1 week Ago
As they end their first term and go for another, Teller County commissioners Dan Williams and Erik Stone are focused on ensuring their constituents that the election is safe and secure. Along with other county officials, the two released a statement outlining updated safety measures. The statement is a result of the continued focus on the election process nationally, including Teller County, since the 2020 election.
“We took $300,000 from our budget for a new software system for this election,” Stone said recently. “It drives me insane when people say they gotta have paper ballots. If you don’t trust what’s coming in the mail, you can vote in person.
” However, over the past four years, both men have been laser-focused on maintaining local control, a reaction to their opposition to several policies of the state legislature. Williams and Stone are running unopposed, as is incumbent County Treasurer Krystal Brown. In response to escalating property values in Teller County, some increasing by 100%, Stone drafted the bill SB23-108 that allows local officials to reduce property taxes.
The bill, introduced in the state Senate by Mark Baisley, was the only bipartisan measure on property taxes in the 2023 legislative session. “In conversations with our assessor, we knew we were looking at historic hikes in property-tax values,” Stone said in January. The bill added a collective $500,000 of funds given back to Teller County property owners.
Stone represents the county as a member of the transportation advisory committee for the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments. Stone recently joined the board of the Teller Senior Coalition to advocate for the county’s senior population. The coalition provides transportation for senior citizens, services funded in part by PPACG.
“We have made tremendous strides in improving our employee pay and benefits to become more competitive; the sheriff’s office is now at 100% staffing, and we are entering the winter with the strongest complement of road and bridge staff in years,” Stone said in a statement. “From new parks and fairgrounds improvements to getting the county out of renting commercial space, open the Divide area for more housing and complete the expansion of our wastewater treatment plant, the next four years should set the stage for the coming decades in Teller County.” Williams represents Teller County on the public lands committee for the National Association of Counties and serves on the Colorado Wildlife Council.
A combat veteran who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, Williams is the commander of the Eric V. Dickson American Legion Post 1980. Along with Stone and Commission Chair Bob Campbell, Williams made several trips to Denver to successfully fight for local control on reducing property taxes.
“We have veterans and the elderly population who may potentially have to make decisions about food, medical or the cost of a home,” he said in January. Williams reacted when Colorado Republican chair Dave Williams publicly slammed gay pride parades in the state: “Burn all the #Pride Flags this June,” and “God Hates Pride.” Outraged, Dan Williams spoke out during a commissioners’ meeting in June.
“He is not my chair; he is a rogue,” Dan Williams said. “We will not burn flags in Teller County; that’s not who we are.” Commenting on his campaign, Williams released a statement: “I am looking forward to continuing to fight for the preservation of our rural lifestyle and rural Colorado in general.
We need to continue to inform and educate the Front Range and bring all of Colorado back together again,” he said. “There are 64 unique and special counties in Colorado and a ‘one-size-fitsall’ approach never works. We need to continue to foster mutual respect and understanding from the capitol down to our cities.
I am proud to continue leading that effort.” On the state ballot, Stone is concerned about Proposition 131 that proposes ranked choice voting. “In democratic institutions, the person with the most votes wins,” Stone said.
“This measure changes all that.” Stone said he considers the proposition dangerous and a threat to democracy. Meanwhile, Dan Williams has expressed his opposition to Proposition 127, which would ban the hunting of mountain lions, bobcats and lynx in Colorado.
Williams, a member of the Colorado Wildlife Council, recently gauged attitudes at a recent meeting of Colorado Parks & Wildlife. “It was well-attended and there are a lot of angry people about Proposition 127,” he said. “The proposition was brought to Colorado by a group from Maryland.
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