On Feb. 11, Michael Seraphin, former Colorado Division of Wildlife public information officer, announced his candidacy for the District 2 seat on the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners.Seraphin, who has lived in Falcon with his wife for 18 years, retired from the CDOW in 2013, and has considered running for county commissioner for some time. ìI wanted a way to give back to the community,î he said. ìI think I can make a difference by learning and being involved and by being collaborative.îThe people who have historically been members of the BOCC are there because of a small segment of the population, Seraphin said. ìThe caucus decides who the candidates are, but the caucus is a very tiny portion of the population as a whole,î he said. ìBy me entering the race, itís going to go to a real vote of all the people to find out who they think is better qualified.îSeraphin said he has kept up to speed with the issues the county is facing, including how to reduce spending and how to obtain funding for much-needed projects.He said one idea is similar to the sales tax that Colorado Springs imposed to fund pothole repairs. However, instead of an across-the-board sales tax increase, Seraphin said he would suggest a $5 increase to vehicle licensing fees. The increase would represent a user-based system of collecting revenue, and the money could be earmarked for specific projects, he said.On his website, Seraphin posted this statement: “I am politically purple. I support clean air and clean water initiatives generally associated with Democrats (blue), but on the other hand, I am a gun owner and support the Second Amendment — which is generally associated with conservatives (red).”Seraphin said something else that sets him apart from his opponents is the knowledge he gained and the connections he made because of working with people from various counties through his work with the CDOW. He said he would like to begin collaborating with other counties to not only do what is best for El Paso County, but also for all of southeastern Colorado.ìThe 2016 year is the most exciting political year of my entire life,î Seraphin said. ìI have never run for office before so I am not a politician; I am just a regular person who decided to get involved.î
