We have invested millions of federal CARES Act dollars to keep local businesses open during the pandemic. As local food banks saw a 30 percent increase in new clients, we distributed funds to help neighbors in need of food and rental assistance. Early in the pandemic, we provided tens of thousands of face coverings and gloves to first responders, health care workers, and businesses. We also advocated at the state level to ensure Jefferson County received its fair and equitable share of vaccines.

The pandemic has been a difficult time for us all, but we’re a strong community that looks out for one another, especially our most vulnerable. We strategically distributed $101.7 million in federal pandemic relief to to mitigate impacts of COVID-19, including:

• Nearly $30 million to cities
• More than $13 million to businesses in small business grants, face coverings, and gloves to help businesses operate safely and stay open
• Nearly $4 million to non-profits for food and rental assistance
• Over $1.6 million for Jeffco Public Schools’ summer meals program and a bulk food purchase program for area food banks
• Nearly $500,000 supported personal protective equipment and other critical needs for health care providers and hospitals.
• And much more.

Our team also created the first non-congregate shelter for individuals experiencing both homelessness and COVID, and we coordinated housing supports and rental assistance across the county and cities to ensure consistency and accessibility.

Jefferson County’s Business and Workforce Center was the first to create a virtual appointment system and a new virtual call center serving over 10,000 job seekers with unemployment insurance navigation and career coaching. We quickly adapted, creating new virtual workshops serving more than 2,000 job seekers impacted by unemployment.

We’re now working with mayors, nonprofit and business leaders, community members, and others to strategically distribute American Rescue Plan dollars to eight priority areas, including a robust community engagement process to learn more about your priorities for our county.

» See additional information onCOVID-19 funding and relief

Collaboration with business and community leaders is critical to attract companies that offer better paying jobs and help advance a career-ready workforce through partnerships with our K-12 schools and higher education. Let’s continue to build our competitive edge in fields like renewable energy, aerospace, aviation, bioscience, outdoor recreation, and other areas.

During my term as county commissioner, Jefferson County, Colorado, NREL and the federal government created a public-private partnership to create a renewable energy industrial park in Jeffco. Companies involved in the effort will collaborate with NREL to advance emerging technologies, bringing thousands of new jobs to our county and an opportunity to serve as the hub of Colorado’s renewable energy efforts. The added advantage: residents will benefit from better access to South Table Mountain open space trails as part of the land exchange agreement.

We also have successfully secured more businesses and jobs at the Verve Innovation Park offering 600 acres of planned office, commercial, and light industrial space as well as Lockheed Martin’s new $350 million facility offering more, in-demand STEM jobs.

The impact of wildfire is not limited to our Foothills communities either. Wildfire can negatively affect air and water quality in communities across our county.

Reducing wildfire risk is a top priority for me:

• Appointed by Governor Polis to the Colorado Fire Commission. Our focus on reducing fire risk coupled with the state’s historic wildfires resulted in ground-breaking legislation and funding in 2021 and 2022 to keep communities safe. I also chair the Commission’s Data Subcommittee and serve on the Legislative and Wildland Urban Interface Subcommittees..
• Created and chair the county’s first-ever Wildfire Risk Reduction Task Force now called the Jeffco Wildfire Commission, resulting in working with partners to secure more than $8 million in federal and state grants to enhance mitigation on 3,000+ acres of public and private land, increase defensible space, harden homes by requiring use of ignition-resistant building materials in high-risk areas, create two new year-round SLASH collection sites, double the number of SLASH collection days, improve building codes to reduce risk, examine evacuation routes including a mitigation pilot project on county roads, and more.
• Exploring proposed access standards for driveways, private roads and unimproved roads in public right-of-way that will accommodate fire trucks and safe ingress and egress, including requirements that include 10-foot clear zones on both sides of the access on the property.

For more about our work to reduce wildfire risk in Jeffco, read our Canyon Courier op-ed published in July.

Together, we’re seeking collaborative solutions to keep Jeffco safe from wildfire and protect our lands for generations to come. We know there’s much more work ahead. As the county faces financial challenges, we’ll continue to proactively pursue federal and state grants and other funding that help keep our community safe.

A laser-like focus on sustainability helps tackle climate change and can save taxpayer dollars.

That’s why we approved the development of the county’s first ever climate action plan, strongly support the work of our Sustainability Commission, and created the Sustainability Commission Fund. Despite the far-reaching impacts of the pandemic, 2020 proved to be another successful year for our sustainability efforts.

Accomplishments include:

• Increased the county’s recycling rate from 19% to 47%
• Achieved our highest overall Energy Star score ever of 75.2
• Switched to 30% recycled content office paper with recyclable packaging
• Recycled 675 pounds of batteries collected from county staff
• Adopted a telecommuting policy to reduce our environmental footprint
• Continue to recycle 100% of old asphalt and harness solar power (Jeffco is one of 40 counties recognized nationally for its solar efforts), resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual savings

During my term, we adopted the first ever Jeffco Trails Plan. The plan identifies new trail opportunities and increases trail connectivity. Our goal is to provide residents access to a trail or greenspace within a 10-minute walk in the plains and a 10-minute drive in the mountain areas. We also adopted the Conservation Greenprint 2020-2025 – a plan for acquiring another 3,000 acres of open space, understanding our role in a changing climate, increasing wildfire mitigation, and focusing on greater equity, especially across underserved populations.

