The June 25 primary election will narrow the field for Eagle County’s Board of Commissioners race in the fall.
There are two seats up for grabs, representing District 1 and District 2. Both of those districts cover communities along the I-70 corridor between Eagle and Vail, but the elections are at-large, meaning all voters in the county have a say in who fills the positions. That includes voters who live in the Eagle County portions of Basalt and El Jebel.
In the District 1 primary, Democratic and Republican ballots each have a single candidate. Registered Democrats will see incumbent candidate Matt Scherr on their ballot. Registered Republicans will see challenger Gregg Cooper. Unaffiliated voters receive both ballots in the mail, but can only return one.
In the District 2 primary, there are two county commissioner candidates on the Democratic ballot: Tom Boyd and Sarah Smith Hymes. There are no candidates on the Republican ballot.
Whoever wins the Democratic primary for District 2 could be the sole candidate on the November ballot, but it’s not guaranteed. Write-in candidates, as well as unaffiliated candidates, still have several weeks to throw their hat in the ring for the November general election.
Both District 2 Democratic candidates have built platforms on issues like affordable housing, transportation, climate action and protecting natural resources.
Tom Boyd has served on the Eagle County Lodging Tax Marketing Committee, the board of the Eagle River Coalition, and the executive team that helped draft the county’s climate action plan.
He’s also the chair of the board for “Community Builders” — a nonprofit that’s focused on housing, redevelopment and land use issues, among others.
Sarah Smith Hymes has built a career in various business ventures, and previously served as town councilwoman and mayor in Avon.
She also has experience as a sustainability coordinator for the town, an English-as-a-second-language instructor for Colorado Mountain College, and board member for the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District.
Election Dates and Deadlines
Ballots have already been mailed out to registered voters, and must be returned by June 25.
Postmarks do not count; the ballots must be received by the Eagle County Clerk and Recorder by 7 p.m. on the day of the election to be counted.
July 3 is the last day to cure any ballot signature or ID required discrepancies. It’s also the last day the office can receive overseas and military ballots.
Unaffiliated candidates have until July 11 to file their petition paperwork to appear on the November ballot;. Write-in candidates must submit an affidavit of intent by July 18.
The general election is November 5.
Editor’s note: Aspen Public Radio’s coverage of the June 25 primary is primarily focused on contested races. Additional coverage of the county commissioner races, both contested and uncontested, will be published in the leadup to the November general election.
