The Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners serves as the administrative and policy-making body for Arapahoe County and is made up of elected officials from five districts. The board oversees departments, approves budgets for all departments, hires the management team, administers county services and oversees land-use planning and development within unincorporated Arapahoe County.
Nancy Jackson, a Democrat, is the incumbent in race and has served District 4 — which includes the unincorporated area in north Arapahoe County and portions of the City of Aurora — since 2011. Tory Brown, a longtime Republican party activist in the county, opposes Jackson in his first attempt to run for public office himself after helping to run 28 previous campaigns.
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Vote 2014: Arapahoe County Commission — District 2
By COURTNEY OAKES. Staff Writer
Three of the five members of the Board of Arapahoe County Commissioners are named Nancy and two of them seek re-election.
The commissioner seat in District 2 currently held by Republican Nancy Sharpe and Democrat Nancy Jackson’s District 4 post are part of the 2014 election.
Elected to represent districts divided by population, Commissioners in Arapahoe County oversee offices that employ roughly 1,950 people and set budgets for offices such as the clerk and recorder, assessor, treasurer, coroner and district attorney. The board also hires the management team, administers county services and oversees land-use planning and development within unincorporated Arapahoe County.
Jackson, a longtime Aurora resident, believes the current board of commissioners — which also includes Sharpe, Nancy Doty (District 1), Rod Bockenfeld (District 3) and Bill Holen (District 5), a mix of three Republicans and two Democrats — has done good things together and hopes it remains intact come Election Day.
“The group dynamics are really interesting. We all have different perspectives and different ideas, but by and large we’re all interested in what is best for the citizens,” Jackson said. “Everybody works hard, which hasn’t always been the case with past commissioners, but it is now. … Sometimes I win and sometimes I lose, but then we just go on to the next thing.”
Personally, Jackson — who represents an area she refers to as “middle Aurora” — said she’s been part of a number of successes in her time on the board.
She’s proud of her part in helping the county get a rare tax measure approved to help expand its parks and open space, she’s worked with the criminal justice system and mental health organizations to get better help for the mentally ill and served on the workforce investment board to help give better skills to workers struggling to support families with minimum-wage jobs.
Opposing Jackson is long time Republican party activist Tory Brown, who has decided to run for office for the first time after helping out with an estimated 28 other campaigns since the early 1980s when he was chairman of the Arapahoe County Republican party.
“I decided it was time to run myself instead of holding other people’s coats while they ran,” Brown said. “I have no complaint with how Arapahoe County is being run, but I have the belief it can be run better and more efficiently.”
Brown, a 40-year resident of Arapahoe County, is a retired CPA with 15 years of experience in venture capitalism that he feels gives him a unique ability to help the county attract new companies with new jobs. He’s particularly attuned to the needs of clean businesses and tech companies that could make the county their new home.
In District 2, which includes Centennial, Greenwood Village, a small portion of Aurora and unincorporated central Arapahoe County, Sharpe seeks her second term, while Democrat Martha Karnopp aims to win her first elected office in three tries.
Sharpe — who counts three decades as a resident of the county — also approves of what the board has accomplished during her time and is proud of her recent work to help prevent child abuse and neglect.
“I am running for re-election as Arapahoe County Commissioner because I want to ensure that my district and Arapahoe County continue on the positive track that we have been on for the last four years,” Sharpe said. “I am committed to budgeting conservatively and living within our means so that the future of our county remains bright.”
Sharpe’s three major focuses if she’s re-elected include bringing good jobs to the county, maintaining financial stability and budgeting conservatively and maintaining the outstanding quality of life she feels exists in the county.
“My extensive experience in both local government and the private sector make me the most qualified person to represent District 2,” she said. “I have a proven track record of leadership.”
Karnopp — who has lived in Arapahoe County for 36 years — ran for the District 3 commissioner spot in 2008 and lost narrowly to Bockenfeld. She lives in the same house, but redistricting in the county put her in District 2, where she runs against Sharpe in hopes of being elected to a board that still includes Bockenfeld.
A longtime attorney in Aurora, Karnopp is particularly attuned to the concerns of the needy citizens of the county and plans to address them as much as possible if she’s elected.
“I’d say the No. 1 need for Arapahoe County is affordable housing for purchase,” Karnopp said. “Not having affordable housing prevents people from getting a start in their financial lives. They can’t get into the middle class even.”
“Basically, I care about good government and there are things I’d like to achieve in Arapahoe County,” Karnopp said. “I’m very concerned about the inequality in the country and the entire world. It exists here just as much as anywhere else.”
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[wc_accordion_section title=”Nancy Jackson Bio“]
Nancy Jackson has served in the role of Arapahoe County Commissioner for District 4 – which includes the unincorporated area in north Arapahoe County and portions of the City of Aurora — since 2011, with her term set to expire in January of 2015.
Jackson oversees the Office of Performance Management and the Facilities and Fleet Management department. She represents the County’s interests on a variety of boards 
and committees, including the Capital Improvement Projects committee, Tri-County Health Liaison, Arapahoe County Justice Coordinating committee, Arapahoe County Foundation, Community Services Block Grant committee, Colorado Courthouse Security Commission, Sexual Offender Management Board, Chair, Colorado Counties, Inc. General Government Steering committee and Public Safety and Justice subcommittee and National Association of Counties Behavioral Health sub-committee. Jackson also has taught in various positions at several colleges and community colleges, including five years as an assistant professor at Clemson University and 20 years at the Community College of Aurora. Info — www.jackson4arapahoe.com
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[wc_accordion_section title=”Tory Brown Bio“]
Tory Brown is a longtime Republican party activist and served as the Chairman of the Arapahoe County Republican Party in the early 1980s. He’s helped run 28 political campaigns, but is running for office for the first time himself. Brown, a military veteran and 47-year resident of Aurora, works as a military Santa Claus in Aurora and Colorado Springs. He is a retired CPA and has extensive experience with venture capital.
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[wc_accordion_section title=”Nancy Jackson Finance“]
https://tracer.sos.colorado.gov/PublicSite/SearchPages/CandidateDetail.aspx?SeqID=28697
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[wc_accordion_section title=”Tory Brown Finance“]
https://tracer.sos.colorado.gov/PublicSite/SearchPages/CandidateDetail.aspx?SeqID=28697
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[wc_accordion_section title=”Nancy Jackson Endorsements“]
Harold Anderson, Mayor of Lone Tree
Representative Rhonda Fields, Colorado House District 42
Kevin Hougen, President/ CEO, Aurora Chambers of Commerce
Kenneth C. McKlem, Fraternal Order of Police
Council Member Molly Markert, Aurora City Council Ward IV
Grayson Robinson, retired Arapahoe County Sheriff
Representative Su Ryden, Colorado House of Representatives House District 36
Senator Nancy Todd, Colorado Senate District 28
— As listed on jackson4arapahoe.com/
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[wc_accordion_section title=”Tory Brown Endorsements“]
Coming soon.
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