For all its bright spots and uglier moments, Summit County Commissioner Elisabeth Lawrence said she’s always felt at home in the arena of public service. 

A Breckenridge resident of roughly two decades, Lawrence held multiple high profile roles over the years. She spent time as director of community relations for The Summit Foundation and as a Breckenridge Town Council member. 

In January 2019, Lawrence, a Democrat, faced her biggest public service role yet when she was selected by the Summit County Democratic Party’s vacancy committee to replace Dan Gibbs as a county commissioner. She would go on to win election to a full-term in 2020 and again in 2022.

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“It’s where I’m comfortable, and frankly I feel it’s what I’m good at. I like serving the community,” Lawrence said.

Now, Lawrence is taking a bow from that spotlight. The Breckenridge resident announced Tuesday, Dec. 5, that she would be resigning as commissioner, with her seat becoming vacant on Friday, Dec. 8. It marks the second resignation by a county commissioner in less than four months after former commissioner Josh Blanchard announced his resignation in mid-August. 

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“This is bittersweet. This community has raised me, and it’s really helped create who I am,” Lawrence said. “(But) I’ve put my career in front of my family for a long, long time.”

Lawrence said she will be moving out of state to take care of an aging parent. She said she can leave knowing the work she’s supported over her nearly five years as a commissioner has had a tangible effect on the lives of county residents. 

“I do think Summit County has changed — in many ways for the better,” Lawrence said, while adding there remains “a lot to address when it comes to growth and the challenges of living in the High Country.”

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Summit County Democratic Party Chair Patti McLaughlin said Lawrence has “spent a lot of time not only here in the county working on it but doing work throughout the state to really get the kind of support that the county needs.”

“I think there’s been some progress. There’s a lot more work to be done,” McLaughlin  added. “It’s not easy, whether it’s taxation or workforce housing, these are not simple answers, and they are controversial at times … it takes a lot of courage to be willing to make the personal sacrifice as one does to be in public service and make difficult decisions.”

Child care as a passion

As commissioner, Lawrence oversaw efforts to expand child care options while providing subsidies to families struggling to afford the costs. Lawrence said it’s part of a passion rooted in her own experience being a single mother nearly 20 years ago. 

In 2005 and 2006, Lawrence said she was paying half of her paycheck to child care before becoming one of the first recipients of the town of Breckenridge’s subsidy program, “and it was life changing.” 

“If it wasn’t for quality early learning in Summit County, I wouldn’t still be here,” Lawrence said. “It means everything to me.” 

Better child care access became a rallying call for Lawrence, who said she views it as both crucial to child development and an imperative to the success of the local workforce. It’s why she helped lead the push to expand Breckenridge’s subsidy program countywide. The fruits of that effort became SummitPreK in 2019 and Summit First Steps in 2023, two programs which collectively serve county children aged 0-5.

“I’m so proud of the towns for coming together to support First Steps, and I’m proud of the voters of Summit County for supporting Summit PreK,” Lawrence said, referencing the 2018 voter-approved Strong Future Fund that made funding for the PreK program possible. 

Lawrence was also closely involved with the creation of the Wildflower Nature School, the county’s latest large-scale child care center in years which opened in Silverthorne this fall. 

Intertwined with child care is affordable housing, something Lawrence and her colleagues have put a spotlight on in recent years. While Lawrence has cast votes on a number of housing-related initiatives, from new development to funding programs, not all have been without controversy. 

Commissioners passed perhaps the most divisive policy in February when they voted to implement caps on short-term rental licenses and limits on bookings for unincorporated county properties. Their reasoning, they said, was in part to protect and promote long-term renting in existing housing stock and preserve neighborhood character. 

It led to a group of roughly 100 homeowners filing a lawsuit in August challenging the regulations, a case currently being litigated in federal court. 

Reflecting on that vote, Lawrence said, “I hope that we got it right. We certainly spent a lot of time on that.” 

Tough decisions

While Lawrence said she acknowledges the vital role short-term rental properties play in the local economy, “it’s got to be in moderation and balance,” adding, “I know that the future board will continue to wrestle with short-term rentals. It’s going to continue to be a big, big topic.” 

Lawrence has found herself making tough decisions before, most notably during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time that was especially painful for mountain resort communities like Summit that were forced to turn off their tourism draw amid statewide lockdowns. 

“Right then we knew everything was changing,” Lawrence said. “What that meant for our economy, I reflect on that so much because at that moment I knew I was in service to do what was best for the community even though it may be incredibly hard.”

Despite the challenges of COVID, Lawrence said she was eager to help lead the county’s pandemic response, which included partnering with the Summit Chamber of Commerce to provide grants aimed at saving businesses to volunteering at vaccine drives to help get people where they needed to go. 

Summit shares the title for second-highest vaccination rate in the state, something Lawrence said shows “how the community came together.” 

National significance

Lawrence’s work, though embedded in the county, has also reached national significance. The commissioner was instrumental in lobbying for the Camp Hale National Monument, which in October 2022, became President Joe Biden’s first National Monument declaration. 

Lawrence’s meetings with local, state and federal officials came as U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s signature outdoor protection and recreation policy, the CORE Act, stalled in Congress. Lawrence said she was called on by Bennet to advocate for a provision of the CORE Act that would provide national monument protection to more than 53,000 acres of White River National Forest Service Land in Summit and Eagle counties. 

After efforts that included a trip by Lawrence to D.C. to meet with officials, the lawmakers were successful with Biden’s designation of Camp Hale. 

As Lawrence looks back on her tenure, she said her advice to the next commissioner is to remember who you serve, adding, “At the end of the day, the focus has got to be on Summit County and its residents and its visitors.”

An ‘unusual circumstance’

Lawrence’s resignation comes at a pivotal time for the county as its officials race to approve a 2024 budget before the end of December — a decision further complicated by recent property tax legislation and a push by Colorado’s governor to ask local entities to cut taxes. It also means that, with the selection of Lawrence’s successor, two of the three county commissioners will be serving in appointed roles rather than being elected by popular vote. 

“Of course, I’ve thought about the timing over and over and over,” Lawrence said of her decision to leave. “I know the timing is difficult, but is there ever a good time? I had to ask myself that.”

McLaughlin, the local Democratic Party head, said in the 20 years she’s been involved with the organization she’s never seen two appointments in such a short amount of time, calling it “a highly unusual circumstance.”

Per state statute, a vacancy committee made up of registered members of the respective political party for the former elected officials will meet to vote on a replacement. In this case, that will be the 45-member Democratic Party central committee, which includes precinct organizers, the district captains, elected officials who reside in the county and the party’s five officers.

This was the process that led to the appointment of Commissioner Nina Waters, who succeeded Blanchard, in September. 

McLaughlin said the committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 18 at the Summit County Community and Senior Center to vote on a new commissioner. Candidates must be a county resident and registered Democrat for more than a year and resident in District 1, Lawrence’s commissioner district, which includes the towns of Breckenridge and Blue River. 

Candidates will need to receive two nominations by other registered Democrats to be a viable candidate, though those can come from Democrats outside the central committee. McLaughlin said anyone interested can email chair@summitcountydems.org. Nominations will also be accepted on the floor during the committee’s vote at the senior center. 

Lawrence said she has “no doubt that whoever puts their name is dedicated.” She added: “I think it’s important for folks to understand this is a full-time-plus job, but it doesn’t have to be the only part of your life … it’s important to connect with the community outside of this job.”