Mason advocates small government for Delta

ORCHARD CITY — Republican Mike Mason, 66, announced Monday his candidacy for District II Delta County Commissioner, where he intends to champion small government.

“As far as building codes and zoning, I am opposed to them — completely,” Mason said before a group of county residents at Orchard City town hall.

Mason said he chose to run against fellow Republican Bruce Hovde because Hovde’s views are less conservative. Incumbent Republican Wayne Wolf has announced he is leaving his seat to run for that of U.S. Congressman John Salazar.

Mason, a retired Front-Range engineer, farms grapes, hay and goji berries in Cedaredge. He’s lived 11 years on the Western Slope and has been a Coloradan since 1969.

He has no political experience. He needs 632 petition signatures to join Hovde on the Aug. 12 Delta County primary election ballot.

Mason’s speech Monday began with an explanation of some of the differences between the two. He said his opponent supports preserving “quality of life,” adding that zoning, subdivision regulations, density standards and additional restrictions are used to achieve such an ends.

“(Those are) just the tools that Boulder, Aspen and Telluride have used for years,” Mason said. “I don’t know of any other place that says ‘quality of life’ that has another solution. You can’t just pass an ordinance that says there will be quality of life — you have to control people.”

An audience member asked how he would handle a situation in which a neighbor put a junkyard in a residential area.

Mason responded:

“If I become county commissioner, don’t ask me to do that. Handle it with your neighbor directly and that’s the best thing I can tell you. If in fact he really does something that offends you, take him to court.”

He also expressed support for the Second Amendment and fair taxation to replace federal income taxes with a national sales tax. He said that if elected he would be willing to take a pay cut to have commissioners work one day per week rather than five.

An audience member asked whether public hearings would be scheduled to accommodate folks who work during the day.

Mason responded:

“If you have private property rights, those hearings are going to go away. A lot of them are going to go away.”

He said that it’s more of a challenge to reduce government than to build it up.

“I want to assure you that if I cut regulations, there will be plenty left. Don’t worry about it.”

Contact Robert Allen via e-mail at roberta@montrosepress.com