Matt’s Values - A Choice for Eagle County
A Compassionate Community
Covid-19 has taught us many things. We have learned that, though our economy and environment sustain us, we depend upon one another for our health and prosperity. Eagle County was one of the hardest hit communities at the beginning of the pandemic, but we have been one of the most successful in overcoming the threat of the virus. We struggled through forced separation and have been able to recover because of our care for and commitment to one another. Covid also exposed the great inequities and flaws built into our economic and social systems. Our essential front-line workers we depend on for our basic economy are also largely those most vulnerable to health and economic impacts.
As our compassion compels us to provide for those most vulnerable, we must not forget what tremendous value any person has to their community when they are able to realize their full potential. A worker is more valuable when he is not preoccupied with sheltering and feeding his family, with finding care for his children, or whether he can afford to go to the hospital. An entrepreneur cannot solve all these problems for us or herself when her time to dream and create and collaborate is spent instead at one of her three jobs.
Eagle County has been working to build civic and social capacity in our Hispanic community through Mi Salud, Mi Charco and through collaborative work with L'Ancla. And I have been in conversations with Hispanic leaders to support more representative leadership for our whole community.
Our county has a geographic split, separating the county seat from our Roaring Fork Valley community. To give those residents better access, we launched "Roaring Fork Fridays” with key staff available to residents for any reason. I spend time there as well, reaching out to build relationships that residents need in order to feel they have access to their government.
A Prosperous Economy
A sustainable economy benefits not just our environment, but all of us as well. Eagle County’s pre-Covid economy was as strong as it’s ever been. Was it sustainable? 25% of households couldn’t meet their basic needs. 40% of our community members did not have access to affordable housing. Is that something we care to sustain?
A vibrant workforce must be mobile, healthy, educated, and unfettered by basic concerns of shelter, health, and safety. We must understand transit, healthcare, education, housing, and childcare as fundamental to our economy and invest in them as we would any other asset that creates growth.
Expensive property is the nature of our tourist economy. We have worked hard to develop housing in our high-value market that is affordable for locals. The recent Spring Creek Apartments and Two10 at Castle Peak projects have added over 235 units for working residents.
Our national healthcare system is broken. Local and regional solutions are difficult, but we continue to work with our legislators and local providers to lower the cost of and access to quality healthcare for everyone. I provided testimony at the capitol to help pass the novel Reinsurance program to reduce costs for our region by 20%.
I serve on a number of regional transportation boards, advocating for sustainable and robust mobility solutions for our residents and guests, including the I-70 Coalition and the I-70 Collaborative Effort.
A Thriving Environment
Our unique and extraordinary natural environment is the reason most of us live here, and it is the foundation of our economy. We must learn how to grow our economy without damaging the environment on which it depends. Our economy and environment can thrive together if we simply treat both as essential and complementary.
Though I’ve been a commissioner a short time, I’ve long been involved with Eagle County’s initiatives for sustainable building, renewable energy, and efficient transportation. And now at the county, we’ve been creating infrastructure to support electric vehicles and this year are adding three new electric buses to the EcoTransit fleet.
After some high-profile conflicts with development and wildlife habitat, I worked with other leaders to launch the Eagle County Community Wildlife Roundtable to build a consensus approach to wildlife in our economic and development decisions in the future.
In January I lead a gathering of Eagle County leaders called Getting to Zero, meant to inspire local action to address the threat of climate change and position Eagle County's economy to benefit from a new green economy. And we continue to champion those efforts through the Climate Action Collaborative.
Colorado Communities for Climate Action (CC4CA) lobbies for Eagle County’s interest in climate and environmental policy at the state legislature. I am proud to represent us on the CC4CA board and I have testified on a number of bills and rulemaking hearings for cleaner air standards, renewable energy, electric vehicles, and carbon inventory and reduction.