Bill to expand commission to 5 fails quickly

Marshall stands by proposal

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A proposal to put a larger number of elected leaders at the helm of large counties in Colorado — and to require at least some of those leaders to represent speci c areas of their counties — met defeat in the State Legislature.

Supported by state Rep. Bob Marshall, a Highlands Ranch Democrat, the bill sought to expand the number of members on a county’s board of commissioners to ve. e bill would have a ected several Front Range counties with large enough populations, including Douglas County, where the board has become known for its bitter con icts and 2-1 votes.

“All I know is we’ve got two people running the whole county,” Marshall said.

In his view, contentious 2-1 splits are “not just a problem for Douglas County — it’s a latent problem for all the large counties,” Marshall said.

Commissioners serve as a county’s elected leaders, somewhat similar to city councils. ey make policy decisions that largely a ect parts of the county that are “unincorporated” — areas that sit outside of municipalities.

In Douglas County, which includes Highlands Ranch and many other came up in discussion in a county meeting in August. Commissioner Abe Laydon has remained opposed.

“ e last thing counties need are more politicians,” Laydon said in a February statement about the state legislature’s bill. “Whether you have three or 30 commissioners, there will still be a majority and a minority vote unless it’s unanimous.” e counties that would have been a ected by the bill include Je erson,

County, but Adams would have been a ected by the bill’s requirement for commissioners to be elected by district, Marshall noted. All ve commissioner seats in Adams are voted on by residents throughout the county — in an “at large” system — rather than voters only casting ballots for the candidates who live in their area.

Ensuring that commissioners are accountable to the people in speci c areas of their county was a key part of the proposal, Marshall said.

“Everyone was saying, ‘Marshall is just trying to get a Democratic commissioner’” elected in Douglas County, Marshall said. But his proposal “doesn’t mean a Republican couldn’t represent Highlands Ranch well.” e Highlands Ranch Metro District provides a limited array of government functions, but many responsibilities fall to the county.

He noted there are conservative areas of Boulder County that may feel “locked out” of decisions without a Republican commissioner.

“It’s just to help political minorities regardless of who they are,” Marshall said.

Representation is an issue particularly in Douglas County because Highlands Ranch makes up roughly 28% of the county’s population, Marshall said.

“When the commissioners are all elected at large, then (Highlands Ranch) really does not have a voice in the county government, which is particularly troublesome” because Highlands Ranch is not a municipality, Marshall said, and relies on the county for many government services.

Bill could return e proposal, state House Bill 231180, was “postponed inde nitely” by a 7-3 vote on March 2 in the House’s State, Civic, Military, and Veterans A airs Committee, stopping the bill from coming to a full vote.

“I think it’s clear that people who had a vested interested in the outcome were more likely to vote against it than people who could bill garnered some support but also saw opposition, according to the vote count.

Marshall said in general that GOP lawmakers “have a very strong ideological view of not letting the state tell local jurisdictions what to do, regardless of what the issue is.”

He noted he’ll likely bring the proposal back in the legislature next year.

“I’m not going to give up,” Marshall said. “I’ll have to just see what the lay of the land looks like in December or January, but yeah, all things being equal, I’ll try again.”

Other counties already have five e bill would have required that all counties with a population of 70,000 or more have ve commissioners, with at least three commissioners elected only by voters who reside in the district from which each commissioner runs for election. e bill would have allowed counties to choose between three election alternatives: an option compared to shopping at local businesses, he began to think of a way to make it more convenient to shop locally online and make it an easy process.

Some Colorado counties already operate with ve commissioners. Under current rules, once a county has more than 70,000 residents, a citizen’s group or the county commissioners can put a question on the ballot asking residents if they wish to add two more.

Of the 12 counties who are eligible through their population size, several have moved to ve commissioners, including Adams, El Paso and Arapahoe counties. Weld County and Pitkin County have moved to ve commissioners as part of their home-rule charters — essentially the counties’ own constitutions.

Denver and Broom eld have city council structures with about a dozen members each.

• ree commissioners from three districts elected by residents in those districts and two commissioners elected at large.

• Four commissioners from four districts elected by residents in those districts and one commissioner elected at large.

• Five commissioners from ve districts elected only by residents in those districts.

For over a year, Evans tried to make di erent apps and played around with websites. rough Harvester, he made a marketplace that allows shoppers to search and browse products directly from local shops.

Harvester launched in February and already has 70,000 stores on the site for shoppers across the U.S.

“All the stores that are currently listed on Harvester are ones that already have kind of an online presence with a website and they have their inventories up already,” said Evans. “I found a way to nd a bunch of local businesses across the U.S. that had websites with all their products and consolidate them all to one site so they can shop directly from that store on.”

With Harvester, online shoppers can freely shop trending local businesses by entering their zip code. ey can also search for an item they are looking for and use the lter to sort by distance, price or relevance. e name Harvester was inspired by a machine that takes place in the process of deforestation, as seen in the Amazon rainforest. e machine is called a harvester.

Shoppers can create an online account with Harvester and follow their favorite businesses.

“ at’s kind of where I got the idea,” said Evans. “Because a lot of local businesses were losing a lot of their businesses to huge online retailers like Amazon. And so I thought, it’s kind of like a tongue in cheek.”

As Harvester includes local businesses with online stores, Evans said he would like for his website to expand to a point where stores that do not have an online presence will join Harvester.

Evans hopes to grow the number of users so he can adjust the app as necessary to make it fun for the users to come back.

“I hope to kind of put the fondness of local shopping in the digital form, kind of make the digital mainstreet of sorts,” said Evans. “I want to make it so any day of the week, you can browse your local stores and shop directly from your phone.”

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Jonathan K Rowlett Financial Advisor 19641 E Parker Square Dr Suite I Parker, CO 80134-7399 303-558-7206

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Interested in becoming a foster parent?

Information nights are open to anyone interested in learning about foster care. Information nights are free and via Zoom on March 20 from 6-7:30 p.m. or register online at Information Night.

Business Personal Property Tax Declarations due by April 15

Business Personal Property Tax Declarations may be filed online at DouglasFilesOnline.org Business owners who own or lease business personal property with a total market value of greater than $52,000 must report the property to the County Assessor. For more information, visit douglas.co.us/assessor

Do you have old electronics around the house collecting dust?

Douglas County residents may dispose of unwanted electronics free of charge at Techno Rescue, 3251 Lewiston St. in Aurora. Drop off weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and occasional Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Proof of residency is required. For a list of acceptable items, Saturday drop-off dates and more, visit douglas.co.us and search for Electronics Recycling.

Need help with rising heat costs?

Rising heating costs may be hard to budget for this year, but help is available to Douglas County residents who are struggling. If you or someone you know needs assistance, apply now through April 30, 2023, for energy assistance through the State of Colorado’s LowIncome Energy Assistance Program (LEAP). For more information, visit douglas.co.us and search LEAP or email LEAPHELP@discovermygoodwill.org

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