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Year in review: Election results, library district board of trustees and more Garfield County Board of County Commissioners news 

Garfield County Commissioners listen to a public hearing at the Garfield County Administration Building in July.
Taylor Cramer/Post Independent

2024 brought new faces, propositions and procedures to the Garfield County Board of County Commissioners. Longtime commissioners Mike Samson, Tom Jankovsky and John Martin led the county through discussions over the library district board of trustees, event regulations and budgets and passed multiple propositions and resolutions all while Samson campaigned for re-election and Martin prepared to step down after more than two decades of service. Here are some of the top Garfield County Board of County Commissioners stories from this year. 

Samson re-elected, outgoing State Senator Perry Will elected as commissioner 

Two seats were up for election on the three-person county commission in 2024. Incumbent Republican Commissioner Mike Samson and outgoing Republican State Sen. Perry Will won the Garfield County Commission races on Nov. 5, beating out Democrat opponents Steven Arauza and New Castle Town Councilor Caitlin Carey. 



In January 2024, District 2 representative John Martin, who has served as a Garfield County commissioner for 28 years, announced his impending retirement from public office. His seat will be taken by Will, who won with 15,731 (53%) votes compared to Carey’s 13,790 (47%), come 2025.

District 3 incumbent Samson beat challenger Arauza 15,001 (51%) to 14,229 (49%) and will serve alongside Will and Jankovsky during his fifth four-year term beginning January. 



Commissioners pass resolution declaring Garfield County ‘non-sanctuary’

During a March 4 meeting, commissioners passed Resolution 2024-05, declaring Garfield County a “non-sanctuary county for undocumented immigrants.” The resolution, introduced by Commissioner Mike Samson, sought to clarify the county’s status, which had been “misrepresented as a sanctuary county on numerous websites for at least a decade,” according to a Garfield County news release. 

During the March meeting, Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario stated that past state law required the sheriff’s office to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by housing ICE detainees and notifying the agency if they arrested or came in contact with someone they suspected was in the county illegally.

Now, the sheriff’s office cannot detain undocumented immigrants beyond any criminal charges, a change in state law that the resolution states may be the reason for the misidentification of Garfield County as a sanctuary county. 

The resolution states that the county will not open shelters or provide anything beyond emergency services to undocumented immigrants and emphasizes the county’s commitment to prioritizing its citizens. 

State Rep. Elizabeth Velasco released a statement on March 5 condemning the resolution, noting that over 30% of Garfield County residents are Latino.

“The actions of the Garfield County Commissioners are not only disappointing, but put our communities at risk,” Velasco said.

Nonprofit Voces Unidas de las Montañas and advocacy nonprofit Voces Unidas Action Fund released a joint statement on March 4 denouncing commissioners for approving the resolution. Voces Unidas Action Fund also hosted a rally of around 60 people in Glenwood Springs on March 10 and called for participants to vote in the November election.

Commissioners change library district board of trustees appointment process

On March 18, commissioners passed Resolution 2024-12 reclaiming the appointment process of Garfield County Public Library District trustees. 

The change came after a petition calling for restricted access to Manga for adult readers in county libraries was created in 2023 and current library district board trustees declined to remove or relocate library materials. 

The March resolution states that “whenever a vacancy on the board of trustees occurs, due to the expiration of a term of office or otherwise, the board of county commissioners, acting as a committee, shall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy.” 

Previously, the library district board interviewed candidates and made recommendations to commissioners, who then made final appointments. Trustees seeking reappointment were not required to reappear before commissioners and were instead reinstated by the library district. 

Confusion arose during the recent interview process for Glenwood Springs, New Castle, and Carbondale trustees. The library district board of trustees, following its bylaws, independently reappointed trustees Jocelyn Durrance and Susan Use, whose terms were set to expire on Dec. 31, during a public meeting on Nov. 7. 

Commissioners, however, still interviewed candidates for all three positions on Dec. 5, appointing Brit McLin to serve the remainder of former New Castle trustee Crystal Mariscal’s term, which expires Dec. 31, 2025, and Stephanie Pierucci Hirsch to represent Carbondale for a full five-year term, rejecting former trustee Jocelyn Durrance’s request for reappointment. 

Commissioners and the library district are still working to create an intergovernmental agreement solidifying the trustee appointment process. 

Commissioners agree to opt in to state affordable housing fund

Garfield County commissioners voted unanimously to opt in to Proposition 123, the Colorado State Affordable Housing Fund, after community members and 3-Mile Mobile Home Park residents voiced their support for the fund during a work session at the board’s meeting on Oct. 21. 

The session was held less than two weeks from the Nov. 1 deadline for 2025/2026 participation.

Proposition 123, which passed in 2022, allocates a portion of the annual state income tax revenue to fund grants and loans awarded to local developers, nonprofits and governments to support affordable housing projects. Proposition programs include land banking, equity investments and services for people experiencing homelessness.

To access funding, jurisdictions must opt into the program and commit to increasing the baseline amount of affordable housing by 3% a year for two years. All six Garfield County municipalities: New Castle, Rifle, Silt, Parachute, Glenwood Springs and Carbondale, had previously opted in, but could not partner with the county for affordable housing projects using Proposition 123 funds. 

Garfield County must add approximately 41 affordable housing units per year for the next two years, according to the Garfield County Work Session memorandum. Units may be built or converted to affordable status. If the county does not meet the committed number of added units, it will be ineligible for funding in 2027, but can reapply for 2028/2029.


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