The Surveyor

The Berthoud Weekly Surveyor would like to announce we will be endorsing Will Karspeck in the upcoming mayoral election. For the open trustee seats we support Pete Tomassi, Heidi Short and Kevin Pischke. We feel these are the candidates who are equipped with not only practical knowledge and a common-sense approach to leadership, but the individuals who will be receptive to the concerns of citizens and lead with a balanced and thoughtful approach to the governance of our community.   

The town of Berthoud is experiencing a season of growth and change. We feel the best candidates to facilitate forward momentum are those who believe in informed decision making that doesn’t harken back to failed ideologies of past decades. These candidates support healthy but well-mitigated growth. Growth should be managed with intelligent, educated, forward-thinking leadership that promotes development and businesses but at the same time does not restrict that growth so aggressively it causes the community to stagnate, as has happened in the past. A wide variety of people, from young adults to retired persons and everyone in between should be able to live and be members of the Berthoud community. Heavy-handed restrictions, codes and policies that make it difficult or impossible for the town to grow are not beneficial.

Being fiscally conservative and managing the towns funds in a responsible manner will help the town prosper now and in the future. Adding more debt to the town is unwise, and each of the candidates we are endorsing is opposed to increasing that debt. In the future, amenities such as a recreation center may be a sound decision, but for now this would be overstepping the town’s means and placing more financial burden on the community.

Will Karspeck has served on the town board since 2016. He brings youth and fresh ideas, is forward thinking, and we believe will be a breath of fresh air to town politics. He is well acquainted with the needs of the town and the direction our community is moving. Will has taken the initiative to become educated about many issues during his time on the board, attending meetings and forums to educate himself on his own time. This has included becoming knowledgeable on issues pertaining to water and transportation, two topics that are crucial to the well-being of our town. His level-headed, common-sense approach to the decisions he has made during his tenure as a trustee is a testament to the type of leader he is. Will takes a multifaceted approach to issues brought before the board and will consider each side of an issue.

Pete Tomassi is a certified financial planner professional with a master’s degree in finance and will bring that expertise to the table as a trustee. Finances are a core issue for any community, and having someone in leadership who understands how to build and maintain a strong fiscal foundation is a significant asset.

Not all of the trustee candidates we are endorsing performed well at the candidate forum on Thursday, March 15. After taking the time to speak to these individuals one-on-one for clarification on their thoughts and how they will approach being a trustee, we feel confident these folks will be solid members of the board. Although in modern politics appearances and presentation often times trump the true quality of a candidate, we feel sharp, capable people don’t have to be gifted public presenters to become excellent trustees.

Kevin Pischke has a background in sales and marketing. He is business minded and wants to encourage commercial growth in our town. Pischke addressed some of his remarks from the forum on the Surveyor’s Facebook page, “I just want to clarify my comment on meetings. I want the trustees to work as a team and have a common goal. By no means do I want policy or town business discussed behind closed doors. My whole-hearted intention is to be 100 percent transparent.”

Heidi Short is a former member of the National Guard, has lived in Berthoud for 25 years, serves on the town’s Historic Preservation Committee, and personally volunteered to become a crossing guard on Mountain Avenue to keep school children safe. She is a no-nonsense candidate (and speaker), well informed about the town, and wants to keep the culture and history of Berthoud a focal point of our community. Safety and accessibility in Berthoud are important to Short. Her straight-forward approach and willingness to step up and get involved for the sake of Berthoud when others can’t or won’t is refreshing and why we are endorsing Short.

Berthoud can’t go back to the old ideas of the ‘90s – the financial state of the town five to 10 years ago was dire. It’s important to recruit new businesses to Berthoud that will provide sales-tax revenue to the town. In order to accomplish that we must have leaders who have reputations of being open and willing to communicate Berthoud is open for new business and for expansion of existing business.