By BRANDON JOHANSSON, Staff Writer
The Adams County Board of County Commissioners is in for a growth spurt.
Geographically, Adams County Commissioner District 5 is a big one. And for Aurora voters, it holds big importance. The district is the only of the county’s five that includes Aurora, and in this election, Democrat Wilma Rose is running against Republican Jan Pawlowski. County voters in 2012 upped the number of commissioners from three to five and decided each commissioner will be elected by the county as a whole, not just members of their districts. Commissioners have to live in the district they represent. District 5 includes not only Aurora, but the entire eastern edge of the county as well as the northern reaches of Thornton.
County voters this fall will add two new commissioners to the board after voters in 2012 opted to bump the number from three commissioners to five. Every county voter gets to vote in each of the three races up for grabs this year, regardless of what district they live in. Candidates, however, have to live in the district they represent.
While Aurora voters can cast a ballot in all three of the races, the one that deserves most of Aurora’s attention is District 5. Geographically, the district is large, covering Aurora, Brighton and the entire eastern edge of the county.
Democrat Wilma Rose is running against Republican Jan Pawlowski for the seat.
In District 4, which includes the southwest corner of Adams County, Democrat Steve O’Dorisio is running against Republican Joseph Domenico.
The winners in districts 4 and 5 will be the first to ever hold those seats.
The other district being contested this year is District 3, where incumbent Republican Erik Hansen is running against Democrat Manuel Solano. The district includes much of the northwest corner of the county, including parts of Westminster and Thornton.
In recent years, the relationship between Adams County and Aurora has been strained at times. A spat over how many inmates from municipal court the county jail would expect boiled over into a lawsuit filed against the county by Aurora and several other municipalities last year. While the two sides worked out a deal this year that put the lawsuit on hold, some Aurora inmates are still being turned away.
Aurora officials were also upset in 2011 when county leaders considered closing the lone Department of Motor Vehicles office on the Aurora side of the county. While commissioners backed off that plan after Aurora lawmakers criticized it, city officials said it was an example of the county often ignoring the needs of its Aurora residents. In the District 5 race, Pawlowski said she thinks her experience as mayor of Brighton makes her particularly well suited to mend any rifts between the county and the local municipalities.
“I think I have that collaborative ability,” she said.
During her eight years as mayor of Brighton, the city more than doubled in size to 32,000 people, and Pawlowski said that experience positions her well to deal with the challenges of a rapidly growing county.
Pawlowski said she also brings something to the board that it hasn’t had in recent years — being a Republican.
“We need to have better balance and maybe we can have better government,” she said.
Rose, who served on Brighton city council, said she also brings a city councilor’s perspective to the board.
“Having been in a municipal government, I know that the communication between the county and cities wasn’t always great,” she said.
Rose said a key to the future for the county is improving that communication between cities like Aurora and county officials.
In District 4, O’Dorisio said the county has done a better job of reaching out to Aurora residents in recent years, and that needs to continue.
“When it comes to the relationship with the people that live in the neighborhoods, I think being visible and engaging with the people is the first thing we need to do,” he said.
Especially when it comes to issues surrounding crowding at the jail, O’Dorisio, a former Adams County prosecutor, said he is well-suited to tackle the problem. He said there need to be efforts to not only add staff to the jail, but also to find alternative ways to keep more inmates out of jail.
“I think it comes down to trying to work together on those types of issues,” he said.
Hansen said he has worked hard to improve that relationship, and said it is much improved. The issues over the jail were settled this year and the cities put their lawsuit on hold. Commissioners have also hosted town hall meetings in Aurora to reach out to residents here.
Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan has endorsed Hansen.
Hansen said that going forward, the Aurora piece of the county is important because it is close to Denver International Airport and Front Range Airport, two of the crown jewels of the county’s economic development plans. Continued growth along the new light rail corridors and across the county is vital, he said.
“You see construction cranes everywhere and we need to continue that,” he said.