FYI ... Larimer County primary election: Where Republican county commissioner candidates for District 3 stand - Coloradoan
Thomas Clayton
Larimer County primary election: Where Republican county commissioner candidates for District 3 stand
Ignacio CalderonLarimer County Republican and unaffiliated voters will choose a Republican candidate for the District 3 Board of County Commissioners seat in the primary election on June 25. The winner will face incumbent Jody Shadduck-McNally in the Nov. 5 general election.
The Republican candidates are Ben "Uncle Benny" Aste and Paul Rennemeyer.
Aste is the business owner of Uncle Benny’s Building Supplies and previously ran for commissioner in 2020. Rennemeyer, also a business owner and president of PMR Enterprises, is Windsor’s former mayor.
Kristin Stephens, the current commissioner for District 2, is also up for reelection but is not contested in the primary.
Here’s where Aste and Rennemeyer stand on some key issues. Their answers below are from questionnaires sent by the Coloradoan.
Candidates’ priorities
“We need to find real solutions to the property tax burden that we all face, specifically for young families starting out and for our senior citizens on fixed incomes,” Rennemeyer said.
Aste agreed affordability is an issue: “We all know our county’s cost of living is too high. As a result, individuals and businesses have left or are planning to leave Larimer County for more affordable environments.”
Beyond rising costs, Aste said his priorities are ensuring county policies are reasonable and sustainable, like making the permitting process to establish a business more efficient.
Uncle Benny's previous location was found to be in violation of several county codes and was required to remove multiple illegal structures. That location in Loveland then closed as the owners worked to get the building in compliance and prepared to move to its Johnston location.
Rennemeyer also talked about efficiency across governments: “We must collectively work with all the municipalities of Larimer County to efficiently support them while they run their local governments while preventing state mandates from interrupting their local government efficiencies,” and added another priority is to support measures to improve safety in communities.
What makes them qualified
Aste said that in the beginning of 2019, he shadowed the county commissioners for a year and a half.
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“It was the longest job interview, but I wanted to learn their roles and genuinely understand all the facets of this important position,” Aste said. “... It’s been my life’s work to serve people through various outreach capacities, and a good elected official is willing and able to engage meaningfully with people every day.”
Rennemeyer said his years in public service as Windsor’s former mayor make him uniquely qualified for the job. During that time, Rennemeyer led efforts to revive the chamber of commerce.
“When I left office last month, the Windsor Chamber now has over 300 new businesses and is thriving to its fullest potential,” Rennemeyer said.
Ozone and air quality
The Denver metro/north Front Range area has been out of compliance with Environmental Protection Agency ozone standards for several years, the Coloradoan previously reported.
Exposure to ozone is associated with “increased asthma attacks, increased hospital admissions, increased daily mortality, and other markers of morbidity,” according to the EPA. Symptoms include coughing, throat irritation, chest pain and shortness of breath.
Aste said air quality isn’t a partisan issue, it affects everybody, and he said to tackle this, the county must identify things it has control over.
“We can’t control wildfires or other contaminants from other parts of the country. But once we identify reasonable measures that we do have control over, we can build consensus around those solutions,” Aste said.
Rennemeyer said the county could offer incentives to repair or replace high-emitting vehicles.
“The county also needs to offer residents incentives to purchase electric lawn and garden equipment so they will stop using two-stroke engines which are large emitters of greenhouse gases,” Rennemeyer said.
Earlier this year, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission approved a regulation to limit the use of certain gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment.
However, the legislation passed only tackles small equipment used by or contracted for federal, state and local government — it doesn’t apply to residents who use gas-powered equipment on private property.
Affordable child care
On Feb. 5, Larimer County announced an enrollment freeze for the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program within the county, citing insufficient funding in a news release at the time.
When the Coloradoan reported on this in late April, the county said it expected the freeze to continue into the next fiscal year.
“We have to make sure our critical programs are sustainable, especially CCAP," Aste said. "Child care is an essential issue with serious implications for working parents and the regional economy.” Aste added that he is committed to finding the best solution for vulnerable families.
Rennemeyer said he is in favor of this program, but it should be funded through more sustainable means.
“Any new programs created by the county should never be funded with temporary grant dollars and should be eliminated if sustainable funding cannot be found,” Rennemeyer said.
Planning for the future
Another issue discussed by candidates was water demand and housing affordability as the population grows.
“There is a direct correlation between housing affordability and the ability to efficiently deliver water resources,” Rennemeyer said. “We must be creative with our building codes, densities and landscape requirements to assure that we efficiently utilize all of our water resources.”
This could include xeriscaping or promoting water-efficient toilets and showers, Rennemeyer said.
Aste supports water storage like what Chimney Hollow and Glade Reservoir will provide as a way to prepare for the future.
“It’s important to learn from history. After the 2013 fires, when the water treatment facility in Fort Collins was clogged and contaminated with ash, we had enough water in Horsetooth Reservoir to meet our needs," Aste said. "If we hadn’t had the proper storage, what would we have done? As our communities continue to grow, more storage is critical.”
Aste also emphasized the limits of natural resources and the importance of conservation.
When can I vote?
Primary election ballots were mailed out the week of June 3 and must be returned by 7 p.m. June 25. If you're registered as a Democrat or Republican, you will only receive your party's ballot. If you are unaffiliated, you will receive both ballots but can only vote in one party's primary.
The ballots for the Nov. 5 general election will be mailed in October.
For more information, check out Larimer County’s website.
 | Tom Clayton Communication and Media Specialist, Public Affairs |
| Commissioners' Office 200 W Oak St, Fort Collins, 80522 | 2nd Floor W: (970) 498-7005 tcla...@larimer.org | www.larimer.org |