamation request, I would deny a request when it conflicts with the county's commitment to dignity and inclusion, or when it is designed to demean a community or group of people whether directly or indirectly. In these cases, I would have no hesitation in standing up for the people impacted and recommending a denial of such a proclamation.

I will make myself available to your leadership, the leadership at One Colorado, Cobalt, smaller organizations, etc. I will also lobby to have representatives and allies of your organizations appointed to Adams County boards and commissions.

Beyond this, I want to work with our partners, particularly the cities of Arvada and Westminster, to officially designate LGBTQ+ business corridors and safe spaces in Adams County. According to census data, Adams County has the highest suburban concentration of same-sex couples - a crude stand in for the LGBTQ+ percentage of the population.

Finally, I plan to partner closely with Mile High Behavioral Healthcare to fully fund and expand their services. Although they are not an explicitly LGBTQ+ focused organization, their work benefits many in our community and needs a strong ally in the Adams County government.

As a proud ally and long-time supporter and friend of the LGBTQ+ community, I would ensure that my role as Commissioner continues to amplify and elevate the voices and people of the community. This includes having direct conversations with constituents on how they are represented and supported (including areas of growth/opportunity) and strengthening and supporting county services in behavioral health, housing, youth programs, and public safety as they relate to the LGBTQ+ community.

In any of these decisions, my role is to listen to community and what their needs are, then resource appropriately and use my platform to improve responsiveness and services provided by Adams County. I will pay close attention to how the LGBTQ+ community is being served, how the county addresses nondiscrimination, and how we can protect our residents when federal actions create additional risk for LGBTQ+ residents.

This information should be stored on a physical drive situated on county property. Any software systems that connect to this storage should be sufficiently encrypted and only accessible with a county-provided log-in. Given what we are seeing out of Washington, we can't afford to take chances right now. We need maximally security so that information meant to help people isn't weaponized against them.

I'm not a hard no on Flock cameras, for instance. However, the current "standard package" with Flock (and many of its competitors), does little prevent hacking into the system, allows accounts to access data without multifactor authentication, and automated data-sharing with the Federal government. This is unacceptable.

Given our community's needs, I am particularly concerned about caseworker data from the foster care system, public health data from welfare and assistance programs, homelessness data, and so much more. That's why the smartest solution, in my opinion, is to work private-sector partners to build software and hardware capabilities that are ultimately tightly controlled by the Adams County Government, and furthermore subject to strict regulations and protocols in the event that future Boards are less friendly to civil liberties and privacy protections.

County agencies hold some of the most sensitive information in people's lives, requiring active, deliberate protection, especially in our current political climate. My priorities would start with understanding what the county actually collects and why. Data that is not operationally necessary should not be collected, and data that is collected should be subject to strict access controls with clear protocols for when and how it can be shared, including with federal agencies. I would work with county legal counsel to understand both the county's legal obligations and where it has genuine discretion to protect residents. Where that discretion exists, I would use it.

On the technical side, I would push for policy requiring regular security audits, training on data handling, and clear breach response protocols. LGBTQ+ residents, immigrants, and other vulnerable communities should be able to access county services without fearing that doing so puts them at risk. That is a basic standard of trust the county has to earn and maintain over time.