In a hotly contested election on Nov. 2, Democrat and acting Clear Creek County Commissioner Tim Mauck defeated Republican Mark Kline in District 1 with 55 percent of the vote.
Mauck has spent the last three months temporarily filling a seat vacated by Commissioner Harry Dale and will now serve a four-year term.
Mauck spent election night with members of the local Democratic Party at the Vintage Moose bar in Idaho Springs.
He said he learned a lot about the election process in both the contested primary against Dan Ebert and the Nov. 2 election.
“It’s a long process. It’s an arduous process. It’s something that is not terribly easy — you really got to respect anybody who puts themselves out there,” Mauck said.
“You’re able to kind of compartmentalize it a little bit and say, ‘If I don’t make it, life goes on, everything is going to be fine,’ but even if you try and do that, about two days before the election it really starts sneaking up on you.”
Mauck jokes that he spent the better part of three days pacing back and forth.

Temporary commissioner
Mauck said his three-month appointment to fill the vacant commissioner seat persuaded him that he wanted to be elected to the position.
“It more than anything confirmed my beliefs that this is something that I really wanted to do,” Mauck said. “I enjoy Clear Creek, and I’ve worked for the county before, and being back there really set off … a real desire to return to the county and go to work for it.”

County growth
One of the biggest points of contention for the future of Clear Creek is whether it should be pro- or anti-growth — with past and present commissioners coming in generally on one side or the other.
With the two veteran commssioners Joan Drury and Kevin O’Malley, having only two years left, Mauck will be among those who carry the question of growth into the future.
Mauck said that as a commissioner he finds himself in the middle of the road in this debate — but he is strongly in favor of increasing the county’s recreational growth opportunities.
“We live in such a great location with its proximity to Denver, but I’m not sure we’ve tapped all of our resources to develop …,” Mauck said. “I’d like to see a more recreation-based economy.”
Mauck points to 2006, when Clear Creek was the sixth busiest river in Colorado in terms of rafting, and now it is the second busiest.
Mauck said the county still has a host of untapped potential ranging from mountain biking trails to fishing on Clear Creek.
“And in doing all of this, we continue to improve the quality of life and attraction to live here in Clear Creek County,” Mauck said. “Coloradans want to live and work where they can play.”
Mauck said he thinks the county can provide the types of resources that young families want, adding not only to the quality of life but also to the attraction of tourism — making the county more of a tourism-based economy.

Reaching out
Mauck said being elected is humbling, and that he appreciated the clean campaign that his opponent ran.
“There were also a significant number of individuals who voted for (Kline), who voted for (Ebert) that I look forward to continuing to reach out (to). The campaign might end, but the going door to door, making phone calls, getting out there has really only started.”

Mauck’s background
Mauck is co-director of the Bull Moose Sportsmen’s Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the heritage, traditions and opportunities of sportsmen and sportswomen.
Mauck has been a legislative liaison with the Colorado Division of Wildlife and a compliance director for Mark Udall’s bid for Congress and later the U.S. Senate.
He also has been the community development specialist and open space coordinator for Clear Creek County. He co-drafted the grant application for the Beaver Brook Watershed and wrote the grant for the Lawson Hole Whitewater Park.
Mauck, an Idaho Springs resident, moved to the county seven years ago.

Contact Ian Neligh at couranteditor@evergreenco.com, and check www.clearcreekcourant.com for updates and breaking news.