Yes I am knowledgeable about the Elbert County Republican Platform and support the platform. This includes, but is not limited to, protecting the Constitution, enforcement of criminal laws, term-limits on elected officials, protecting our strategic interests throughout the world, support of property rights, the individual right to bear arms, minimizing the use of eminent domain, support of educational choice, having secure boarders, support of our rural ranchers and farmers, responsible stewardship of our environment, and fair and open elections.

I am familiar with the Elbert County Republican Party Platform and support and agree with it on all levels. It is a reflection of the values we hold dear as Elbert County Republicans, and we need elected officials who will follow and adhere to those same values as decisions are made. The core values of the platform should be reflected in the way commissioners govern, make decisions and create policy and regulations. I have always championed Republican values and support the Elbert County Republican Party Platform; I will continue to do so in my second term.

Yes I will treat the Elbert County Commissioner role as more of a full-time role than it has in the past. I plan on working at the county four to five days a week (the county currently is open four days a week) plus a full day on Saturday so that I am easily accessible to our residents. I am expecting to be putting in more hours in the beginning as there is a lot I want to accomplish for our county. For my role as Branch Manager of a financial services office, I will add another financial advisor to my business to service my clients when I am working for the county. I already have an Operations Manager who will also assist.

Being an elected official is a huge responsibility and citizens should expect their Commissioners to treat it as a full-time job. I have always considered being an elected official as my full-time job--both during my time as Clerk and Recorder and now, as Commissioner.

As a Commissioner, I believe it is important that this position receives 100% of my work focus. The Commissioner position is multi-faceted and includes many responsibilities in and outside the office that are too numerous to go into detail.

It takes time to learn all the aspects of the position and a part-time commissioner would not be as effective as a full time one--meaning the county residents do not get the full benefit from their Elected Official.

Having the Commissioner position as my full time employment allows for me to be in the office, but also the flexibility of attending off-site and evening meetings.

Careful consideration is needed before any moratorium is contemplated. Typically, a moratorium is not the answer. The moratorium described above was for the purpose of giving county staff time to revise land use regulations. This will not be a concern because if I am successful in the primary, I plan on focusing the next 6 months on drafting revisions to our land use regulations. I will be ready to propose these revisions when I take office. There is one area I currently have a concern with and that is in regard to data centers. This is a nationwide issue/concern. There are local governments that have put in moratoriums specific to data centers so they would have time to review and put regulations in place. Elbert County has no land use regulations specific to data centers. Unless those regulations can be completed timely, I believe a moratorium on data centers would be appropriate. It would be irresponsible to vote on a data center without specific regulations in place.

When the Board considered a moratorium last year, I was adamantly against it. First, a moratorium is an egregious attack on private property rights. It restricts landowners from doing what they prefer with their land. Secondly, it sends the message that Elbert is closed for business and economic growth which negatively impacts the county budget for years to come. Thirdly, it blocks the average citizen from home ownership since basic economics teaches: smaller supply results in higher prices. Home ownership is the principle builder of wealth in our country; young families achieving the American dream fosters a strong middle class. A moratorium will always be an infringement on private property rights. Only in an extreme growth cycle that didn't include adequate planning, resulting in overwhelmed staff and local infrastructure, should it even be considered. The current 2-3% growth rate, based on building permits, is not even close to being unmanageable.

Water is a critical resource. Most of our aquifers do not recharge, so it is important that we conserve and protect our water supply. Lower-density residential development with a central well is much less taxing on our water supply than high-density developments. According to the recent USGS report done on behalf of our county, all of our available aquifers show declining levels of water. The number of homes needs to be guided by the available water supply. For larger developments, I want the county to require that they use a lower aquifer, Arapahoe, so that they are no tapping into the same aquifer that most of our residents wells go into. This will reduce the strain on the upper aquifers.

The county does limit growth based on water supply. Every project must comply with the County's 300 year water requirement. This will not change. The county has devoted significant funds to study and monitor our aquifer levels. There is the 2018 water study, the 2022 water study, and participation in well monitoring with the United States Geological Survey (USGS). All of those studies show there is no immediate emergency. Recently, we have expanded the number of wells being monitored and have entered into an agreement with a Denver Basin expert to compile all our studies and reports into an easy to read and understand summary of the aquifer health in Elbert County.

