Boulder County Commissioner, District 2

Maureen Denig–Republican

Soccer mom stats: A relatively new resident of Boulder County, Denig moved from Massachusetts four years ago. She quickly became the president of her HOA, an active Rotarian, a member of the Longmont Senior Citizens Advisory Board and a member of the Shining Mountains Club. In Massachusetts, she was a town selectman and served three terms as a board member of the Middlesex Regional School District. She owns a travel agency.

Platform: Denig is a small government advocate who believes Boulder County is too intrusive into the lives of its residents, particularly in the area of land use. She opposes Longmont’s attempt to ban fracking, believing regulation lies with the state. She believes the county should do a better job maintaining its open space and she believes the county needs to have a better diversity of voices.

Deb Gardner–Democrat

debgardner.net

Moving on up: Gardner left a seat in a safe house district to join the Boulder County Board of Commissioners, a job that she calls “much more intense” because of the level of intimacy it requires. She’s talking not only of acting as the CEO of a multi-billion dollar agency with responsibilities from land use to energy policy, but also because her decisions affect people in her neighborhood. “People trust me because they know me,” she said.

Biggest misconception: The Land Use department has a reputation of being less than customer friendly, but Gardner says it’s improving. She says she’s willing to listen to complaints and continue working toward improvements.

Biggest priorities: Closing the achievement gap, investing in education and encouraging diversity in leadership roles in the county.

YS Endorsement: Deb Gardner

While Maureen Denig’s admirable history of community service speaks well of her, Deb Gardner has a real grasp on the office of Boulder County Commissioner and a style of governance that respects its complexity and importance. That she left a sexier political post to toil with more grassroots issues speaks to her dedication to the county she calls home and recommends her for her first full term.