Routt County Commissioner Beth Melton announced Tuesday, Jan. 25, she will not seek reelection this November, saying she has “new things on the horizon.”

First elected in 2018, Melton represents District 3, which is entirely within the city limits of Steamboat Springs.

“It is bittersweet for me,” Melton said in a statement. “Serving this community has been the best job I could have asked for … but there are new things on the horizon for me and my family and so my path has changed.”

In the statement, Melton said being a commissioner has been rewarding despite the challenges of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of that included setting up the Routt County Public Health Department, one of several accomplishments Melton pointed to since she took office in 2019.

Melton has also served on the State Board of Human Services, the Just Transition Advisory Committee and the Governor’s Commissioner On Community Service, in addition to working to expand access to substance use disorder treatment in Routt County.

“The past two years have been a time like no other in history,” Melton said. “In the midst of all that, I am in awe of what we have been able to get done.”