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Ben Aste (R) Larimer County Commissioner District 3

By: Dan Karpiel | The Surveyor | October 23, 2020 | Politics

His biography is the classic American success story. The son of first-generation immigrants who moved the U.S. with a suitcase and a few bucks in their pocket, Ben Aste milked cows at 4 a.m. before riding his bike to school, worked the night shift at Kodak to put himself through Colorado State University and support a young family and built himself into one of the more successful and recognizable businessmen in Northern Colorado.

Now, he has his sights set on the open seat in District 3 on the Larimer County Board of Commissioners. Aste, a Republican, is running against Democrat Jody Shadduck-McNally to fill the seat vacated by the term-limited Republican Tom Donnelly.

Aste has owned and operated Uncle Benny’s Building Supplies, LLC, in south Loveland since 1995. In addition to running a successful business, Aste, an Eagle Scout, is involved in multiple community service endeavors including Scouts, 4H, FFA, shelters, schools, churches, community theaters and artisan groups in Larimer County, Loveland Youth Gardeners, the Food Bank, Be the Gift, the Larimer County Fair & Rodeo, Habitat for Humanity, the House of Neighborly Services, the Fort Collins Rescue Mission, among many others.

Furthermore, Aste’s campaign states that he has a great deal of experience working with the county government, experience that will be of tremendous benefit should he win the race. “I have 33 years of experience working with Larimer County’s various departments. My participation as a stakeholder in the new Larimer County Waste Shed Build-out, the Big Thompson River Reclamation Project, and the CO HWY 402 Corridor Expansion Project, enabled me to bring perspective, helping them to develop criteria. I’ve served on a water and sanitation district board and participated in the sustainability community, while working with Larimer County officials on a variety of projects. For the past few years, I have been attending County Commissioner meetings and Planning Commission meetings, keeping current with the minutes in many other areas as well. I am ready to represent!”

“Throughout my life, I’ve been willing to work the tough jobs necessary to make ends meet. This solidified my desire to work hard as a small business owner to create jobs, developing four successful businesses in Larimer County,” Aste said.

Aste wants to be bring a business-like approach to county government. As he explained, “I’m coming at this as a businessperson, not a politician. When I get into office my goals will be to evaluate systems and streamline processes, as I’ve done for the last 25 years in current business. Keeping things as simple as possible is what I will aspire to. I find that there is more to agree on than to disagree.”

He continued, “I’ve been through six natural and unnatural disasters in Larimer County without laying off my associates. We kept cash flow up and this experience will lend itself well to getting our economy up and running in an efficient manner.”

Asked about his priorities for the Larimer County Board of Commissioners, Aste said, “Keeping existing businesses here, encouraging new brick/mortars, ma and pas, and large business to help enrich our economy. Softening of codes, fees and requirements on new business startups. I look forward to my involvement with the new landfill build out as I have diverted over three million tons of new and useable building materials from the landfill.”

“We need to support and retain the current businesses here, as well as attracting new ones. I want to encourage business growth by simplifying processes. This ensures stronger economic development within our county,” Aste stated, calling himself a proud fiscal conservative who believes in a balanced budget and that the quality of life in Larimer County can continue to be improved without raising taxes.

Aste has received the endorsement of Kevin Lundberg, B.J. Nikkel and Jim Welker, all three of whom represented Larimer County in the Colorado General Assembly. Said Lundberg, “I have known Ben for several years as a local businessman who has been active in the affairs of his church, our community and our county. He is fair, honest and principled. After living for several decades in Larimer County I know Ben Aste will make a great commissioner for our county.”

Further information on Aste’s campaign can be found at https://www.vote4aste.com/.

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