ALAMOSA — Valley Courier News Editor John Waters invited current Alamosa County Commissioner Lori Laske and her challenger Rick Needham to a question-and-answer session. Here is a transcript of the session with Lori Laske. This interview has been edited slightly for clarity and brevity. 

WATERS: Why should people vote for you as county commissioner? 

LASKE: "I believe people should vote for me because I have experience in this office, I've been successful, I am a good representation of our community. I was born and raised here and have lived here my whole adult life; I have a small business, so I know how small businesses run. I am a product of Alamosa and the San Luis Valley, we have a small ranch, we raise alfalfa, horses, and cows. I feel like I'm a very good representation of the San Luis Valley.  

"In this past year, I've done a lot for our community, I'm very hard working and I'm doing this because I care for the community and want to make a difference and make it a good place to live. 

"I am a graduate of Alamosa High School and Adams State University. I have a bachelor's in business administration and a master's in business administration with an emphasis in small business management and a minor in psychology. I worked at Adams State for 29 years in different capacities. I was either a director or executive director for a majority of that time.  

"I have experience with budgets and grants that really rooted me in the community, with the university being such an integral part of it. I also worked closely with Trinidad College and feel the two institutions provide a wonderful opportunity for students of the San Luis Valley. I was also vocationally certified to teach business courses, and in my student teaching at Alamosa High School, I taught business law, computers, small business, and accounting." 

WATERS: If re-elected, what is the priority number one issue? 

LASKE: " Just one, there are so many. The first is balancing reducing our crime, and let me note that the sheriff is an elected official. Our sheriff takes the lead in doing that, and I support that. I want to balance that and make it a good environment for safety. The safety of our community is my top priority. 

WATERS: What would you do about the drug problem in the Valley? 

LASKE: “I can work with our partners; we have a lot of providers that work really hard. I did battle to get the opioid funds here; if you talk with the attorney general, we were originally tied in with a larger group; the San Luis Valley was tied in with 15 other counties. I fought and created a whole other region just for the San Luis Valley so we can have our funds just for the Valley and we can have our funds to abate our opiate issue as we need to. I'm not going to be able to solve it. I hope we are providing opportunities for those who want to get help and get better. We want to fill that gap between what is offered and what is needed. [Laske noted the county will receive $4.8 million over the next 18 years.] We got it." 

WATERS: As a county commissioner, what can you do about the homeless issue? 

LASKE: "There again, working with our partners and filling the gaps between what is available and providing services. When people are ready to get help or want to get help, there are services that are available. We are also trying to provide information on what services are available. We have amazing providers in the San Luis Valley; sometimes there are barriers in accessing that, and we are working on that. 

"I will note that just last week, we spoke at the Colorado Opiate Abatement Council, and I was asked to sit on a panel on the successes in rural areas in implementing these funds. Region 18 [San Luis Valley] is setting the standard for how to do this and we were featured; myself and one of our peers. We sat on this panel, and I was interviewed by Bloomberg, a reporter from Washington D.C., and she came down to do that, and hopefully, that article will be out in December. In the United States, they feel like what we have done, Attorney General Weiser has said, part of that success has been on what the council [Opiate Abatement Council] leadership has done. I am the chair of the council, but this is a group effort." 

WATERS: Can you talk about your work regarding transmission lines in the San Luis Valley? 

LASKE: "This was a need that was brought to me by our emergency managers about the resiliency and redundancy of the electricity coming in and out of the Valley. We started by filing a Miscellaneous Docket with the Public Utilities Commission, the PUC. When we were not making much headway with that, I went to Denver and sat down with the Colorado Energy Office. We started by filling out federal grant applications, which is where the funds are. We looked at building a transmission line… I worked with leaders in the utility community, and we applied for a transmission sighting grant that will look at various factors and determine the best route that could be built." [In July, the federal Department of Energy awarded Alamosa County a $1.7 million grant to conduct an analysis and engage in community engagement to study three potential transmission lines.] 

WATERS: Any other comments? 

LASKE: "I feel that my experience is vital to this position, and I'm honored our community entrusted me four years ago; I have utilized every minute. I support our community in many different ways and hope to continue doing so."