Chaffee County Commissioner Candidate Gina Lucrezi speaks at The Slammer during her campaign kickoff event. Photo by Carly Winchell.
County Commissioner Candidate Gina Lucrezi officially kicked off her campaign at a meet-and-greet even at The Slammer in Buena Vista on Thursday, February 22. She recently spoke at a Chaffee County Democrats event where she and David Armstrong were officially announced as the democratic commissioner candidates for Districts 1 and 2. The formal announcement of her campaign came on February, 16.
Campaign stickers distributed at Gina Lucrezi’s campaign kickoff event. Photo by Carly Winchell.
Attendees included Trustee Sue Cobb, Trustee and Lucrezi’s Campaign Manager Peter Hylton-Hinga, Commissioner Keith Baker, BV Board of Education Director Mallory Brooks, and other notable figures from around the county.
Hylton-Hinga spoke first, then Lucrezi’s husband, Justin, introduced her to the crowd. He was a little nervous about the public speaking access, but expressed his clear support and confidently introduced her to the stage, which was actually a small stool in the tightly packed bar on which the speakers perched to address the attendees.
“The biggest thing that drives me is doing good work that benefits the people around me and the communities I’m a part of,” said Lucrezi about her motivation to run for commissioner. “And I want to be able to do that for all of Chaffee County.”
Lucrezi mentioned three of her top priorities. Preservation and protection of natural resources, affordable housing, and economic stability and growth.
Lucrezi cited water, wildlife, working lands, and public lands as natural resources, stating that these are assets to Chaffee County. Many in attendance raised their hands when asked if they participate in outdoor activities like rafting, angling, or hiking. “Preserving them is near and dear to me and something I think should always go into consideration when making a any large decision,” said Lucrezi.
Next Lucrezi spoke on affordable housing, saying that both immediate and long term solutions were needed not just for the workforce but for the county’s aging population too. “I support responsible growth but also in respect to our natural resources.”
Chaffee County Commissioner Candidate Gina Lucrezi’s husband, Justin, introduces her at The Slammer during Lucrezi’s campaign kickoff event. Photo by Carly Winchell.
Lucrezi supports higher density growth near municipalities because there is already infrastructure in place to support it, it will support the business community, and it increases walkability, which she argues will decrease traffic. Tying this point into preservation of working lands, Lucrezi says that higher density growth in municipalities will help keep the “county county” and leave room for public and working lands.
The final point Lucrezi touched on was economic stability and growth. “Year round, consistent economic stability would be great,” said Lucrezi, describing how many locals wish there were more businesses and restaurants that remained open during the winter months.
“Having a robust business community is important, not only because it will bring more jobs, full-time jobs, but because it provides products and services that both locals and visitors can enjoy,” said Lucrezi. “A thriving economic community really also helps with increased sales tax revenue. This is important to everybody because that gets reinjected for different projects, opportunities, infrastructure. All back for community well-being, so we should all be invested in our economy doing well. If that’s succeeding then we are succeeding as a community.”
Lucrezi is currently Mayor Pro Tem of Buena Vista, Vice President of Chaffee County Search and Rescue North, and is a founder and co-leader of Trail Sisters, an organization dedicated to creating more equity in trail running for women.
“Listening to needs, advocating for support, creating solutions, I do that every day with my job whether it’s Trail Sisters, whether it’s the Town of Buena Vista, whether it’s Search and Rescue.”
Lucrezi said she likes to think of herself as “Queen of Collaboration” because she loves working together. “I believe that when we work together, we get much further together. We succeed.”
After the campaign event, Ark Valley Voice reached out to Hylton-Hinga to get his thoughts on why he decided to support Lucrezi’s commissioner run.
Peter Hylton-Hinga speaks wearing a Gina Lucrezi for Chaffee County Commissioner hat at the candidate’s campaign kickoff event at The Slammer in Buena Vista. Photo by Carly Winchell
“It’s been a privilege to serve alongside Gina on the Board of Trustees, and I was truly flattered when she invited me to join her campaign,” said Hylton-Hinga. “My wife and I have committed wholeheartedly to supporting Gina because she promises to bring a refreshing perspective to the Commission. She epitomizes the workhorse, dedicated to meaningful action over mere appearances. Our community desperately needs leaders committed to fighting for us and delivering results—Gina embodies this through and through.”
“Plus, we have the closest bond you can have in Chaffee – our dogs love each other,” he added.
Hylton-Hinga’s term as trustee is expiring after the upcoming April 2 election where four seats will be decided. Lucrezi’s term isn’t set to expire until April 2026, or November 2026 if the ballot measure to coordinate Buena Vista elections with the county gets passed this April.
Voters can read about Lucrezi’s stance on water, the land use code, housing, economic development, working lands, and public lands on her campaign website, GinaForChaffee.com.
Below is a short video from the campaign kickoff where Lucrezi outlines her top three issues:
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