BIO
It has been my honor and privilege to serve you as your County Commissioner in District-1. Together, you and I have made Archuleta County a better place to live and work during my first term in office.
I was born in Colorado and raised in a small mountain town on the Western Slope much like Pagosa Springs. During my formative years, my father was a coal miner and my mother stayed at home raising my two brothers and me except for the occasional job she took to help make ends meet. I attended and graduated from Cedaredge High School and later, I earned my Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Columbia Southern University receiving Cum Laude honors.
I am a proud father of three children, who are now adults. My twelve-year-old granddaughter represents my family’s fifth generation in Colorado. More than twenty years ago, I married my remarkable wife, Jody Brown, and the two of us live a relatively quiet, but busy life with our pets.
Serving others has always been an integral part of who I am. Since I moved to Pagosa Springs almost nine years ago, I’ve immersed myself in several grassroots community service projects to include: Archuleta County Veterans for Veterans, Safe School Now Team, Archuleta County Multi-Disciplinary Team and Child Protection Team, the Collaborative Community Response Team, the Elementary volunteer Reading program, the Archuleta County School District Funding Task Force, and the Pagosa Springs Noon Rotary Club. As an active member and the immediate Past President of Pagosa Springs Noon Rotary Club (2022-2023), I continue to "Serve others above self" through the many club programs.
As a former local business owner, I know firsthand the struggles of a small business owner from hiring and retaining employees, creative budgeting to offer competitive salaries to the importance of quality customer service. I also understand the importance of being a good community partner and taking the opportunities to give back by supporting our local Booster Club, our Humane Society, our Veterans, Rotary, and our service organizations.
Although owning and running a business was not my professional background historically, my extensive education and experience in governmental operations spanning almost 28 years, in law enforcement, prepared me very well to step into the role of being your County Commissioner.
I am running for reelection so together; we can keep moving forward and continue to get things done. I insist on being the commissioner who is not a "good ole boy", the one who is not beholding to special interest groups and cannot be bound by lifelong relationships. As your commissioner, I have, and I will continue to approach our collective challenges with solution-based ideas grounded in common sense and long-range vision.
The results of my efforts in office as your County Commissioner speak for themselves. As promised, I made being your commissioner my full-time job, working almost 5,000 hours for the first three years. I delivered the convivence of having Driver's license serve available to you in Archuleta County for the first time in decades through my relationship with the Colorado Department of Revenue, making the DMV2go program a reality. I have been a part of creating more opportunities for citizen-led committees to give locals a greater and active role in government and increased affordable housing options. And there is much more.
I am your commissioner Archuleta County and together we have come a long way! I have proven that I do what I say, and I say what I mean. I have at every turn kept my word, proving that I have the courage and willingness to do things differently than they have always been done to make our county and our community better.
I am counting on your vote, so together; we can work to find a balance between preserve the uniqueness of our wonderful community while guiding change in a way that works for us.