By Dan Karpiel

The Surveyor

The Surveyor reached out to all 10 of the major-party candidates for Weld County Commissioner and all nine candidates for the open County Commissioner seats in Larimer County and prefaced four questions, outlined below. Due to space limitations in print and a desire to provide as much detailed information as possible to readers, the candidates’ responses to the questions will be posted verbatim on the Surveyor’s website at www.BerthoudSurveyor.com.

1. Can you please provide a brief history of your background, i.e. career/occupation, family, history in Colorado/Weld County, etc., just some basic get-to-know-you information for our readers.

Lynette is very involved in serving her local community. She currently holds office with the Greeley Republican Women, Colorado Mounted Law Enforcement Association, and People United for Responsible Government. Previously she was on the State Executive Committee for the American Constitution Party, represented Colorado at their National Convention multiple times, was Chairman for the Weld ACP, Vice President for the North East Colorado Peace Officer Association, has held multiple offices for the Weld County Sheriff Posse. She has testified multiple times at our State Capitol on behalf of the Groundwater Coalition, for parental rights, and homeschooling issues. Lynette also volunteers at more than ten different food bank locations, plays percussion for three community bands, is regularly involved with more than a dozen local churches, has provided elder assistance for 23 years, and has been a homeschool mom for 20 years.

In addition to volunteer efforts, Lynette has practical work experience also. She and her family live at the same property on which she helped her parents with their family-run dairy farm. She has worked nearly a decade with a gas and electric utility. She holds a CDL-A license with all endorsements and is a trainer for the same. She also has over 24 years’ experience in property management and maintenance.

2. What prompted you to run for Weld County Commissioner District 3?

I prayed for approximately two years asking God to bring forth more godly men and women to participate in politics. After a rezoning issue in our area, I found myself frustrated with our current choices for leadership and was encouraged by many of my neighbors to run for local office.

3. Can you please provide a brief outline of your political/ideological philosophy?

I am for fair land use. Rich, powerful companies or the government itself should not be able to push out small businesses, farmers, or homeowners. Personal property rights does not mean one can degrade the value of other properties or prevent them from enjoying their own property.

It is wrong for the Commissioners to favor these companies or proceed with eminent domain yet approve paving over farmlands and forcing businesses to move. I want to restore balance and fairness to land rezoning and construction projects. The favoritism of our Commissioners is illegal and its stops here.

4. What are the major issue(s) on which you want to focus your campaign and potential service as Weld County District 3?

1)  Preserve Prime Agriculture Land – This is the primary reason I got involved in politics.  I watched development occurring on these lands because they are easy to make shovel ready.  Other lands may not be conducive to farming, and they may take more effort and money for development, but we cannot replace our most fertile lands when they are under blacktop and cement. We absolutely need to be looking toward the future and making sure that preserving farm ground is an utmost priority.  We cannot expect to be fed by other nations as we have done for them.

2)  Work for Proper Water Management – The current management of our aquifer has not been working well.  It is being overfilled which causes property damages to agricultural lands by pushing salts to the surface, rotting roots of plants, and actual flooding of some lands.It causes damages to residences by filling basements with water, growing mold, and causing failure of septic/sewage systems. The flip side of this is that farmers have had irrigation restricted which causes crops to struggle to be as productive as they could be or sometimes die. Dry fertile topsoil can then blow away and actually add to our air quality problems. We could adjust our water restrictions to farmers rather than having more emissions restrictions for our drivers and still possibly improve our air quality.

3)  Protect Second Amendment Rights – Our country is unique and offers dreams that bring millions of people here every year. We need to fight to keep our Country, State, County, City, and homes free from tyranny and mob rule. The documents that set our country apart from all others were based on Biblical principles and a moral people. I will do my utmost to protect our rights, our beliefs, our families, and retain our ability for each individual to do the same. The best way to protect our way of life is to have individuals trained to do just that. There is no possible way for police to be everywhere any crime could take place. It is up to each law-abiding citizen to train and be ready to protect ourselves within the limits of the law. I will do my best to keep those rights from being taken away.