Boulder County Commissioner Matt Jones and Sheriff Joe Pelle both said goodbye to their offices Tuesday as their newly elected replacements were sworn into office.
Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann and Sheriff Curtis Johnson assumed their positions after both winning with large margins in the November election.
Jones retired from the office representing southeast Boulder County after four years as commissioner, including through the COVID-19 pandemic and Marshall fire, which he evacuated from. Prior to that, he served in both the Colorado Senate and House of Representatives, along with several years at Boulder County Parks and Open Space.
In his departing speech, Jones said that this time would hopefully be his final retirement. He spoke gratefully to the passage of county ballot measures 1A and 1B, providing more funding for wildfire mitigation and emergency services.
“One thing that makes me feel really good about this transition is that Ashley Stolzmann will be sitting on the dais in my place,” he added. “That gives me some great heart. Ashley understands southeast Boulder County.”
Prior to being elected county commissioner, Stolzmann was the mayor of Louisville and navigated her town through the Marshall fire. In her opening remarks, Stolzmann emphasized her priority to address climate change.
“I just want to say that there is absolutely something we can do about climate change,” she said. “This is the last window of opportunity we have to take climate action so that future generations don’t have as hard a time dealing with the effects of climate change.”
The county commissioners voted Commissioner Claire Levy as this year’s chair of the board. Stolzmann was named vice chair.
Johnson also gave remarks as the newly sworn-in sheriff, thanking Pelle and the recently retired Undersheriff Tommy Sloan for their work over the past several decades. Along with the newly hired Undersheriff Carey Weinheimer, Johnson was excited to lead the men and women who make up the sheriff’s office.
“I am thrilled to now lead that organization forward — make a few chances, do some things a little differently — but also have some fun working with them to provide the best public safety services we can to Boulder County,” Johnson said.
