ALLEN BACHER
Candidate for Summit County Commissioner 2024
"I ask for your vote in November and will always be available to listen, discuss, and act on ideas and thoughts that are productive for all of our citizens, not just a few."
Where I Stand Before I Sit
I believe in a “hand up, not a hand out”.
I believe in personal responsibility and accountability.
I believe the resources and efforts of this country can be better deployed.
I believe "we the people" are the power behind government and that all government has become too invasive.
I believe the salary for the Commissioner’s job description is a too generous use of the Taxpayer’s monies.
I believe in the principle of “Citizen/Servant”. There are far too many politicians “living out of the pocket” of the citizens. As Jefferson espoused, “Come, Serve, Go Home."
I believe that a Commissioner should serve the Citizens, Taxpayers and Voters interests and needs; not their Political Party Bosses.
I believe that it is the County's obligation to maintain, repair and pave all collector, feeder and thoroughfare roads.
I believe in the founding principles and that there is real peril to our way of life.
I believe in God & Country; and for myself, not government, to provide.
I believe that if you re-read" Animal Farm, Atlas Shrugged, Brave New World & 1984", you will understand what is wrong today.
I believe that putting children to death before they can take a breath, just for sake of personal convenience, without accountability and responsibility, is not an act of Human Kindness.
I believe if you are an Acronym Anarchist or an Alinsky Acolyte, perhaps you should consider Pascal's Wager.
Please view the opine of the late, and great, Paul Harvey on "Freedom to Chains":
THIS IS A COUNTY WIDE ELECTION, BE SURE TO VOTE
My Goals are Straightforward
Reduce the tax burden on Citizens/Residents real property owners by 20% over four years (5%/year)
Reduce the burden, cost, scope and size of County Government by 20% over four years (5%/year). This to be accomplished by normal attrition, position analysis, initiative and program review for efficacy.
Revise & Streamline building codes to promote a cost effective and timely review and approval process. Emphasis on private residences to be built with Accessory Dwelling Units options, and, multiple use emphasis for all new commercial development to include additional housing availability, both to alleviate the continuing housing shortage.
Require major employers to contribute & participate in the building of suitable accommodations for employee head count impact for any expansion or new projects within the County, as a part of the submission, approval and construction permitting process.
Identify & Re-purpose County owned land for Private/Public partnership development of 1000-2000 seasonal employee housing headcount needs. These lands have been taken off of the tax rolls due to County ownership and, as a result, has placed a greater burden on the "taxpayers" to fund the County coffers.
Revise Short Term Rental Licensing - As currently structured these are the ineffective and onerous impositions despite what should be common sense. These have resulted in "Unintended Consequences" and damaged the property rights of the Citizens. The County Commissioners, and their advisors, got it wrong in the restriction of the number of days/nights, onerous fees and taxes, burdensome oversight, "zone overlays", and the arbitrary and capricious imposition of regulations/rules while choosing "winners and losers".
Never again have an unelected employee dictate unconstitutional restrictions, with the concurrence of the County Commissioners, on the citizens of the County and the destruction of private businesses. The declaration that essential businesses are "liquor and drugs" while shutting down restaurants and small businesses and leaving "Big Box" stores open, has proven to be a blunder of great magnitude. Seems that the "County" was unwilling to forego the taxes from "booze and weed" and created the destruction of small business to fulfill their obedience to a political party's agenda for control of the citizens. You only have to compare the outcomes of the "Blue vs. Red" States to realize that the draconian declarations were about control and power and not the best interests of the citizens. in short, "No More Mask Hysteria" or "Political Pandemics".
Charity is Local and begins at home
I will earmark 50% of my Commissioner’s compensation, as donations and contributions towards the following worthwhile efforts:
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$15,000 annually; $5,000 each to Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center, FIRC and the Summit Chamber of Commerce.
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$20,000, annually, towards a foundation for scholarship grants for students attending Colorado Mountain College in Summit County and pursuing business studies. Grants to be based on fiscal need, demonstrated scholarship, and common sense.
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$15,000, annually for need assistance programs, Veterans support programs, etc. Consideration for such based on submitted application with emphasis on efficacy.
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$10,000, annually for other non-profit agencies based on submitted application with emphasis on efficacy.
Elimination of Food Sales Tax in grocery & convenience stores, as well as pharmacies, by the towns and County, for permanent residents of Summit County. This tax has a disparate impact on the lowest 20% of wage earners in our area. Simply put, those earning the least have to pay disproportionately more for their basic needs; Government should not be allowed to place a tax burden on those who can least afford it.
Ban the use Eminent Domain to rescind Conservation Easement granted in perpetuity.
And, finally, I pledge to serve one term, and one term only.
My Personal History
Currently, I am a board member with the Summit Chamber for the past ten+ years, a past member of the former Breckenridge Resort Chamber, as well as the former Dillon Business Association.
I have been a former board member with the St. Peters, MO Chamber of Commerce, and member of O’Fallon, MO, St. Charles, MO, Lake of The Ozarks, MO Chambers of Commerce, and a former member of the St. Charles County, MO, Economic Development Council.
While semi-retired, I am an adjunct professor, for the past fifteen years, at Colorado Mountain College in the AA and BSBA degree programs in business, economics, marketing, and strategic planning. I provide business development and counseling services for the Center For Business Success as a part of the Colorado Mountain College’s initiative to further business success and sustainability in a limited economic growth environment.
I have been a landowner in Summit County since 1991, and a self-built/homeowner since 2006. I am a 3rd generation family member in Colorado and a 1st generation college graduate.
