The District One rep cites tough year for her

 

Republican district one county commissioner Carole Custer will not seek a second term in office.

Custer made that announcement during a press conference at the courthouse Tuesday morning.

At the event, attended by some 30 persons, Custer said she felt she had done a good job as commissioner, and she initially wanted to run again.

However, said Custer, it had been a tough year professionally and personally, and for the sake of her family she would not seek re-election.

Custer took office in January 2007 after beating Democrat contender Alan Urban. Earlier, she narrowly defeated Allen Butler in the primary election. Butler had received the Republican nomination at the caucus and Custer got her name on the ballot via the petition route.

During her term in office, Custer has taken the lead in securing a number of grants on behalf of the county.

Most notably, Custer took the lead in securing a community block grant to purchase the Hanssen Haus adjacent to the county courthouse and renovating it for use as a Veterans’ Service office and resource center to expand current social services programs. The Hanssen Haus is also used as a meeting room for various local and regional organizations, including the Work Force Center which rents office space at Hanssen Haus.

Custer also submitted grant proposals to get the after-school and day care Kids’ Club and Youth Clubs for middle and high school students up and running in 2009. She also served on a board that oversaw operations of the programs. As sponsoring agents to get the programs up and running, the county commissioners were also in charge of day to day operations of the programs.

Those programs were turned over to Custer County Transitions, a Colorado non-profit, in December. Custer continues to serve on the Transitions board.

There are currently five other candidates, all Republicans, who are vying for the District One seat.

– Nora Drenner