The Summit County Democratic Party’s vacancy committee selected Breckenridge Mayor Eric Mamula to serve on the Summit Board of County Commissioners following the resignation of former commissioner Elisabeth Lawrence. 

Thirty-three members of the roughly 40-member vacancy committee — which includes precinct organizers, district captains and county elected officials and party officers — cast votes on Monday night, with Mamula receiving 28 after the first round of voting. 

“I’m excited to welcome Eric to the board,” said Commissioner Tamara Pogue. “He brings a wealth of experience and deep knowledge of issues near and dear to the voters of Summit County, and I think that will serve us well.”

Mamula beat out three other candidates for the seat, Susan Fairweather, Theresa Bucci and Mitch Ringquist. 

“I’m glad that the party has the kind of confidence that I can do the job,” Mamula said after the vote totals were announced. 

Mamula said he wants to ensure that the “citizens that live in this community, who are always my No. 1 focus, have housing, child care.” 

First elected as a Breckenridge Town Council member in 2004, Mamula served through 2012 before returning as mayor in 2016. He’s also held positions on the Breckenridge Sanitation Board, the board governing Red, White & Blue Fire Protection District, the Breckenridge Open Space Advisory Committee and other local bodies. 

A business owner, Mamula founded Downstairs at Eric’s on Breckenridge Main Street in 1989. 

On Wednesday, Dec. 20, Mamula will be tasked with casting his first major vote as commissioner with the approval of the county’s 2024 budget. Commissioners for months have been engaged in extensive budget talks complicated by the impacts of new property tax legislation and pressure to provide some property tax relief to homeowners in the form of a mill levy reduction.

Mamula said he’s confident he’ll “get up to speed quick,” adding, “I’ve done plenty of budgets with the town (of Breckenridge) and within my own business.” 

Commissioner Nina Waters said the three county commissioners “have no choice but to come to a consensus in some way, shape or form” on a budget, adding that she has faith that Mamula “will make a good decision.”

She said Mamula “has a proven track record of improving the lives of citizens in Breck.” 

Mamula’s appointment now creates a vacancy on Breckenridge Town Council. The process to fill his seat will be guided by the town’s charter rather than state statute, which dictates the rules for a county commissioner replacement. 

According to town spokesperson Brooke Attebery, Mamula’s seat will be open for the April 2024 municipal election, the winner of which will become his successor. Until then, the town’s mayor pro tem, Kelly Owens, will serve as mayor.

The appointment of a new commissioner is the second to happen in roughly four months, after former commissioner Josh Blanchard resigned Sept. 1 and was replaced by Waters.

Mamula will be tasked with serving out the remainder of Lawrence’s term, which runs through early 2027, though he will be on the ballot in November 2024 and can run again in 2026 for a full term.

Asked if he would consider pursuing a full-term, Mamula said, “I’m planning on it.”