Perry Will is the Republican candidate for Garfield County Commissioner, District 2. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Sopris Sun: Why are you running for John Martin’s seat on the Garfield County Board of County Commissioners?
Perry Will: I always wanted to be a county commissioner from the time I was with the [Colorado Parks and Wildlife] for 43 years. I’d always wanted to serve as commissioner, but I would never challenge John, right?
Then, the opportunity to serve as a state representative came up … so I served House District 57. Loved it. I love every aspect of it. I love the people there, the relationships I’ve built. I love policy making. But, I hate living over there.
As you well know, it’s an urban-dominated legislature. Seventy-five percent of the population of this state lives within 25 miles of I-25, and that’s where the representation is. And I can tell you, as a West Slope person, we get regulation without representation. We truly do. But, they go home at night. They go back to their families. They sleep in their own bed. Us rural legislators, we’re over there in some apartment with a bed, a shower and a TV, maybe. So the living situation is really difficult.
The good Lord pointed me to the House district. The good Lord pointed me to the Senate district. And when John stepped down, I just felt like I get to come home. I love representing everyone in Senate District 5, but I would truly love representing my constituents in Garfield County because this is my home.
I truly feel I can help Garfield County, especially outside the boundaries of the county because of my experience there. I know who to call.
What would you say have been the current board’s two best decisions in the past four years and how were the decisions in the best interest of Garfield County?
PW: I think the county commissioners have done a good job. I think their fiscal responsibility has been the number one thing. And the county’s not growing government. I like that. They’ve done a really good job working with the public land agencies.
From an old wildlife standpoint, I didn’t necessarily agree with them on sage grouse and stuff, but they eventually arrived at a good spot. I think that’s where we get together. We sit at a table, we talk it out, we figure things out. I will tell you that there will not be, and there’s never been, a commissioner in that seat that’s more of an advocate for wildlife than I’ll be. I will have a different perspective on that.
How do we in Garfield County balance economic development with environmental protection?
PW: I’m a strong advocate for conservation, like Aspen Valley Land Trust. That’s what we need to be doing, but at the same time, we can also develop some parcels and make them work. I’m against using any public land for housing development. I don’t care if it’s the worst piece of BLM land in the county, we’re not building affordable housing on it.
What were the two decisions in the past four years that you would say were not in the interest of the county?
PW: I didn’t like that Uinta Basin Railway stuff. I was against that from an environmental standpoint, one hundred percent. That was one that I would have been on opposite ends with them. I’m not gonna bring up the library.
Is that a decision you disagreed with?
PW: I did not disagree with them. I think about it a little differently, but, no, I didn’t disagree with them. I’m not for book banning whatsoever. I’m about protecting kids, and I think there’s age-appropriate material. I don’t disagree with what they’ve done there at all. Could it have been done better? Probably, yes.
But it is their responsibility for fulfilling their duties and that’s for appointing people too.
I don’t want to get into the whole library thing; that’s a huge issue. I think it got blown way out of proportion, in my opinion. I think age-appropriate material, that’s what we’re talking about.
How do you approach working with someone whose political views differ from yours?
PW: I respect everyone’s opinion. I listen to everyone. And I’ve had my mind changed by people that have a 180-degree different view than me in politics.
I get along with everybody and I like everybody.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
PW: It would be a great honor and a privilege to serve the great people of Garfield County. That’s what I really want to do. I have a servant’s heart, and I feel it’s a duty. Look, I can go ride my horse through the hills, through the ‘quakies and the golden colors of fall — if that’s what the people choose, if they don’t want me representing them. It doesn’t define me.
I can listen to anyone, and I want to hear from them, because I serve them. I don’t serve me, I serve them. And there’s lots of differing opinions. I understand that. It’s like, what does the majority of the people I represent really want here?
And I’m going to tell you something else. I’ve seen it at the legislature. People get there and they think, well, the Republicans voted me in, so I’m representing Republicans. Or the Democrats voted me in and I’m representing Democrats. And I tell every one of them, you represent Independents, Democrats, Republicans. You now represent everyone in that district.
I’ll vote my conscience, my constituents, and maybe the caucus. That’s how I roll.