Garfield county commissioner candidate Mike Samson is leading by a little over 600 votes for the District 3 seat, according to unofficial results from the Garfield County Clerk and Recorder as of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. 

Two seats are up for election on the three-person county commission this year. For District 3, Incumbent Republican Samson is facing Democratic challenger Steven Arauza.

Arauza is a geologist and career public servant with over 11 years of experience in oil and gas regulation and an officer and member of the state’s employee union, Colorado WINS. Arauza, who announced his candidacy last fall, also represents the Western Slope on the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) Environmental Justice Advisory Board. 

Arauza’s platform focuses on improving access to healthcare, childcare and mental health care and promoting programs that assist Garfield County residents establish financial security and home ownership. 

“I’m really proud of the campaign that we’ve been able to put together. We’ve had over 600 small donors, dozens of folks volunteering on my behalf, and just an incredible team,” Arauza said when asked how he was feeling about the unofficial election results on Tuesday night. “More importantly to me, it’s been a really wonderful experience over the past year, just getting to know more folks in the community and building this effort from the ground up. I’m really proud of running a grassroots campaign that’s been so competitive.”

Samson was first elected to the Garfield Board of County Commissioners in 2008, after 25 years spent teaching and coaching in the Garfield RE-2 School District. He has served for 16 consecutive years. 

Samson’s platform focuses on cutting unnecessary government spending and protecting Garfield County’s multi-year financial reserve, increasing attainable housing options without “heavy handed” regulations and supporting the oil and gas industry to foster energy independence. 

“If I’m re-elected, instead of elected, I’d keep doing what I’m doing,” Samson said when asked what his job description as county commissioner would be during a debate at the Ute Theater in Rifle on Oct. 3. “I think I’ve been doing a good job.”

Samson currently leads by 616 votes: 13,310 to Arauza’s 12,694 with votes from 70% of the county’s active voters.