Regulations should find a common-sense balance between protecting a valuable resource and protecting citizens who hold water rights to be able to exercise those rights. I believe Elbert County does a good job with this balanced approach.

I am on the Planning Commission and we are responsible for the Comprehensive Plan and the land use map. The Comprehensive Plan is being revised to align with what our community would like to see for the future of Elbert County. Our residents have been clear. They want to keep our county rural and want future residential developments to have houses on acreage. The land use map is a guiding document. The actual land use regulations are what determines how lands can be utilized. The commissioners have the authority to change the land use regulations. If I were to be elected, I will revise land use regulations to be consistent with the wishes of our community (reasonable planned growth to keep Elbert County rural).

The Future Land Use Map that is being developed is without question, a guidance tool to show where specific types of development are preferred. This has been an item of long discussions and disagreements. The bottom line is, the map, along with the comprehensive plan are guidance and vision documents, not regulation. By law, only the Commissioners set, change or modify County regulations. Ceding authority to an unelected body (meaning not accountable to the citizens of Elbert County) to make such decisions would be actions indicating a weak Board of County Commissioners. On regulations, the buck stops with the Commissioners; it's up to them to make the tough, thoughtful, and long-lasting decisions.

It is important that we protect our community, environment and farmland when considering solar farms, wind farms, data centers and battery storage facilities. Our land use regulations in these areas are either lacking or non-existent. If elected, I will enact stringent regulations to ensure that our environment and farmland is protected. The issue of data centers have become a nation-wide concern due to their high water usage, high electrical usage, noise and other environmental concerns. We need to do more than just watch this situation. We need to enact responsible regulations to protect our community.

The County regulations regarding these larger projects have several layers of protection for the County and surrounding neighbors. For years, the county has operated with the philosophy that the land owner knows the best and highest use for their property. The personal opinion of any Commissioner does not matter and should not come into play since hearings for land-use projects are quasi-judicial meaning the Commissioners act as judges on proposed projects. The county regulations seek to mitigate and minimize effects on the surrounding area. These regulations require many studies to be completed as well as comments from referral agencies. Input from county departments are also included. All of those reports and studies are compiled, and any issues not reconciled will require appropriate conditions for approval. Life, Health and Safety issues are weighed carefully. Neighbors' concerns are also considered and often lead to a project being modified to accommodate these concerns.

When elected, I will do a department by department review of the budget and look for opportunities for cost savings that do not affect the services we give to our residents. Performing this financial review along with adding mid-sized and small business will strengthen the county's balance sheet. If we were to have a revenue shortfall, I would first look to reduce expenses in areas that do not affect services to our residents. I would also delay items that were scheduled to be implemented, but are not essential.

It is no secret that costs have increased and continue to increase for both residents and the County alike. Thanks to legislation passed at the state level, even though we will see a $218 million increase in assessed value for 2027, the County's property tax revenue will be flat. In the three years I have been Commissioner we have averaged around 250 building permits per year for new homes. If we did not have that increase in the tax base from carefully planned growth, the county would be facing less revenue while also dealing with increased costs for equipment, wages and everything else required for the county to operate.

When budgets are tight, there are three options: increase taxes, decrease services, or increase the tax base. The last option is the true answer. The answer is monitored, steady growth such as we've seen over the past 3 years.

I have heard complaints from the ranching community that we have cumbersome rules with respect to building new facilities specific to ranching. We are an agricultural community and need to make it easy for our ranchers to run their business. I will streamline the process and timeline. For new regulations, as described in more detail in the response to question 6, we need to establish specific regulations governing solar farms, data centers, wind farms and battery storage facilities to protect our farmland and community.

My number one focus right now and for the next four years will be to make it easier for citizens to accomplish their desires with minimal government red tape and bureaucracy. The role of government should not be a hinderance but a partner with citizens, whether building their dream home or a new barn. Our regulations should not discourage economic development. The county specifically lost a business to El Paso County because of modifications made to the Economic Development Zone. We must make regulations more welcoming to business.

Animal control often makes the wish list in the budget but due to budgetary limits is not feasible. If we can grow our tax base, Animal Control would be an area I think is appropriate for the County government to engage it.