A vibrant community is more than a collection of homes, roads, and businesses. It’s a place where people can build stable lives, find meaningful opportunities, remain connected through every stage of life and get support before a challenge becomes a crisis.

Douglas County has tremendous strengths: beautiful parks and open spaces, successful local businesses, strong community institutions, and residents who care deeply about the places they call home.

County government should build on those strengths. It should connect people with resources, support effective partnerships and help close gaps that no family, employer, nonprofit or municipality can solve alone.

An economy where people can thrive

Douglas County’s quality of life depends on the people who teach our children, care for patients and older adults, respond to emergencies, build and maintain our communities, staff local businesses and provide the services families rely on every day.

A strong economy is not measured only by new development, business recruitment, or rising property values. It should also be measured by whether people can find stable work, build skills, support their families, and afford to remain in the community they serve.

County government cannot set every wage or control every workplace. But it can influence the local economy through contracting, workforce partnerships, economic-development priorities, land-use decisions, and the services that help people participate fully in the workforce.

As commissioner, I will support:

• Workforce-development programs connected to real local job opportunities

• Registered apprenticeships and career pathways into skilled trades

• Partnerships among employers, schools, community colleges, labor organizations and training providers

• Fair and transparent standards for county contractors

• Safe workplaces and properly trained workers on publicly funded projects

• Small businesses that create good local jobs and invest in their employees

• Economic-development investments that produce lasting benefits for Douglas County residents

• Housing, childcare, and transportation strategies that help employers recruit and retain workers

Workers should have the freedom to organize, advocate for safer conditions, and negotiate collectively without retaliation. Strong worker voices can improve safety, reduce turnover, and help build a more stable middle class. County government should respect those rights and ensure public dollars do not reward companies that cut corners at the expense of workers or taxpayers.

The people who keep Douglas County running deserve more than our appreciation. They deserve the opportunity to build a stable life here.

Childcare is infrastructure

Reliable childcare is essential for children and families. It is also one of the foundations of a functioning workforce. The cost of childcare for children under age 5 in Colorado can be as high as $2,000 a month, and there are not enough available slots for families in need of quality care. There is a childcare crisis in Colorado, and Douglas County is not immune.

When parents cannot find affordable, dependable care, they may be forced to reduce their hours, turn down opportunities, leave school, or step away from the workforce altogether. Employers feel the consequences in the form of vacancies, absenteeism, and turnover. This affects employees in your doctor’s office, your grocery store, and your first responders.

Douglas County should treat childcare as part of its economic and community infrastructure.

That does not mean creating one county-run system or telling parents what kind of care to choose. It means working with families, providers, employers, schools, and community organizations to expand access while preserving choice.

I will support efforts to:

• Identify childcare deserts in communities and schedules, like those of shift workers, where childcare is hardest to find

• Reduce unnecessary barriers to entry for quality providers, including friends, families, and neighbors

• Strengthen recruitment and retention of early-childhood educators

• Explore employer-supported and public-private partnerships

• Connect families with available programs and financial assistance

• Support a mixed-delivery system that includes centers, family childcare homes, schools, and community-based providers

• Establish a task force to identify pathways for public childcare funding

Childcare policy should recognize the needs of children, parents, employers, and the professionals who provide care.

Support children and young people before they reach a crisis

Douglas County residents have repeatedly identified mental and behavioral health as a major community concern. In the county’s 2023 Citizen Survey, voters ranked better mental health programs among their top priorities, and the county’s broader Community Health Survey identified behavioral health as one of Douglas County’s three most pressing public health needs.

Young people need safe places, trusted adults, and access to support when they are struggling. Families should not have to wait until a child is in crisis to find behavioral health care. Schools, healthcare providers, first responders, nonprofits, and county agencies should work together to improve prevention, early identification, and access to appropriate services.

Douglas County’s Community Response Team program pairs mental-health professionals with law-enforcement officers to help people in crisis avoid unnecessary emergency-room visits or incarceration and connect with appropriate care. The county reports that five teams are operating in 2026, while two teams intended to focus primarily on young people and to serve in schools still need to be filled. The county’s adopted 2026 budget also added no new full-time positions.

The county has supported valuable behavioral-health partnerships and programs, and those efforts deserve recognition. But partnerships and temporary funding should complement—not replace—stable staffing and lasting community capacity.

It is not enough to issue Mental Health Awareness Month proclamations while youth-focused response teams remain unfilled. Our budget should reflect the priorities county leaders publicly claim to support.

