Brad Blake hopes La Plata County voters will back him in the upcoming election for the District 1 county commissioner race because he is a problem-solver who has the political will to pounce on and solve the county’s problems.
Blake, a Republican, held the seat from 2015-19 but lost to current District 1 Commissioner Clyde Church by 23 votes in the 2018 election. This time around, Blake, who faces Church, a Democrat, and Jack Turner, an unaffiliated candidate, hopes his earlier successes and plans for the future will propel him to election night victory.
About this series
Three candidates are running for one open seat on the La Plata County Board of County Commissioners. Candidate profiles will be published this week, including in Friday and Saturday print editions.
- Today: Brad Blake
- Friday: Clyde Church
- Saturday: Jack Turner
Like his opponents, Blake recognizes that the lack of affordable housing in the county is among the biggest and most pressing concerns confronting the Board of County Commissioners. He thinks the first step in creating more affordable housing is to decrease regulation.
“All of us agree that there needs to be regulation,” he said. “But at some point, regulation causes the cost of all things to go up, it doesn’t ever cause them to go down.”
Specifically, Blake suggests hiring private contractors to assist in the preparation of proposals that are to go before the County Planning Commission.
“Right now, in the county, if you’re going to do a larger housing development (outside of a planned development area), it’ll probably take you about two to three years to get that through planning,” he said. “So when people come to build a big project like that ... and then they find out it’s going to take two to three years to get through the process, time is money for those folks, so they just go ‘no, we can’t do it.’”
Blake also said he hoped to repeal La Plata County Code section 66-26, which mandates that land-use permits go through the entire approval process again if the permit holder requests alterations that increase their traffic, building height or gross floor area by 10% or more.
While his proposals for deregulation are specific and resolute, his ideas for addressing homelessness are less decisive.
Blake said people arriving without homes should check in with the Department of Human Services so the county can assess their needs as well as any potential danger they pose to the community.
He suggests newcomers who don’t check in not be able to stay in a managed camp and would ultimately end up interacting with law enforcement, who would “get that information.”
“When people come to town, if ... they don’t have a place to live, then they need to check in with someone to know who’s in our community and basically see what their needs are,” Blake said. “Do they need (prescription) drugs for their mental health issues? Do they need help with their addiction? Those are things that we can actually help with.”
While Blake did not advocate using law enforcement to implement such a system, he acknowledged that the county could not always expect people arriving in the area to declare themselves and announce their needs.
“It may not be a realistic thing,” Blake said. “But it really needs to be done.”
Four things about Brad Blake
What car do you drive to work?
Subaru Outback.
How long have you lived in La Plata County?
“The vast majority of 61 years.”
In a few words, what is the biggest issue facing the county?
Political will on social and economic issues.
What is one local point of pride?
Small businesses and their employees.
If the Nov. 8 election is similar to those in recent history, it is likely to be extremely close. Turner, the unaffiliated candidate, lost the 2020 race for the District 2 seat by 166 votes but has since moved to District 1, allowing him to run for the seat. Blake says it is his experience that sets him apart from his opponents. Although both he and Church have served a term in the seat, Blake says the challenges he tackled while in office better prepare him for the job.
He lists the Gold King Mine spill, major wildfires and drought as some of those challenges and says his role in negotiating the purchase of county buildings speak to his accomplishments. Blake also views his nearly 35 years of business experience as a major asset. He was the owner of Blake Mechanical Inc. and the co-owner of Blake and Tomberlin Mechanical Inc. and Konisto Cos. Inc. (a solar company).
Reflecting on his 2015-19 term as commissioner, Blake said there are several lingering projects he hopes to prioritize if elected. Chief among them is access to water, which he says is a countywide issue that also impacts the ability of landowners to build affordable housing. He intends to execute the approved (but never enacted) plan to build a water dock in the Fort Lewis Mesa area.
“I was the only commissioner to travel to all the (contaminated water) Superfund sites in the state,” he said. “As a commissioner, we always want to make sure that people have access to clean water – that’s a very important life issue.”
Ballots will be mailed to voters on Monday and must be returned to the county clerk no later than 7 p.m. Nov. 8 to be counted. While each of the three commissioners serve a particular district, they are elected at-large, meaning all registered voters in the county may participate in the election.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
