Eagle County Board of Commissioners Results: Matt Scherr takes a big early lead over Gregg Cooper

Election night offered few surprises in the District 1 race for the Eagle County Board of Commissioners, with incumbent Democrat Matt Scherr taking an early lead over Republican challenger Gregg Cooper.

As of 7:15 p.m., Scherr leads by 12,765 votes, compared to Cooper’s 8,693.

Scherr, candidate for a second full term on the board, has highlighted his experience and his desire to bring about change in the valley through public policy.

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Scherr has said he wants to continue working for the county at the state level, as nearly all of Colorado’s counties fall under state government. The county is also the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit to stop a railroad from Utah that carries crude oil along the Colorado River.

Reached by phone the afternoon of Election Day, Scherr said he had spent most of his time knocking on campaign doors, mainly in Latino neighborhoods, connecting with those residents and leaving his campaign information, in person or on the door.

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Reached at a celebratory event, Scherr said early results looked positive, and if those vote totals held up, he hoped commissioners could move forward with “many of the same” priorities on housing, child care and more.

Scherr was challenged this year by Cooper, an Avon resident. Cooper had suggested an ambitious agenda for reforming county government, from transforming the county to a five-commissioner form of government, to a housing idea that includes tiny houses starting at just $133,000, including the land. Cooper, a retired Republican, had self-financed most of his campaign and said he would serve without pay. He also said provincial spending, which now relies on spending millions in provincial reserves on many projects, is not sustainable, saying there are many ways savings can be found by consolidating services through technology.

In an email, Cooper said his ideas on homeownership and streamlining provincial government were well received by “everyone” he spoke to on the campaign trail. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he wrote.

Looking at the early returns, Cooper extended his congratulations to Scherr and said he “deserved” what appeared to be another term.

Tom Boyd won the Democratic primary in June to run for the District 2 seat vacated by former Commissioner Kathy Chandler-Henry, who was appointed in 2013 to replace former Commissioner Jon Stavney. No other candidates filed for the seat, so Boyd has known for months that he is the likely next commissioner. As of 7 p.m. Tuesday, Boyd had collected 14,298 votes.

In a telephone interview, Boyd said he is ready to transition into that new role in January. Boyd said he has spoken regularly with Chandler-Henry, as well as community leaders and residents.

Housing is “easily the most common topic” he hears from just about everyone, Boyd said. But, he added, talking about housing means “restoring balance to the housing market.” To do that you need partnerships… It is not the government’s job to fix housing on its own.”

In addition to housing, Boyd said he has also spoken with residents about transportation, water, recreation and how to spend the county’s limited resources responsibly.

“I’m just looking forward to serving the people of Eagle County,” Boyd said.