In addition, I strongly advocated for and supported our Open Space team as Jeffco:

• Hosted record high park visitation at Open Space Parks during the pandemic. All 27 parks remained open throughout the year, providing Jeffco residents and visitors with much needed outdoor activities.
• Led the grand opening of the Clear Creek Canyon Park, Gateway Segment, including a "cable-cutting" ceremony with county commissioners. The 65-mile-long Peaks to Plains Trail will one day connect the South Platte Trail in Denver to Loveland Pass and then westward all the way to Glenwood Springs.
• Made multiple park and visitor improvements at Apex, South Table Mountain, South Valley, Beaver Ranch, Hildebrand Ranch, White Ranch, Mathews-Winters (Dinosaur Ridge) and Mount Falcon Parks.
• Preserved over 188 acres of land with the Superior Skyline and Atkins acquisitions both of which will provide new trails and access in the future.

The cost of housing is soaring. The result: young families, aging adults, teachers, police officers, and others are increasingly priced out. In collaboration with partners, we increased affordable senior housing in south Jefferson County and, thanks to our partnership with the Foothills Housing Authority, we broke ground on two new affordable housing initiatives in Golden and Arvada.

I have partnered with our community members, mayors, nonprofit leaders, and housing experts to increase housing options in Jeffco and explore more innovative, long-term solutions such as a Housing Trust Fund and housing navigation centers that provide emergency shelter for the homeless, transitional housing, and wrap around services.

Our diverse geography offers a unique mix of urban, rural, and mountain living. As more families and businesses move here, we must find ways to balance growth and land use, while addressing private property rights and sustaining the county’s long-term financial health. Key to success is long-term master planning, transparency, and a balanced budget that reflects our values.

We must continue to invest in updating aging roads and bridges as well as public transportation. Some of us are using the W-Line to get to work and that’s good for the environment and easing traffic congestion. Let’s continue to explore our options to improve the ease of traveling.

Our web-based platform shows how the county collects and invests taxpayer money in county services. While demand for services continues to climb, revenue constraints create new fiscal challenges. (Learn more about TABOR and TABOR refunds)

We continue to look at operations across all county departments for cost-saving opportunities and greater efficiencies to achieve a balanced budget. Cuts alone will not solve the county’s ongoing financial challenges.

We implemented an anonymous way for county employees to report financial fraud and ethics concerns, began an internal audit process to help the county achieve low-risk status, and created a new Citizens’ Budget Advisory Committee.

This includes increasing telephone town halls, holding regular in-person and virtual town halls, hosting monthly conversations called Civics and Stouts, and publishing op-eds with my fellow commissioners to build awareness about county issues.

We also enhanced the county’s online presence, hosting more than 11.6 million visitors on www.jeffco.us, providing appointment and chat services to departments and elected offices, and engaging the community through social media.

You can count on me to listen to diverse perspectives and collaborate with you to find workable solutions.

As your county commissioner, I advocated for and approved Jefferson County’s official designation as an Age-Friendly community to ensure our communities are more livable and better able to support people of all ages, especially aging adults who have contributed so much to Jeffco. I also support Jeffco’s Aging Friendly initiative and funding for nonprofits helping older adults receive care so they live independently in their own homes.

I’m also proud to come from a Marine Corps family. My family’s stories of service to our country have had a profound impact on me. That’s why I’m a strong advocate for our veterans. Requests for county services such as filing claims for insurance, hospitalization, and vocational training continue to grow. We’re responding! In 2020 alone, Jefferson County’s Veterans Service Officer team filed more than 500 claims on behalf of Jeffco’s veterans, totaling well over $33 million over a five-year period.

The Business and Workforce Center also assists veterans with career guidance, resume prep, and job skills development through workshops, training opportunities, and work-based learning. Our team served 1,000 veterans through the Center – a majority of whom came to us unemployed. More than half were employed after six months and most of the remaining veterans found jobs after one year.

I serve as one of four co-chairs of the Bright Futures initiative to increase access to quality early education for all children in Jefferson County.

The county’s Head Start program also provides early childhood education, nutrition, health services, family support, and more. County commissioners play an active role in Head Start. As a former member of Head Start’s Policy Council, I have been actively engaged in the approval its strategic plan, community assessment, and renewal of federal grant funding.

During the pandemic, Head Start moved more than 350 children and their families to remote/on-line learning in March with a 90 percent participation rate. Head Start also was able to convert an old, unused outdoor play area into a state-of-the-art outdoor classroom to increase exploratory learning time for all children.

Our library system is a community asset for every generation. During my first term, we opened one new library in Edgewater, expanded the Belmar library, and are now exploring a new library in south Jefferson County to better serve our community.

During the pandemic, our librarians stepped up in innovative ways to ensure our community had access to books, including curbside service. We also increased access to more book lockers and lending machines.

As you walk through the doors of one of Jeffco’s ten libraries, you will discover more than books – you will hear author talks, learn about free events for families, have access to the internet and free meeting rooms, and much more. As a frequent library user, I strongly support a robust, forward thinking library system that’s responsive to today’s needs.