The town of Monument may be relatively small, but the booming El Paso County exurb – atop the Palmer Divide between Castle Rock and Colorado Springs – certainly isn’t sleepy. Its population has nearly quadrupled over the past two decades, to some 7,400 residents. And its local politics can be as explosive as its growth.

Just ask Don Wilson. Elected last year to preside over Monument Town Hall, he is, technically speaking, a small-town mayor. Yet, his job involves some big challenges. Like weathering the near-epic snowstorm that recently plastered much of Colorado – or the political storms that have blown through Monument’s local government during the last couple of years.

We dial in Wilson this week for some insights on how a Marine-turned-mayor handles both kinds of storms as well as other barn-burner issues like growth (with apologies for our spoiler of a headline; we couldn’t resist). And he discusses his effort to roll back legislation allocating Colorado’s presidential electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. Dig in.

Colorado Politics: The Front Range just weathered one of its worst blizzards in years. Interstate 25 was closed along with other roads. The Palmer Divide was hit hard. Mayors can pay a price at the polls for botching the response to a major snowstorm. But big-city mayors typically can rely on a big-city public-works crew to plow the streets; small-town mayors have far fewer resources – yet still must face the blame if the town is snowed under. How did Monument fare in the “bomb cyclone”?

Don Wilson: I think it was obvious throughout town that our public works department showed the “bomb cyclone” who the real boss was. Our interim town manager, public works director, police commander and fire chief banded together to form a command center at Town Hall, with each of them building on each other’s experience and ideas. We had our plow drivers escorting emergency services, and our police officers and firefighters were shuttling stranded individuals to the shelter. There was tremendous cooperation and teamwork between these entities.

Although the command staff did an amazing job coordinating the efforts, the real heroes are the plow drivers, police officers and firefighters, who worked around the clock during the storm, rotating in and out for extremely short breaks to catch a few moments of shut-eye.

Don Wilson

• Mayor of Monument in northern El Paso County, since April 2018. Previously served on Monuments Board of Trustees.
• Co-proponent of a citizens’ petition for a ballot issue that would repeal recently passed legislation allocating Colorado’s electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote in a presidential election.
• Served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a weapons specialist on a special operations-capable team.
• Moved to Monument with his wife and son three years ago; grew up in Littleton.

CP: Last year, the town of Monument was in turmoil with recriminations flying back and forth between Monument’s police chief at the time and its town manager. You also went some time last year with an unfilled opening on the town board. A few months ago, a fellow trustee threatened to sue other board members, citing alleged malfeasance. Earlier this month, you and your fellow town trustees voted to place the town’s treasurer on leave pending an ongoing investigation by the El Paso County sheriff into the town’s finances.

What the heck is going on? Is small-town politics more bare-knuckled than in larger cities because everything is so up-close-and-personal?

Wilson: I think a lot of this has to do with growing pains and the spotlight on politics and government all over the nation. As our community grows, we receive more attention on issues that may have gone unnoticed in a smaller community. When I speak with my rural counterparts, I find that they run into a lot of similar issues, but not being in such a high-traffic corridor like Monument leaves them with little publicity on those topics.

CP: Monument, like the rest of El Paso County and most of the Front Range, has been booming for years. The economy has grown dramatically along with the population.  There are many, many newcomers; among them are you and your family. What challenges do you encounter in handling that growth? In your campaign for mayor, you and your opponent clearly differed on the issue of growth; he wanted a moratorium and you did not. Was your victory last April a referendum on growth?

Wilson: Handling growth is a lot like juggling chainsaws: The process and results can be very painful and challenging not just for the town, but the whole area. We are working on some ideas to help the community get involved and better understand the process. Towns have increasing costs related to infrastructure and maintenance. Sales tax is the largest income generator for our community. Residential growth leads to commercial growth, generating more income for the town to provide better service to residents.

CP: You and Mesa County Commissioner Rose Pugliese have started a citizens petition drive to overturn legislation just signed by the governor; it allocates Colorado’s electoral votes to the nationwide winner of the popular vote in a presidential race. It is one of the signature bills of the Democratic Party, which started the year newly in control of both houses of Colorado’s General Assembly. Some might wave off your effort – seeking a statewide vote to call back the Democratic measure – as a mere partisan gesture in response to partisan legislation. You and Pugliese hail from Republican strongholds, after all. But is there deeper significance to this debate, and to your position? How did you get involved in this effort?

Wilson: Senate Bill 42 and several other bills have been passed along party lines, raising general frustration with the actions of our state legislature. Many of these are by no means a partisan issue. The independence of Colorado as a sovereign state in the union is important and needs to be maintained. The idea of donating or diluting our votes to or with other states takes a great deal away from those of us who are proud to call this great state our home.

Rose and I had watched as bill after bill were introduced that did not sit well with the voters, and through our group of mutual friends and feedback from our constituents, we found that we had the support we needed to challenge this bill. The referendum could have been filed by anyone, but Commissioner Pugliese and I wanted to show that this bill had statewide opposition.

CP: You served as a Marine and now serve in public office. Could politics – local, state and federal – benefit from an infusion of more people who spent time in the armed forces? What kind of impact do you think that would have? And tell us about some other key milestones from your origin story, including where you grew up, what brought you to Monument, and what got you involved in politics in the first place.

Wilson: I have always enjoyed serving my community. As a teenager growing up in Littleton, I volunteered at the YMCA as a peer counselor, youth sports coach and referee. That same sense of community service led me to the Marine Corps and later to public office. I believe that it would benefit us greatly to not only have more veterans serve in public office, but also a group that represents the diversity of the community.

CP: What are the three biggest issues facing your community? What’s the one biggest challenge facing the whole Front Range?

Wilson: Growth, water and maintaining the small community feel. … I have learned over the past couple years that the small community feel comes from how the residents and businesses treat each other and our guests in town. It is also important to preserve and highlight the town’s history.

Water is a concern not only facing the community, but the entire Front Range. Some great projects are in the works that would add good regional solutions.

CP: Have you encountered any surprises since your first election to the town board that have changed your opinion of elected office, whether for better or worse? Would you ever seek higher office?

Wilson: Oh yes, I was amazed at how much I thought I knew and did not. I still have a lot to learn, but I truly enjoy the learning and interacting with the community. I currently am not seeking any higher office; the state legislators in my area and county elected officials are doing a great job, so for the time being, I plan to continue working with my town and supporting the other elected officials in my area.