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President of the Western District of County Commissioners
Co-Chair of the Public Lands Partnership
Member
of the State Board of Human Services
Chairman of the Agriculture, Wildlife and Rural Affairs
Steering Committee of Colorado Counties, Inc.
Member
of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of the National
Association of Counties
On the
ranch I learned to work with my brother and sisters. As a
county commissioner, I learned to make a practice of working
collaboratively. One example was negotiating a timber sale on
Grand Mesa where a spruce blow-down became infested with
beetles. Quick action has resulted in a healthy forest.
I am
the founding chair of the Delta County Meth Task Force. By
bringing together judges, attorneys, probation officers, child
welfare case workers, educators, mental health clinicians, law
enforcement officers, church and civic leaders we have put
together an effective program called the Delta Model that is
receiving national attention.
I am a fifth generation Colorado rancher. I
became involved in the county land use process to protect the
agricultural producer’s ability to sell a piece of property in
order to stay in business. I also wrote the first draft of a
land use regulation that requires mitigation to protect the
neighboring uses, especially agricultural, so that producers
are less apt to be forced out by residential development.
As chair of Colorado Counties, Agriculture,
Wildlife and Rural Affairs Committee, I was asked to represent
the counties concerning the 2007 Farm Bill. My brief
discussions with Congressmen left me with the impression I
could do better. |