On my father’s side, my family background goes back to the late 19th and early 20th Century in Colorado. My Grandfather and his brother immigrated from Bern, Switzerland, landing at Ellis Island in pursuit of a better life and opportunities in the United States. He first worked for successful capitalists in New York City, moved on to Ohio as a “mine inspector” (he carried the canary in the cage to detect the presence of methane gas!), and ended up mining in Leadville, around the turn of the Century. He made his fortune, while in Leadville, and relocated to the southwest corner of Missouri in the Monet/Verona,/Aurora area south of Springfield, buying land to raise a family.
When the Depression hit, he lost his land to the County Government, when he couldn’t earn enough money off of the land to pay the property taxes. By that time there were eleven children in the family. Most went to work at whatever jobs they could find to keep the family sheltered and fed. The family moved to Grand Junction, during the thirties, to raise strawberries as sharecroppers; trucking the harvest to San Francisco, in the Spring, where it commanded the best price at market. My father, returning to his father’s roots, worked in the mines in Leadville, quarried in Marble, and was an avalanche patrolman at Vail Pass for the Forestry Service during the Depression, while the Vail Valley was still a pasture.
My father, as did most of the older children, had to interrupt his education, leaving in the eighth grade, to help provide for the family. He later took a job with the VA in Washington, DC, served in the US Navy, during WWII in the Office of Naval Intelligence, and after the war started a lithography business, having learned the trade of a photoengraver while in Missouri.
He earned his HS equivalency by correspondence through International Correspondence School courses and completed two years of business education, as well.
I grew up in an entrepreneurial environment; my father started and successfully ran four businesses in his lifetime, including being a “man of the soil”. In addition to his lithographic work for various government agencies, GPO, CIA, DIA, and NASA, he “tilled the soil” and was active until his passing growing Colorado Blue Spruce, Zoyza grass tuff, and other “truck farm” crops.
As I was a part of the enterprise, I came to understand his memory of the government taking the family farm for taxes in the Depression. His admonishment to me was to “always make enough money, through your own efforts, so the government can’t take your land, provide for your family, and never take on debt beyond your ability".
My mother’s side was original immigrants from England, France, and Ireland (and allegedly, the "Land of the Cossacks"). All came here for a better life. They settled in rural Virginia in the early 1600’s through the late 1700’s; fought for what they considered was right, on both sides of the Civil War and pursued their dreams of having the basic human needs: shelter, food and a good life.
Both sides of my family arrived in this country because it was the only place on Earth that held out hope and the opportunity for a better life. They left behind the hopelessness of the European Experience.
I was raised in the Methodist church, with my mother being the matriarch and my father the patriarch. As you can imagine, being raised as a Methodist with a Lutheran influence, I have core and fundamental beliefs as to what is the role of the individual and what is the role of government.
As I grew up working in the family businesses, I had many opportunities to observe and ask questions as to what life and business was all about. The most profound revelation came when I was about twelve years old. I remember asking my father what business was all about; he replied, “Son, you have to figure out what people want, provide it to them for a price that they can afford, make a reasonable profit, and create jobs for others.”
My father, of Swiss/German/Lutheran origins, was a lifelong fiscally conservative Republican who understood very few have the ability to create jobs, but when they do, they should always be mindful that, as capitalists, they were the providers of the hope for prosperity.
I have had a wonderful life. Starting with growing up in an entrepreneurial family, being the first member of my family to ever attend and graduate college. I have had a varied career path which has included providing electronic countermeasures equipment for the military, to being in the consumer sector, being an educator for most of my life (I have been an adjunct professor for over forty years). I have owned a part of, or started, four different successful companies.
In doing so, I, at one time had over 1500 employees in all fifty states; dealt with five different recessions, made payrolls and paid the bills. I have experience in businesses acquisitions, development, divestitures, mergers, start-ups, and valuations. I know how to assess, evaluate, organize, and measure a successful implementation of effort. I lead the company budget that was larger than Summit County Government
I have experience and know that the only thing that makes the American Dream a reality for people is the hope and promise of an opportunity to experience success.
I believe that, as individuals, we are responsible for bettering society. As such, I was a board member for twenty-five years with Boone Center, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that provides meaningful and fulfilling employment for over 200 people with developmental disabilities. Along with my fellow board members we took a small sheltered workshop for those with disabilities, such as Downs Syndrome, and took it from the “dark ages” to a strong, vibrant, and nurturing peer environment where the members of the production team thrive and are alive with hope, fulfillment, and satisfaction of a good job done well.
I am a US Army veteran with service in Southeast Asia; am a former pilot, and air traffic controller, believe that all who serve and sacrifice are owed a debt of gratitude, as they secure our Constitutional freedoms from the efforts of those who would degrade and destroy this great country.
I am a lifetime member of the American Legion, AMVETS and VFW; as well, as a member and supporter of the Elks and NRA.
Originally born in Washington, DC, and growing up in Fairfax County, VA, in family owned businesses, I hold a BSBA from George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, and an MBA from Lindenwood University, St. Charles, MO, and am a former senior level corporate executive with international experience & business development with an industry dominant company, formerly based in Alexandria, VA, and St. Charles, MO.
In the past I have held all licenses in the Insurance industry in 48 out of the 50 States. I held a Real Estate license while co-owning the St. Louis market Sunbelt Business Brokers franchise with my longtime business partner.
I am the alternative to the Liberal, Progressive, Socialist agenda, and the acolytes of Marx, Goebbels, Alinsky and Soros, and the "Acronym Anarchists" that have been infecting this country for over 100 years with the idea that any government could, should and would rule your life better than yourself.
I have the background, common sense, experience, intellect, and seasoning to lead this County to a better future and outcome.
I Ask For Your VOTE.