Candidates for Gilpin County positions in the upcoming elections in November will be profiled in The Mountain-Ear. A questionnaire was sent to each candidate.

Joe Marr of Black Hawk is running for County Commissioner as a Republican. He has lived in the county for 25 years in Golden Gate Canyon.

He was a business owner for 18 years and has been on the Gilpin County School Board from 2000 to 2004. He was Vice President of the Board for two years and spent another two years as president. He has been the owner of a construction and remodeling company for 18 years.

He has worked with budgets both in private business and multimillion dollar school district budgets. He has been involved with the Gilpin County Senior Living Board from 2016 to 2020 and the Gilpin County Planning Commission from 2017 to 2020.

His top three goals as a commissioner would be a balanced budget and would change focus from government to residential needs. Both sides of the aisle need to work together.

“We need to live within our means. And we need an efficient government that serves the residents. Life was better here 20 years ago.”

Marr also said “We need to encourage residents to get involved in local Government… I would like to talk with all residents.”

“The County needs strong leadership and no personal agendas,” he added.

He prefers slow growth. “If the County isn’t growing, it’s dying,” he said.

He does not agree with a shooting ban. Regarding short-term rentals, he said they are in excess and need some fine tuning.

For more information go to https:// www.facebook.com/electjoemarr.