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Name: David Buckley
Occupation: Small business-owner and operator for Grand County road and bridge department
Place of residence: Kremmling
Length of residence in Grand County: Two years

Why are you qualified to work with rural communities like Grand County?

I am a hard working Coloradan and citizen of Grand County who truly understands the challenges in our community. I have had over 30 years of leadership experience in health care and transportation. I am currently a small business owner and a member of the Kremmling Chamber of Commerce. I enjoy being a part of the agriculture industry by being a livestock owner, volunteering as a 4-H superintendent, and a Middle Park 4-H contributor. Finally, I currently work for Grand County’s Road & Bridge Department, which rounds out my involvement in many areas of my community. My experience and passion demonstrates my ability to represent Grand County and the other counties within the district, I will fight to protect the rights of its people, who are working hard to make a prosperous life for themselves and their families.

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How will you make sure Grand County gets its fair share of money and attention for matters like mental health care, early childhood education, Colorado River water conservation and wildfire mitigation?

Grand County is my home, and I have forged relationships with those in my county, including county commissioners, several town boards and town managers, business owners, Middle Park Health leaders and board members, mental health providers, Middle Park and West Grand school boards, and, finally, ranchers and others who work closely with the land to understand their top priorities and issues. When elected, I will work with mental health partners to help those suffering find a higher quality of life by providing the necessary resources. I will fight to pay back the budget stabilization factor, which is a debt owed to our schools to ensure they have the funding necessary to pay teachers an affordable salary and keep our school infrastructures stable for the future. Our kids are owed this money, which our current government has neglected to pay this debt off completely. Protecting our land with wildfire mitigation partners and secure our water rights are vital for our future.

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Please name three issues at the top of your legislative to-do list.

• Affordability: District 13 sees and feels the impact of our government’s reckless spending and over-regulation of our businesses, with skyrocketing inflation, increasing taxes, labor shortages and the lack of affordable housing. I will focus on getting money back into the hands of Coloradans, by being the fiscally responsible representative they deserve. Cutting taxes is the best way to fight inflation, and will target areas like fuel, grocery and property taxes as a means to provide immediate relief to our community.
• Community safety: Crime is increasing in Colorado and in District 13. Colorado is nationally ranked with the highest motor vehicle theft, and we continue to see an increase in illegal drug possession and use. It’s important we have safe communities that thrive, which is why I will work to keep our state secure and flourishing. Making sure our law enforcement partners have the funding needed to staff our department’s and the technology to protect our communities is essential.
• Education: Education is incredibly important within our rural communities. The state has not provided funding to schools that is rightfully theirs (thanks to the budget stabilization factor). With proper funding, it will allow our rural schools to attract excellent teachers and to provide a higher quality curriculum. I will advocate for proper funding to ensure quality education for our students, for parents to have the freedom to choose the school that best fits their child’s needs, and I will support the infrastructure of our school boards, of which each community voted on.

Why should Grand County residents trust you?

Grand County is my home and my community. Not only am I determined to accurately represent Grand County, but I am confident I will be held accountable in doing so by representing its residents, many of whom are friends, family and acquaintances. It’s one thing to represent an area you don’t know; it’s a whole other thing to represent the area you deeply know and love. I will be Grand County’s fighting voice that they desperately need at the Capitol, which they haven’t had in a long time.

Please name a couple of issues that you will work particularly hard to cross party lines on, and how you plan to get support from your opposition.

Throughout my career I have worked with diverse teams on difficult and complex issues and achieved outcomes that once seemed impossible. Once elected, I will be reaching out to all political chairs and parties in Grand County and throughout District 13 to learn their priorities. We all know there is a major lack of affordable housing, not enough funding for our schools, and that inflation in our state is out of control. I plan to work with anyone who desires to bring solutions to those problems and will help our community flourish.