Meet The Candidates: County Commissioner District 3

BOULDER COUNTY, CO -- The Boulder Board of County Commissioners is about to get one fresh face. Current District 3 representative, Cindy Domenico, is term-limited, and voters in Gunbarrel, Niwot, Erie, Lafayette, Louisville, Superior, and eastern portions of Boulder will have a chance this November to help decide who will fill that empty seat. Read on for a profile of each of the major candidates, and learn about the issues that they will focus on if elected.

(Wondering which district you belong to? Check out the county map here.)

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Gary Cooper (Republican)

Cooper is 71 years old and has been a Boulder County resident for 5 of those years. Professionally, he has worked as a realtor, developer and entrepreneur, and has been active in many local political organizations, including serving as the director of the Broomfield Chamber of Commerce.

Cooper believes that Boulder residents need greater access to the county commissioners' office, and that the commissioners themselves need to take a hard look at ballooning budgets. He believes that the process of spending in the area needs a complete re-evaluation.

Cliff Willmeng (Green)
The 48-year-old has been in the county for 9 years, is a registered nurse by profession, and has a background in community organization and political activism. He is the co-founder of East Boulder County United and the Colorado Community Rights Network.
Willmeng wants to put the focus on affordable housing. He proposes a three-pronged approach of building more and better public housing, increasing options for public transit and rail, and working on union organization for the county's workforce.
Willmeng would like to see the county form its own bank in order to divest from for-profit financial institutions. He says the money saved could be funneled into education, transportation, regenerative agriculture, renewable energy and transition programs for oil and gas workers. He would like to see Boulder County switch to a home rule political system, in order to give residents a direct voice for progressive change.

Matt Jones (Democrat)

The 63-year-old and 19-year county resident got his start in state-level politics as a state representative from 1987 to 1993. Most recently he worked from 2013 to 2018 as a state senator, serving as the deputy minority leader for Conservation, Clean Energy and Climate Change.

Jones is unequivocal that his top priority would be to fight fracking in the county. He believes the county needs to be powered by 100 percent renewable energy as soon as possible and to focus on affordable (and, in his words, "attainable") housing. He also wants to push to see the long-promised Northwest rail line arrive in Boulder County.

Jones believes that the flood recovery efforts aren't over yet, and wants to ensure the Boulder area gets the federal and state dollars for reconstruction and rebuilding that it deserves.

The Longmont Times-Call has full profiles of all three candidates in its election guide here.

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