The split room at Fire Station #2 on Crow Hill was full Tuesday night as six commissioner candidates answered questions from concerned voters. The meeting ran a half hour longer than planned, though managed tightly by Democratic Party Chair Soren Frederiksen. Candidates for District 1 included incumbent John Tighe, Independent Lora Abcarian, and Republican Write-in candidate Christopher Hopkins. For District 2, Democrat Lynda James, Republican Dick Hodges and Constitution Party candidate Zdenko Novkovic were present. The candidate for District 3 did not attend. State Senate District 4 Republican candidate Mark Scheffel made the trip to Bailey as he often does for local political events.

Scheffel spoke briefly at the end of the meeting and stayed late for individual questions one-on-one. He said that Park County is very important and that is why he travels here so frequently. He wants to see taxes kept under control in the state. Scheffel said, diplomatically, that he looks forward to working with the Park County commissioners, whoever wins. State Senate District 4 Republican Candidate Mark Scheffel waits to speak at Tuesday's Park County candidate event.

In opening speeches, the local commissioner candidates introduced themselves and told the audience about their backgrounds and intentions for the office.

John Tighe (R-District 1 incumbent) thanked the audience and his wife and spoke of his history in the county and first term as commissioner. He said that he was proud to have won the local paper's People's Choice award in his second year. He attempted to explain what a commissioner does but struggled with remembering the three points. He has lived in Park County for 13 years. He believes he is a strong advocate for property rights and one of his best qualifications is that he will listen to the people as he has done in the past.

Dick Hodges (R-District 2 candidate) said he was grateful to see the crowd in attendance. He said that, although he hasn't been in Park County very long, he loved the area and thought his experience in helping turn around struggling churches would serve him well as commissioner. He explained his many hours dedicated to getting up to speed and learning the government process. Hodges noted that roads all over the state were in poor shape and other areas were challenged with the same shortages that are found in our county. He does not favor a User Tax.

Christopher Hopkins (R-District 1 write-in candidate) thanked the audience for taking time from their lives to be involved in the election process. He explained that he is a write-in candidate, which means that voters would need to write in his name on the ballot in the blank line provided. (His name will not be printed on the ballot but he is an official candidate.) Hopkins has a Georgia ranching background. He relates that his education and work experience include training in finance, accounting and tax as well as criminology. He said that he has also studied international terrorism and spent time in legal research. His work background includes management in companies with multi-million dollar budgets and large staffs. He holds a B.S. degree in Accounting and another in Criminology from the University of South Florida. He emphasizes that the county has to stop the expensive policy of allowing take-home vehicles for elected officials and employees and bring back competitive bidding to save taxpayers money. "My opponents will speak of platitudes while I speak of action," Hopkins said in closing.

Lora Abcarian (U-District 1 candidate) spoke next and thanked everyone for coming. She stressed that the people in Park County will make the most important decision of the last four years when they vote in 36 days. She noted that voters have an important advantage this year as all candidates have websites where they present their qualifications for voters to review. There are two issues she feels are critical. "We need to put the 'Public' back in Public Service," Abcarian said. She feels that the government is shutting people out of the information and the process. She also feels that the government should not be run like a business. She said that we have a prime example of problems when government tries to be in business and that example is the jail.

Zdenko Novkovic (ACP-District 2 candidate) was very brief and told the audience that he has lived in Park County since 1998 and he is a Civil Engineer. "Z", as he is nicknamed, is also a rookie firefighter with the Platte Canyon Fire Dept. and a part-time instructor at Front Range Community College. He would like to streamline government, bring additional positive growth to the county and improve education.

Lynda James (D-District 2 candidate) explained that voters can vote for commissioners in all three of the districts in the county regardless of which district they live in. James served as a commissioner after a recall in 1998 and held office for 3 years. "It's the most wonderful job in the world," James said. She does not think it is a 'Thankless' job as it has sometimes been described, "if you really are committed to representing the people." James said that she has been involved in the county for 15 years and also has experience working with water quality and quantity issues. She said that a big problem in the county involved the millions of dollars in budget increases that were just put in the bank ($12 million last year) instead of used to provide services to the public. "Road and Bridge is literally crippled right now," she said, and there is money to help it but it isn't being used. James explained that, in 2007, the R&B fund received $700,000 more in revenues than anticipated * but it wasn't used for public service. In the 70s and 80s, she said, there were close to 70 people working for Road and Bridge. Today there are only 45. Part of the problem in that department is also training because the experienced people have retired. James believes that the budget needs to be re-examined line item by line item to improve efficiency.