Words of Support

Josh Blanchard is committed to working hard for Summit County's families and workforce. His leadership and experience as an administrator, teacher, and planning commissioner has prepared him for this job. His focus on the economy, the environment, quality of living, and fiscal responsibility shows his understanding of what's important for Summit County. He's a thoughtful leader who will listen to and advocate for all of Summit County today and tomorrow.

Josh will bring his talents as an artist, his skills as a business leader and his passion for our community values to the role of County Commissioner. My family has known Josh for more than a decade and know him for his integrity and commitment to his family.  He will be a great leader for Summit County.

Josh is passionate about equity in all realms, including access to housing, education and the outdoors for people of all ages and backgrounds. Josh has experience in land use planning, serving on the Lower Blue Planning Commission. He understands the value of our natural assets, clean flowing rivers, recreation access and protection of  our beautiful National Forest and Open Space lands. Josh has a diverse background working with business, nonprofits and government, and has a passion to focus on economic recovery. We need his leadership, dedication and commitment in 2021 and beyond.

Blanchard is committed to our Summit County quality of life, being a good steward of development, enhancing our arts culture, and preserving the natural environment essential to our economy and valued by our citizens. He alone will preserve our open space, ensure our Blue River is clean and maintain the rural character in the Lower Blue River Valley.

Blanchard is no stranger to big challenges. As a business owner and nonprofit leader, it is a must to reinvent and recalibrate, to be agile. From his experience at Lake Dillon Theatre Co. and previously at Keystone, Blanchard has demonstrated his understanding of building relationships with locals and visitors alike. He is a strong advocate for business both small, large and nonprofit.

The Sierra Club’s objective is “to enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment.” Lawrence, Pogue and Blanchard are the three candidates the Sierra Club endorses and encourages you to vote for as county commissioners who will protect Summit County’s wild places.

A popular myth about arts executives is that we are “creative types.” But arts organizations are complex small businesses. We identify sales trends, manage labor relations, develop multiyear projections and take out the garbage. Blanchard is no exception. He brings years of accountability for balancing revenue and spending at Lake Dillon Theatre Co. to his candidacy. Blanchard can read between the lines of a financial statement and uncover important issues. These are the skills I want in a leader to guide a fiscally responsible government.   

Blanchard has shown how much he cares for our community with his many volunteer activities, culminating in current positions as commissioner on the Lower Blue Planning Commission, member of the Summit County Arts Forum, board member of Growing Together and more. While working with Blanchard on volunteer activities, he’s impressed me with his new ideas, his ability to problem solve, and his commitment to do the work and do it well. He’s well-prepared to tackle the challenge of revitalizing our economy while maintaining our public health, safety and natural resources. 

As a doctor, I particularly admire Blanchard for his commitment to community, public and behavioral health. He has been a strong supporter of the Summit Community Care Clinic, Building Hope Summit County and other health related projects...Blanchard has the experience, the skills, the commitment, the personal discipline and the creativity to serve as an outstanding Summit County Commissioner.

Josh is a listener. He listens wholeheartedly and diplomatically to learn and understand before jumping to solutions. He is open to hearing the varying needs of a diverse population and not afraid to tackle them head on. He is a change agent who takes action. Josh is a leader and innovator in understanding the challenges from real life stories, not just stories heard around a board room. He brings the voices of community members and stakeholders to the table where decisions are made.  

Blanchard brings broad perspective to the role as County Commissioner. Throughout his 18 years in Summit County, Blanchard has found time to serve on numerous boards and task forces. Through this voluntary service to our community, he has built strong understanding of diverse issues while making informed decisions about child care, the arts, immigrants, working families, waste diversion, land-use, planning and development.

As a psychologist, I have seen firsthand programs and activities that Blanchard has been involved with to help with local public health, mental health issues, education and community outreach. Blanchard has had a plethora of experiences in public, private and government settings, and I see him as an innovative individual with integrity who will listen to and advocate and work hard for all Summit County residents.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to myriad problems. Here in Summit County the financial impact has been especially daunting. Facing shortfalls and job losses, the Summit Board of County Commissioners will need to think creatively as they face hard decisions on service delivery. Josh has shown the ability to identify problems and offer creative solutions. We believe Josh is the best candidate to meet these upcoming challenges.

Blanchard is a listener and a collaborator, active in our community, working to bring together our nonprofits for maximum impact. Every time I think Blanchard is doing about as much as any human can possibly do, he surprises me: He suddenly needs artist information because he’s doing signage for a Summit Art Forum show, or he’s serving food at a community dinner, or he’s just placed in a trail run. As a father of a scholar at Silverthorne Elementary School, he is a strong advocate of all working families seeking success here in Summit County.

I'm proud to support Josh Blanchard for Summit County Commissioner. He holds the highest standard of integrity, is a wonderful father and husband, and is a problem solver with intelligence, diplomacy and creativity. We are lucky to have someone with such talent willing to work in politics to help our community.

As co-chair and founder of the Summit Conflict Resolution Coalition, I heartily endorse Josh Blanchard for County Commissioner.  Josh has been a valuable contributor to our nonprofit, giving generously his time and talent to support the cause of conflict resolution education for children and adults.

Of course, we all want our workers and businesses to survive this horrid pandemic. I believe Blanchard will listen to the scientists and public health officials in making decisions about further opening up of the county.

For years, I spent summers with my siblings participating in Lake Dillon Theatre camp. It was a huge highlight not only because of the plays, but because of the people involved, including Josh Blanchard. He’s done an incredible job creating a vibrant theater and boosting business in Summit County.

I’m tired of lies in this country. I’m voting for Blanchard because he’s honest, good at business, runs an amazing theater and has an awesome family.

He is known for his ability to collaborate, bring fresh ideas to the table and, most importantly, follow through on what he commits to and get things done. Blanchard brings a tremendous amount of experience to the table – not only working with the public/private sectors, but also working directly with members of our community to understand their needs. He worked for several years in the resort industry helping to create the Warren Station project and driving financial results.