Zach Swearingen

District 3 - Republican Party

How does your experience make you qualified to represent the people?

My experience owning two small businesses right here in Pueblo County, and the leadership qualities I learned while serving as a U.S. Navy SEAL have been extremely valuable in this position.

I am the current chair of the board of county commissioners and have adhered to every campaign promise I made during my previous campaign. It is vitally important to listen to our bosses, the citizens who elect us. I have held at least one town hall every quarter since I have been in office and have made it a top priority to listen to all my constituents.

What are your top policy priorities?

Public safety, business development, improved infrastructure, better roads, adding youth programs/amenities and streamlining government services are my top priorities. During my first term in office I led the effort to successfully get the sheriff’s office more than $900k for increased salaries. I established the Pueblo County Homelessness Advisory Commission. I led the fight to dissolve the County’s IGA with the Regional Building Department and established a county building department. This move improved accountability and efficiency, creating a one stop shop for building permits. This department is currently operating in the black and was up and running in 6 months. More than $200 million in capital projects were started before my term gan and under my leadership we have successfully implemented them. We have also increased accountability and effectiveness by completely changing the county structure to a C-Suite format and are currently working hard to right size our local government.

What is one issue you think is being overlooked in this race, and how would you address it? 

There is a desperate need for local governmental entities to work together in Pueblo County and the surrounding area that is really being overlooked. Pueblo County and southern Colorado is different than other parts of the state and sadly I do not believe that our interests are being served at the state Capitol. In fact, many of the unfunded mandates the state has pushed on local governments make it hard for counties and local governments to operate well. The state has stripped local control and continues to try and centralize all decision making authority to the Capitol. These are just some examples that demand the
need for all local organizations from counties to municipalities to metro districts to school districts and others to work together for the prosperity of our citizenry

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