YOUR AD HERE »

Monger wins county race

Frances Hohl

— Routt County has called on native rancher Doug Monger to fill the position of outgoing County Commissioner Ben Beall.

“We’re very, very happy very humble and appreciative,” said Democrat Doug Monger upon hearing news of his win late Tuesday night.

Monger won 58 percent of the vote with 5,620 ballots. Shaw netted 3,300 votes, or 34 percent.



Instead of waiting out the results at a victory party, Monger spent most of the evening with his family, picking up his campaign signs around the county.

“I got a whole pickup load of my signs,” Monger said with a laugh.



His opponent, Shaw, had a tough job as a relative newcomer. He moved here from Denver where he spent 25 years running a high-tech company. He’s lived in the Hayden area for a few years, while Monger’s family has been here four generations.

“Clearly he has name recognition which was hard to overcome,” the Republican Shaw said, adding: “I wish Monger luck. And I want to thank everyone who worked on my campaign.”

Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak had no opposition for her re-election to the District 1 commissioner’s post.

She said both Monger and Shaw fought a good fight and spent a good deal of time attending public meetings.

“Having someone new on board will bring a fresh perspective,” Stahoviak said.

Monger said he won’t rock the boat right away, but wants to eventually make an impact.

“I need to get my feet wet, learning the inner workings of the county government,” Monger said.

“I’ll then start working on the growth issues and the 35 acres,” he said, referring to two land issues that are on some residents’ minds.

Monger said he wants to try to keep growth near cities. He also wants to prevent sprawl into the rural areas by discouraging ranchers from selling their land off in 35-acre parcels.

Monger, an accountant and rancher, currently works for BMC West, a lumber company. He also was finance director for the town of Hayden and does tax returns for a number of clients. His 400-acre ranch is near the Hayden airport.

During the campaign, Shaw made it clear he would treat the commissioner’s position as a full-time job.

Shaw said publicly that he believed that Monger could not and would not make the commissioner’s job a full-time priority.

Monger took offense to that insinuation and, in the end, the attack made little difference to voters. All along, Monger insisted he would do whatever it took to get the job done, and done well.

Commissioner Stahoviak believes Monger will keep his word.

“I think he’s ready and willing to work hard on the job, which is what it takes,” she said.

Monger takes up his new post Jan. 9.

As for Shaw, don’t count him out of local politics or community issues, he said: “I live here… this is important to me.”


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Steamboat and Routt County make the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.