Republicans choose Gaiter for county commissioner

By Dan MacArthur
North Forty News

Lew Gaiter III won appointment as Larimer County commissioner in an apparent torrent of conservative support.

A devoted Republican and self-professed "Ronald Reagan conservative," Gaiter beat a field of nine contenders competing to proclaim their conservative credentials.

"Maybe he out-conservatived me," said a surprised John Clarke in a later interview. The former county commissioner looked to be the strongest candidate until the third round of voting when Gaiter pulled in front and then triumphed in the following round.

He will fill the District 1 vacancy created with the resignation of Kathay Rennels, serving the remainder of her term until the end of the year. One of three commissioner districts, District 1 encompasses the northern third of the county which includes Wellington, Livermore and Red Feather Lakes.

Gaiter won appointment at a Jan. 6 vacancy committee meeting attended by 250 of the party's 314-member central committee. Lacking only balloons and confetti, the event closely resembled a small political convention. Campaign signs and banners adorned the stage. Republican office seekers appealed for support. Candidate allies distributed slick and professionally produced campaign literature. And GOP elected officials roused the crowd during the interludes as four rounds of votes were counted.

Thirteen Republicans at one time or another expressed interest in seeking the appointment, but the list was winnowed to nine by the time delegates gathered.

Gaiter was among the top three in the first round of voting. He trailed Clarke, who had a commanding lead, and was close on the heels of Fort Collins political operative Andrew Boucher.

Gaiter moved up a notch, narrowly edging Boucher in the second round that left the three men standing. Clarke gained in the third round but Gaiter still slipped by, buoyed by the votes unsuccessful candidates directed his way. In the final round, Gaiter received the necessary majority, surpassing Clarke by a nearly 2-1 margin.

"I look forward to being the best county commissioner I can be," Gaiter told exuberant delegates as they prepared to depart into the sub-zero night following the more than three-hour meeting.

"My next job is to keep the job in November," he proclaimed.

While expecting a tough battle, "I thought I had a good chance," Clarke said.

Clarke said he also believes he was handicapped by being out of the public arena for so long. He said many delegates were elected relatively recently in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election and did not know of him or his previous service as an elected official. He was the District 1 commissioner from 1995 through 1998.

Born in Denver and raised in Littleton, Gaiter has built his career on computers. He assembled his first computer in high school in 1975. By the time he arrived at Colorado State University in pursuit of a computer science degree he had built two more and mastered three computer languages.

Before completing his degree, Gaiter moved to California, working as a software developer for various Silicon Valley firms for five and one-half years. He returned to Fort Collins in 1986, working for Hewlett-Packard until 1992, when he took voluntary severance to start his own company, StarFire Enterprises Inc.

He subsequently has worked on projects worldwide and locally, including work for CSU and Larimer County in 2005 and 2006.

With his son, he owns and operates a custom software development company, Gaiter Enterprises LLC.

Gaiter, 50, and his wife, Jeannette, live northeast of Fort Collins near Tavelli School. They have nine children.

Gaiter said he had long been interested in the commissioner position because it blended executive and quasi-legislative duties with a "high level of human interaction."

He said the Republican Party recruited him and he had already planned to run for commissioner in November because Rennels was term-limited. Her resignation in December, however, forced the timing, he said.

Gaiter added that he waited to become a candidate until Sheriff Jim Alderden decided not to seek appointment to fill the vacancy.

Looking ahead to the November election, Gaiter said he doesn't expect a primary within his own party when he seeks election to a full term in a countywide vote.

"I don't think so," he said. "I'm going to be a phenomenal county commissioner. I'll be hard to beat."

Gaiter conceded that he has lots to learn about the issues confronting Larimer County.

"You're talking to a guy who drives computers for a living," he acknowledged.

But Gaiter said he is a quick study and already is doing homework on county budget issues, and he asked for patience as he begins a completely new pursuit in his high-tech life.