DENVER — Saturday I had an exceptionally good day, guiding questions and listening to answers from our local Gilpin County candidates at the Candidates Forum.
The forum is a project I picked back up, that started decades ago with The Mountain-Ear. It is meant to present questions to the local-level candidates running for office, and the ones I have organized have been in Gilpin, Nederland, and we even had a small forum in Central City a few years ago.
You can find the article about the forum in this edition of The Mountain-Ear. It was covered by Wes Isenhart, with a photo and a YouTube video by Kaia Cole. The YouTube link is here: bit.ly/CandidateForum2026
Zach Meyer was at a family funeral and has answered the same questions Greg Demo answered. The answers are also in this paper and a link will be provided online once it is posted.
Sunday I went with a friend to my favorite spot for breakfast right now, at the Columbia Hotel in Ward. The homemade, delectable avocado toast is the perfect amount of food—it fills me up with its delicious goodness and I’m always perfectly sated when I walk out the door.
Thank you to Masyn and Jaz for creating this beautiful space. And for always welcoming us in for a healthy meal.
The rest of the weekend I spent downtime, even working half a day Monday so I could go to the zoo with family and friends. We spent the day visiting all of our favorite animals, especially the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, and elephants. In an attempt to find my work/life balance, I have found that I can take a weekday off easier than a weekend day. And that’s okay by me.
Coming up, I am excited to work the final Nederland Farmers Market of the season on Sunday, with my co-worker Brittney Wagner. We’ll be selling you subscriptions, handing out tons of publications, talking to you about the latest advertising options, and setting up appointments to meet one-on-one with our customers to find out what you need from us, to help your business grow.
Please, no matter where you live, read these important articles, watch the YouTube recording, and talk with these individual candidates. The future of our communities relies on your vote.
Vote with your conscience, vote for the people that represent your ideas of what your community will look like next week, next month, next year, ten years down the road.
And as always, thanks to the candidates for coming to the forum to share their ideas for Gilpin County. And to the citizens who came out to listen.
Candidates are listed by office in alphabetical order of last name.
Susan Berumen: Commissioner D2
themtnear.com/stories/commissioner-candidate-susan-berumen,107209
Brady Fowler: Commissioner D2
themtnear.com/stories/commissioner-candidate-brady-fowler,107210
Greg Demo: Sheriff
themtnear.com/stories/sheriff-candidate-greg-demo,107211
Zachary Meyer: Sheriff
themtnear.com/stories/sheriff-candidate-zach-meyer,107212
Tara Gillivan: Clerk & Recorder
themtnear.com/stories/clerk-recorder-candidate-tara-gillivan,107207
Joe Self: Clerk & Recorder
themtnear.com/stories/clerk-recorder-candidate-joe-self,107208
Kathleen Balfour: Assessor
themtnear.com/stories/assessor-candidate-kathleen-balfour,107206
April Nielsen: Assessor
themtnear.com/stories/assessor-candidate-april-nielsen,107205
Brenda Diehl: Treasurer
themtnear.com/stories/treasurer-candidate-brenda-diehl,107213
Mary Lorenz: Treasurer
themtnear.com/stories/treasurer-candidate-mary-r-lorenz,107214
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