Michelle Krezek: Boulder County doesn’t need five commissioners
This commentary is by Michelle Krezek, who served as chief of staff to the Boulder County commissioners from 2008 to 2022 and now lives in Estes Park.
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The proposal to expand the Boulder County Commission from three members to five may be well-intentioned, but it would impose substantial costs without guaranteeing better representation, responsiveness or decision-making. Before adding two elected officials, the community should determine whether targeted reforms within the current system could address those concerns more effectively and at far less cost.
Moving forward with this proposal would be fiscally irresponsible. Salary and benefits for two additional commissioners alone would exceed $350,000 annually before accounting for staff and office expenses; total annual costs could therefore approach half a million dollars. Supporters may characterize that amount as a small share of the county budget, but Boulder County is already addressing a budget gap of more than $25 million through layoffs and early retirements that affect community services. Adding permanent expenses under these conditions would place further pressure on an already constrained budget.
Questions about whether a three-member board can remain responsive in a large, complex county are understandable. During my tenure as chief of staff to five different boards, however, I saw commissioners strengthen constituent communication and outreach while building effective relationships with municipal, county and state partners.
Recovering from the natural disasters Boulder County experienced between 2010 and 2021 required sustained collaboration and community engagement, as did responses to shifts in state and federal funding, new regulatory requirements and resulting changes in service delivery. During these challenges, commissioners worked with partner agencies and community groups to maintain open communication and involve residents in policy and budget discussions.
For example, past boards used the Boulder County Consortium of Cities to address revenue-sharing, affordable housing, the effects of opioid and other drug addiction, and transportation planning, giving elected representatives and municipal staff a forum to work through countywide issues together. Commissioners also held town halls with unincorporated communities and annual public meetings with municipal partners to identify shared concerns and opportunities for collaboration. Some constituents nevertheless believe commissioners are unresponsive or ignore their needs. If the current modes of communication and collaboration are not working, residents and partner organizations should continue to demand greater responsiveness and more effective decision-making. Simply adding two commissioners does not guarantee better results.
The desire for greater diversity and representation is equally understandable, but those goals require more than adding seats. Evaluating whether Question 200 would advance them requires answering two distinct questions: whether it would change how candidates are recruited and supported, and whether district-based representation would serve constituents better than a countywide perspective.
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Adding two seats would create two additional opportunities for elected office, but it would not change the candidate-selection process that determines who reaches the ballot. Boulder County does not lack qualified individuals with the experience, commitment and temperament to serve effectively on a multi-member executive board. The underlying challenge is ensuring that a wider range of qualified candidates are recruited, mentored and supported through the current system. Expanding the commission without addressing that pipeline would increase the number of positions without necessarily increasing the diversity of candidates or officeholders.
Geographic diversity would also remain difficult to achieve because districts must meet statutory requirements for population and political competitiveness. Currently, commissioners must live in different districts but are elected at large, so every county voter helps choose all three members and every commissioner remains accountable to the county as a whole.
Under Question 200, five commissioners would be elected either entirely by district or through a mixed system of three district seats and two at-large seats. Depending on the system adopted, voters would elect either one commissioner or three — not all five. The added cost would therefore not automatically increase each voter’s representation and could encourage more parochial decision-making at the expense of countywide priorities.
My experience with district mapping reinforces that concern. When the League of Women Voters previously explored a five-member commission, I helped prepare public presentations showing how districts could be drawn under the statutory requirements. That work revealed a practical limitation: the statutory requirements, combined with Boulder County’s development patterns, make it difficult to create dedicated representation for unincorporated and mountain communities. More districts therefore would not guarantee a stronger voice for the communities who feel underrepresented.
Throughout my career, I worked with dedicated public officials who collaborated tirelessly with community members and partner organizations to provide excellent public service. I join former commissioners Josie Heath, Jana Mendez, Will Toor, Deb Gardner, and Elise Jones, former Sheriff Joe Pelle and other current and former elected officials in opposing Question 200. Our collective experience points to the same conclusion: effective county government depends more on accountable leadership and sustained collaboration than on the number of commission seats.
Boulder County does not need a larger commission; it needs accountable, responsive leadership from the commission it already has. Question 200 would create permanent costs at a time of budget pressure without guaranteeing better representation, stronger collaboration or more effective decisions. Voters should reject this costly and unnecessary expansion and demand reforms that address the underlying concerns directly.
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