I will support sustained investment and stronger coordination around:

• Youth mental health prevention and early intervention

• Fully staffed community response capacity

• Suicide prevention

• Substance use education and treatment

• Bullying prevention and inclusive communities

• Family navigation and referral services

• Recreation, mentoring, and after-school opportunities

Mental health support should not depend on whether temporary funding is available in a particular year. If Douglas County says prevention and early intervention are priorities, our staffing and budget choices should reflect that commitment.

Helping young people feel safe, supported and connected strengthens the entire community.

Make human services easier to navigate

County human-services programs often serve residents during some of the hardest moments of their lives: job loss, housing instability, illness, disability, food insecurity, or family crisis.

People seeking help should not have to navigate a maze of agencies, websites, and eligibility rules without clear guidance.

Douglas County already works with community partners to coordinate resources for residents facing challenges involving food, shelter, childcare, healthcare, and other essential needs. That collaborative approach should be strengthened and made easier for the public to navigate.

I will support:

• Clearer and more accessible information, ideally, a universal portal or platform to access services

• Better coordination among county departments and community organizations

• Stronger referral and follow-up systems

• Language access and disability accommodations

• Outreach to rural and underserved communities

• Respectful, trauma-informed service delivery

Government should meet people with dignity, not judgment.

Help older adults remain independent and connected

Many older residents want to remain in the homes and communities they know. Doing so often depends on more than housing. It may require transportation, caregiver support, access to healthcare, social connection, and reliable information about available services.

I will support stronger coordination among county agencies, municipalities, healthcare providers, nonprofits, and community groups to help older adults remain active and independent.

Priorities should include:

• Transportation and mobility options

• Support for family caregivers

• Connections to meals, health, and social services

• Housing choices that reflect changing needs

• Opportunities for recreation, volunteering, and community participation

• Protection from fraud, abuse, and exploitation

Older residents should not become isolated simply because they can no longer drive or because their needs have changed.

Invest in places where people belong

Parks, trails, libraries, recreation, arts, and cultural programs are not extras. They are the connective tissue of our communities. Shared spaces give children room to play, help residents stay active and create opportunities for neighbors to know one another.

As Douglas County grows, we should continue to protect and improve the places that bring people together while ensuring they remain accessible to residents of all ages, abilities, and communities.

That includes:

• Parks and trails

• Open space

• Recreation opportunities

• Cultural and historic resources

• Community gathering places

• Partnerships with libraries, schools, and local organizations

A thriving county should offer more than a place to sleep and commute from. It should offer a genuine sense of belonging.

Strengthen the organizations already serving our communities

Douglas County is home to nonprofits, faith communities, service clubs, healthcare organizations, and volunteer groups doing essential work. My career in the nonprofit sector tells me that often times, these organizations have more impact outside of government. And so county government should not duplicate what those organizations already do well, but it should be a reliable partner that helps coordinate resources, identify gaps and expand proven solutions.

I will support partnerships that are transparent, accountable, and focused on measurable community benefit.

That means asking:

• Does the program meet a demonstrated need?

• Is it accessible to the people it is intended to serve?

• Are county resources being used effectively?

• Are organizations coordinating rather than duplicating services?

• How will we know whether the investment is working?

Strong partnerships can stretch public dollars and connect residents with trusted organizations already rooted in their communities.

My commitments

As Douglas County Commissioner, I will work to:

• Expand workforce training, apprenticeships, and career pathways

• Strengthen partnerships among employers, schools, labor, and community organizations

• Support fair and transparent standards for county contractors

• Respect workers’ freedom to organize and advocate for safer workplaces

• Connect economic development investments to good local jobs

• Address housing, childcare, and transportation as workforce issues

• Expand practical childcare and early-learning partnerships

• Restore and sustain youth-focused community-response capacity

• Improve access to youth mental health and prevention services

• Make human services easier to understand and navigate

• Strengthen support for older adults and family caregivers

• Invest in parks, trails, recreation, and community gathering spaces

• Direct public resources toward programs that demonstrate real community value

Thriving communities do not happen by accident

Communities thrive when people can find meaningful work, build skills, support their families, remain connected through every stage of life, and ask for help without shame.

County government cannot create belonging or opportunity on its own. But it can remove barriers, strengthen partnerships, invest responsibly, and make sure residents are not left to navigate difficult challenges alone.

My goal is a Douglas County where people do more than live.

They belong, contribute, and thrive.