August 27, 2013 01:07 PM UTC

Jefferson County Officials Being Asked to Add Commissioners

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• by: Colorado Pols

Jefferson County is one of the few remaining large Colorado counties with just 3 county commissioners, and a grassroots organization called Jeffco 5 is trying to make a change. In 2012, voters in Adams County approved a measure to move from 3 to 5 county commissioners, and Jeffco 5 is pushing for Jeffco's Commissioners to add similar language to the 2014 ballot.

The argument for 5 commissioners is difficult to refute. Jefferson County has about the same number of residents as the entire state of Wyoming, and Wyoming has two U.S. Senators and one member of the House of Representatives on top of dozens of county commissioners. It makes little sense for a county the size of Jefferson to have a government controlled by just 3 elected officials, particularly when all are approved countywide; what ends up happening is that local constituencies (such as the mountain communities of Evergreen and Conifer) have no designated commissioner fighting for their concerns, since each commissioner is ultimately accountable to the entire county.

Jefferson County Commissioners were scheduled to discuss the matter at a regular meeting this morning. We'll update you as we learn more.