Adams County Commissioner Erik Hansen declined to run for re-election this fall, opening the office to new Republican and Democratic candidates for District 3.
Democrat Emma Pinter, a Westminster city council member, challenges Republican real estate appraiser and RTD representative Larry Hoy for the seat, which is one of two up for grabs this November.
District 3 encompasses the north of Adams County, bordering Broomfield to the west, Weld County to the north, Northglenn to the south, and Adams County District 5 to the east. The district includes many parks and open spaces, including the 88th Avenue Open Space.
In Adams County, five commissioners vote on budget matters and oversee 12 county government agencies.
Commissioners decide matters like land use, growth and development on unincorporated county land.
Both Pinter and Hoy ran unopposed in their respective primaries, and both currently hold elected offices in the region. Neither are from Colorado but were attracted for different reasons.
LARRY HOY
Larry Hoy was born in California and worked in trash disposal, which brought him to Colorado. He said he has lived in the same Westminster house for more than thirty years, and put two kids through local schools, during which he gained experience lobbying government and managing a large staff. He later became a real estate appraiser and was successful before the 2008 recession. Since then, he has run his own appraising company from his home and said his life is structured to enable public service. Hoy was twice elected to the RTD board and has worked on public transportation with many local governments, including those in Adams County.
EMMA PINTER
Pinter said her background in public service began from helping family out of adversity. She is originally from Illinois, received a law degree from Suffolk University, and worked in Boston before moving to Colorado in the 1990s. Since then she has worked in several fields including her latest role providing community outreach to nonprofits. She was elected twice as a Westminster city council member.
Pinter twice ran successfully for Westminster city council, first in 2013 and again in 2017. Her seat would be vacated if she is elected commissioner. Pinter said she originally came to Colorado in the 1990s as a mountaineering guide for teenagers and loved the outdoors here.
She’s a financial literacy advisor for a Christian nonprofit and said she works to make sure nonprofits and churches are financially stable.
“A lot of people are passionate about preserving our Colorado way of life,” Pinter said. “Whether you’re a hunter, skier, rafter, we all experience it in different ways we all love.”
Hoy moved to a house in Westminster more than 30 years ago and says he still lives in the same home.
He worked in trash management and disposal before becoming a real estate appraiser, and currently works out of his home. Hoy said he loved the location of Westminster and thinks Adams County can get a bad wrap.
“I want Adams County to be a place that people are proud to live in,” Hoy said.
Hoy said his experience as a businessman and RTD commissioner have made him savvy in both politics and management.
“I just decided that I would move on to county commissioner,” Hoy said, explaining why he was running for office.
“The only thing that really motivates me is, I think I can do a good job for the citizens of Adams County.”
His two priorities for office are affordability and transportation. He said that Adams County is in a housing crisis with too many people and not enough homes, and cited government-imposed “hurdles” to development as part of why housing is so expensive.
“Some of that stuff is warranted – you need water and sewage – but there are so many delays, and a delay costs a contractor money,” Hoy said.
“And who pays for that? You! What I’d like to see is the whole process expedited, not necessarily eliminated.”
However, Hoy said he does not want to be seen as wanting to “rape and pillage the earth.”
“I don’t think we need any radical changes,” Hoy said, and added: “I like trees. I’ve got the biggest one on my block.”
For transportation, Hoy said other options like ridesharing, public transit, bike paths and even scooters are crucial for smart development of Adams County as it continues to grow.
Growth is also a concern for Pinter. “Smart growth is really important,” she said. “That means being strategic about where you add density, instead of just randomly adding development and communities.”
She pointed to open space in Westminster as a point of pride. “30 percent of the city is set aside as open and clean space,” she said. “That demonstrates that those wild spaces, natural spaces, will be available no matter what neighborhood you’re in.
“And I really would like to take that philosophy to the county.”
Pinter was picked for the Metro North Chamber & Colorado Women’s Chamber “Woman of Metro North” this year, and touts endorsements from Democratic Congressman Ed Perlmutter as well as numerous Adams County and city-level officials.
Candidate Questions for Larry Hoy
QUESTIONS ABOUT YOU
- What food do you hate most?
Oysters
2. Do you indulge in recreational marijuana?
Nope.
3. Who would play you in a movie about your life?
Harrison Ford?
4. What Olympic sport do you wish you could win gold in?
Biathlon
5. What was your favorite childhood candy?
It’s hard to believe, but I didn’t get any candy as a kid, but today, how about Snickers?
6. If you could be an eyewitness to one event in history, what would it be?
Apollo 11 blast off.
7. If the Secret Service gave you a code name, what would it be?
Rawhide.
8. If you had to sing karaoke, what song would you sing? Car karaoke counts.
House of the Rising Sun.
9. What epitaph would you like written on your tombstone?
Here lies Larry Hoy, a loving husband, father, and an honest man who served his community.
10. Is a hot dog a sandwich?
Of course not.
11. What is the last concert you attended?
Garth Brooks.
12. What movie do you never tire of watching?
The Godfather.
13. Dogs or cats?
Didn’t even have to think about this one, dogs.
14. What’s the most overrated thing about living in Colorado?
I love Colorado, not much is overrated here.
Candidate Questions for Emma Pinter
QUESTIONS ABOUT YOU
- What food do you hate most?
Anchovies
2. Do you indulge in recreational marijuana?
I am a working parent with 2 kiddos, I barely get to pause to watch a Broncos game.
3. Who would play you in a movie about your life?
Emma Stone, Amy Adams, or Jessica Chastain.
4. What Olympic sport do you wish you could win gold in?CurlingWhat was your favorite childhood candy?
Charleston Chews – Strawberry (It was the biggest bar I could buy with my money. I appreciate a good value.)
5. If you could be an eyewitness to one event in history, what would it be?
Constitutional Convention for United States of America, during the summer of 1787.
6. If the Secret Service gave you a code name, what would it be?
In my family, I am known as the Sheepdog. I share the canine breed’s sharp eye and concern for the welfare and safety of others.
7. If you had to sing karaoke, what song would you sing? Car karaoke counts.
“Seasons of Love” (525,600 minutes)
8.What epitaph would you like written on your tombstone?
May the Lord bless you, and keep you.
9. Is a hot dog a sandwich?
To each their own.
10. What is the last concert you attended?
A school concert.
11. What movie do you never tire of watching?
Sneakers
12. Dogs or cats?
Cats
13. What’s the most overrated thing about living in Colorado?
Nothing, we are the best. Go Broncos.