On Thursday evening, the four 2024 Garfield Board of County Commissioners candidates gathered in Glenwood Springs City Hall for this fall’s Issues and Answers Election Forum.

Sponsored by the Glenwood Springs Chamber Chamber Resort Association, KMTS and the Glenwood Springs Post Independent, the Sept. 26 forum featured candidates up for election in November’s general election.

County Commissioner District Three candidates Steven Arauza-D and Mike Samson-R, incumbent, began the forum’s County Commission section followed by District Two candidates Caitlin Carey-D and Perry Will-R.

Moderator and KMTS News Director Ron Milhorn asked each candidate five questions, which were submitted by the public and a media panel and selected in advance. The questions covered a wide array of topics, including children’s access to adult-themed library books, affordable workforce housing, declining oil and gas revenue, county legal issues with the state, a lack of affordable licensed child care, the Roaring Fork Valley’s mental health crisis, and the Board of County Commissioner’s collaboration with neighboring counties. Each candidate was given 90 seconds to respond.

District Three

“Garfield County has taken steps to collaborate with other entities, such as Habitat for Humanity, to address affordable workforce housing,” Milhorn asked District Three candidates Arauza and Samson. “What more can be done?”

Arauza acknowledged Garfield County’s efforts to secure individual units for Habitat for Humanity developments and the construction of the Wapiti Commons in Rifle.

“The current Board of County Commissioners has also repeatedly taken a stand against the concept of affordable housing, or subsidized housing, in favor of what candidate Waller refers to as the free market,” Arauza said. “But as I mentioned, that left Garfield County in a position now where we have been declared to be the worst county for people trying to buy a house in the entire country.”

He added that he plans to accept money from Proposition 123, or the “Make Colorado Affordable Initiative”; expand inclusionary zoning laws down the Interstate 70 corridor; and use the money to support the development of affordable and attainable housing. He added that Garfield County should join the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition, which works to ensure equal access to affordable housing, and collaborate with Pitkin County.

Candidate Samson, who has served as the District Three Garfield County Commissioner for 16 years, listed 10 actions the board has already taken to address the lack of affordable workplace housing, including contributing $100,000 per year to housing authority, making ADUs up to 1,200 square feet a Use by Right and reducing the minimum lot size for deed-restricted workforce units.

“So please don’t listen to that ‘We’re not doing anything.’ Housing is important. It really is. We’re trying to do some things, and we have done some things to help,” he said. “The source of (Arauza) saying it’s the worst place, I would consider the source of where that’s coming from. I don’t believe that.”

Milhorn later asked the District Three candidates to share how they plan to replace Garfield County’s declining oil and gas revenues.

Samson made clear that he’s pro-oil and gas, stating that when he first became a commissioner, the Board built $135 million in reserves because of oil and gas revenues.

“I would love to see oil and gas come back to this county because that is what paid the bills,” he said, adding that the county needs to invest in diverse income streams, such as the expansion of the Garfield County Airport in Rifle.

Arauza emphasized his position as an environmental protection specialist who has worked in the oil field for more than 12 years, adding that oil and gas revenues are controlled by the changing market.

“That’s something that our leadership should be able to anticipate,” he said. “(They) should prioritize diversification of our economy for the sake of the folks in the oil fields who are getting laid off every eight to 10 years.”

He added that the county should expand into renewable projects as well as manufacturing.

Before giving their closing statements, Arauza and Samson shared their thoughts on the valley’s mental health crisis.

“We got Rifle and Glenwood and the hospitals and those communities to come together, and we built that mental health facility that’s out there, and it’s great,” Samson said. “If you haven’t been there, go look — it’s great. That is a perfect example of people working together.”

Arauza stated that he believes the mental health crisis is largely due to economic distress and limited access down valley. He later added that significant mental health issues are also prevalent in Garfield County’s migrant, new arrival and LGBTQ communities.

“We shouldn’t be making things more difficult for our marginalized communities,” he said. “We shouldn’t be openly courting the involvement of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement when it has the potential to break up homes within our communities. This is not helping with the mental health crisis. This is contributing to the problem in Garfield County.”

District Two

District Two candidates Carey, a New Castle Town Councilor, and Will — a current member of the Colorado State Senate District Five — stepped up to the mics shortly before 8 p.m.

Carey and Will briefly introduced themselves before addressing the county’s legal role in children’s accessibility to adult-themed books and literature in libraries.

“I’m not for banning books. I am for protecting children, and age-appropriate material needs to be put on the higher shelf,” Will said. “I’ve checked into this. I’ve seen the controversy here in the county, so I know a little bit about it. I’m not as in tune to it as Commissioner Samson because he’s dealt with it, but I’ve checked into this. I mean, heck, go to the movies. Movies are rated. I don’t see much difference there.”

Carey agreed, stating that she would like her 12-year-old son to only have access to age-appropriate materials. However, she stated that she disagreed with the way Samson handled the situation.

“When you call something that someone else may enjoy reading “filth,” then you are passing judgment on someone that you know nothing about,” she said. “And I do not agree with that.”

She added that the Board of County Commissioners “took autonomy out of the hands of someplace they had already given that autonomy” when they changed the library board appointment process in 2024.

“I find that to be tremendously problematic,” she said. “In my mind, that’s additional government, and that is not what we need.”

Milhorn later asked the District Two candidates how the county can address the lack of affordable, accessible and reliable licensed child care.

Carey referenced her own struggle with finding child care, stating that the county needs a new perspective and fresh ideas.

“As a parent, we need to come up with ways. Work with our employers, work with municipalities, find the right buildings to put child care centers in and help them get licensed,” she said. “This is something we can address in a meaningful way if we begin to do things collaboratively, which means we have to come to the table.”

Will stated that he tried to establish a child care facility for employees at the Division of Wildlife while he was a state wildlife officer.

“I think the businesses and employers can actually help along with this on child care,” he said. “We ran lots of bills down at the legislature on early childhood development, all that kind of thing with Governor Polis on this. But it is, it’s tough, and I know it’s tough on families.”

The District Two candidates discussed how the county can work collaboratively with neighboring communities before ending the forum with their closing statements.

Will emphasized his intent to collaborate with other counties in the valley and stated that he knows the county commissioners in Eagle, Gunnison, Delta, Montrose, and Hinsdale counties.

“I’ve also talked to the most closest ones, Eagle and Pitkin County,” he added. “So I’m a little bit ahead of the curve on that. I’ve already talked to them about some of those collaborative efforts.”

“I would not say that he’s necessarily ahead of the curve,” Carey replied. “I announced in May of 2023 for a reason — I’ve been having conversations up and down this valley for about 18 months, even before then, about how we work together. Because the number one thing I heard from organization after organization, after municipal leader, after county commissioner, is that Garfield County needs to be better collaboratively. I do that all day, every day at work.”

“You, the people of Garfield County, deserve someone who will build the database herself if no one else is going to be able to build it,” she continued. “You, the people of Garfield County, you have my phone number. It’s been on the website forever. We need to work together in order to come up with real solutions to our issues. I have been doing that for years, and I plan to continue doing that because it takes humility, it takes listening, it takes working alongside other people, doing the hard work, having the hard conversations and asking the really hard questions.”

The fall 2024 election forum ended around 8:20 p.m. on Thursday, after more than two hours of issues and answers with Colorado Senate District Five, Colorado House District 57 and the Board of County Commissioners districts two and three candidates.