Allen Bacher, a Summit County resident and adjunct professor at Colorado Mountain College, is seeking election to the Summit Board of County Commissioners this November in what will be his fourth bid for a commissioner seat. 

Bacher, a member of the Republican Party, first ran for a commissioner seat in 2014 before running again in 2020 and 2022. Bacher lost the 2014 election to Democrat Dan Gibbs and lost the 2020 and 2022 elections to Democrat Elisabeth Lawrence. 

Bacher has owned a home in the county since 1991 and has served as an adjunct professor for various colleges around the country for more than 30 years. He is also a current member of the Summit Chamber of Commerce. 

Bacher has campaigned on reducing the size of the county government by cutting spending, revising and streamlining building codes to promote more housing development and earmarking a portion of his salary as commissioner to be donated to local causes. 

In his 2022 opinion column published with the Summit Daily News, Bacher stated he believes in personal responsibility and a “hand up, not handout.” He also stated, “Putting children to death before they take a breath, just for convenience, is not an act of human kindness,” in a reference to abortion. 

“​I believe that a commissioner should serve the citizens, taxpayers and voters interests and needs, not a political party,” Bacher also stated.