[announce-gpco] Art Goodtimes Reeclection Press Release

[Charlie]

Committee to Re-elect Art Goodtimes
Cloud Acre
Norwood CO 81423-0160
Liz Lance, campaign manager
lizlance@accesstelluride.com

PRESS RELEASE
March 22, 2004
Contact Person: Liz Lance, 970.728.2944, 970.708.2944
or Art Goodtimes, 970-327-4767

San Miguel County Commissioner Art Goodtimes announced that he was 
seeking re-election for a third term at the Senior Lunch program held 
at the Norwood Community Center Monday, March 22.

“After serving eight years as the District 3 Commissioner,” explained 
Goodtimes, “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished in San Miguel 
County, especially in my second term.”

Goodtimes noted that even with the national economic downturn, the 
local economy has remained reasonably strong , and the County has 
been able to maintain a six-month emergency operating reserve, while 
still expanding County services into the 21st Century.

As examples, he cited:

a Planning Department that succeeded in putting thousands of acres of 
Idarado mining claims in the high country into public ownership and 
in developing a new alpine zone district that restricts private 
development to the region’s historic mining character,

creating a new Parks & Rec Department that maintains the Norwood 
Event Center, Basin Fairgrounds, the Placerville and new Downvalley 
Parks, works to establish new trails and open space, as well as 
manages the Purchase of Development Rights program that voters 
approved with a special mill levy,

a new regionally-recognized Geographic Information Services office 
with two top staffers,

our own in-house high tech computer wizard who’s hard at work on an 
Oracle-based interactive new County Web Site,

an expanded Environmental Health Department  that’s now helping with 
the County’s Sage Grouse Recovery effort and staffing the Joint 
Towns/County Recycling Task Force, 

a Sheriff and Nursing Departments that’ve been actively preparing for 
Homeland Security threats, health epidemics, and natural emergency 
situations, like the recent Tri-State powerline failure,

a County Building Department about to initiate a new Green Building 
Code with a one-year voluntary grace period,

oh, yes, and a Coroner that earns over $250 an hour as a public 
servant, thanks to another dumb unfunded state mandate from the Owens 
administration.

Added Goodtimes, “And this was in addition to what we already do in 
terms of County services  including our Attorney, Road & Bridge, 
Social Services, Commissioner’s Office, Clerk, Treasurer, Assessor 
and Surveyor.”

As the Commissioner from the Third District that, under 
redistricting, now stretches from San Bernardo and Sawpit to the Utah 
State Line, Goodtimes said that he felt he’d succeeded in treating 
different ends of the County differently:

agreeing to local residents’ wishes not to impose county regulations 
on significant new oil & gas drilling in our West End Zone District, 

working to reclaim Norwood’s Greager Road (40-J) access to Lone Cone 
after it was given away by the State Land Board, and 

pushing to make San Miguel County the 6th government in the nation to 
pass a resolution in protest of the Patriot Act, as the Town of 
Telluride later did as well – in fact, to date three states, and 270 
cities, towns and counties, representing 47 million Americans have 
done so.

But he noted, “Still, there’s a lot more that needs to be done in the 
way of affordable housing, transportation and environmental 
protection.”

Goodtimes asked, “Will Telluride go the way of Aspen? Will Norwood 
become a New West El Jebel? Can Egnar, Slickrock, Disappointment and 
Dry Creek Basin remain the last of the Old West’s open spaces?”

And concluding, he said, “I will work to preserve San Miguel County’s 
unique quality of life and the very different character of its East 
and West Ends. As a Green, a small property owner with a young 
family, an organic potato gardener, and a poet, I believe I can 
continue to do a good job serving the citizens of San Miguel County 
as their elected representative.”

Campaign donations can be sent to the Committee to Re-elect Art 
Goodtimes, c/o Liz Lance, P.O. Box 301, Telluride CO 81435. Political 
contributions are not tax-deductible.

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