I only spent three days in Summit County over Christmas in 2019, but within 72 hours I wanted to make it my home. I came back for a few weeks in the Winter of 2021. A bout of COVID impacting most of my extended family forced us to leave earlier than planned so we could drive home across the country. The disastrous end to that trip aside, something drew me back.

In the summer of 2022, my wife and I made the decision to make this place a more permanent part of our lives and found a place to live. The first night I moved into our apartment in November of that year, I walked into a bar in Breckenridge, sat down and met a group of people who became my friends.

There is something truly special about this community. It is a place where conversations can begin on a ski lift, continue at the dog park or a bar and lead to a lasting friendship. Our lives are enriched by some of the best skiing, biking, fishing, hiking and outdoor recreation in our country. Organizations like Breck Creates bring a vibrancy to our community that doesn’t exist in many counties in America. Finally, it cannot be overstated how rare it is to have a local daily newspaper, with a dedicated staff working seven days a week to provide citizens with information about our county.

After a bit over a year as a member of this community, I recognize I am still a newcomer, but the novelty also helps me appreciate how lucky I am every day to have found Summit County.

I came to Summit after spending the majority of the last 20 years working in politics. Most recently I was deputy campaign manager of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign. I returned to the Senate with Bernie and was his Legislative Director in 2021, when as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee he helped author and pass one of Joe Biden’s signature pieces of legislation, The American Rescue Plan.

Throughout my career I’ve had the privilege of working for former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, former Vice President Al Gore and a myriad of other leaders. I’ve worked on several presidential campaigns and advised candidates around the world.

I’ve also authored several books. My most recent was The Fighting Soul, a book chronicling my three years on the road with Bernie. Another book I am particularly proud of, “Lies Incorporated: The World of Post-Truth Politics,” written before the Trump presidency, studied how falsehoods have shaped and damaged discourse in our country and our ability to produce good public policy.

While Summit is a magical place, it doesn’t mean we don’t face significant challenges. Many of the topics Bernie spoke about as we traveled to 36 states together are particularly acute here. We obviously face problems in housing the people who make this county function. Our cost of living drives many valuable members of this community away. Every day, we are front-line witnesses to the symptoms of the income and wealth inequality that plague our nation. Access to health care, particularly adequate mental health care, are as great a challenge here as they are anywhere else in America. We struggle, like many places, to build an equal and inclusive community. Finally, we face a question of how to balance the needs of the large Wall Street- and private equity-owned corporations that dominate our community, with those of small businesses that are critical in so many ways.

I hope with this column in Summit Daily to make you think about these issues in new ways. I also hope that you will make me think. One of my closest friends in the world is a conservative economist. She is an ardent believer in free markets. I see their flaws and think we need to mitigate their excesses. We vehemently disagree on almost every major economic issue. We also listen to, respect and learn from each other. I’d like to think we are both smarter and better equipped to advocate for our divergent beliefs because we can engage in honest and open debate.

So when I’m wrong, please let me know. Write me an email at summitdailyari@gmail.com. Your perspectives are important to me, and I look forward to hearing them as I share mine with you.

Ari Rabin-Havt lives in Breckenridge and served as deputy campaign manager on Sen. Bernie Sanders’s 2020 presidential campaign and was a Sanders aide from 2017 to 2021. He is the author of four books, most recently, “The Fighting Soul: On the Road with Bernie Sanders.” His writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Jacobin, The American Prospect, The New Republic and other publications. You can find him on Twitter @arirabinhavt or email him at summitdailyari@gmail.com.