Joni Inman for Jefferson County Commissioner District 2

A longtime Jefferson County resident who is heavily involved with the community, Joni Inman is running as the republican candidate for District Two’s county commissioner.

Becoming a realtor at 18, followed by nine years as a newspaper reporter, Inman was recruited by Lakewood Mayor Linda Shaw to start a public information program for the City of Lakewood and stayed with the city for 20 years. She left to become the VP of Public Affairs for St. Anthony Hospital, and in 2011 started a business and government affairs consulting practice.

Through her consulting practice, Inman has helped dozens of small businesses thrive and has led community engagement efforts and strategic planning for nonprofits and chambers of commerce. She is a professional meeting and retreat facilitator who has held many leadership positions in the community over the years, including serving on the Board of Trustees for St. Anthony Hospital, Board of Trustees for Mile Hi Church, Chairman of the Board of the West Metro Chamber of Commerce, and Lt. Governor of Division 9 for the Rocky Mountain District of Kiwanis.

OUT FRONT had the opportunity to chat more with Inman about running for office, her consulting practice, and the challenging issues she is ready to face head-on.  Hi, Joni! Thank you for taking some to chat with us. Can you begin by telling us how you first got into consulting and working in business?
Well, I am a former newspaper reporter and editor. In fact, this is something very few people know, so I will throw this out there, I also served as the editor for the Denver Urban Spectrum which is the only monthly magazine for people of color. So, I did that for a while, and I covered the news; I was a stringer for the Denver Post and managing editor for a couple weeklies.

Anyways, I was covering Jefferson County, and the mayor and city manager in Lakewood said, ‘Hey, we would like for somebody to come start a public information program. Can you do that?’ So, I made that shift over to local government, and I was there for about 20 years. I worked under four mayors and over 50 city council members. I was around politics, but never had any interest in being a politician or an elected official.

So, I was there for about 20 years and did a variety of things. I became the deputy city manager and director of the mayor’s office, then I went on to St. Anthony Hospital where I was vice president of public affairs. In January 2011, I started my own business consulting practice, and I thought that I would do primarily government affairs work, but I started working with a lot of businesses.

So, my practice consults and coaches a variety of small businesses. In that role, I have worked with a lot of businesses owned by members of the LGBTQ community in addition to others, of course. I have done a lot of business coaching and consulting for small businesses, and then I became the executive director of the Colorado Women’s Alliance, which is a statewide nonprofit that focuses on women’s issues. I also do a lot of meeting and retreat facilitation.

My business kind of took off into a lot of community engagement work. It took off with a number of different angles to it, and I love it. It is very entrepreneurial and there is something new every day. Again, I have been around politics, even with the Colorado Women’s Alliance, but I never really thought I would run until a year ago.

I made the decision to run for country commissioner because I have always been able to work across party lines. I see my community, not just Jefferson County, but the region and state, becoming increasingly divided, and I think I can help with that. I think I can help bring people together. I am on the Board of Trustees of my church, Mile Hi Church, which is a very open and accepting church. We work with a lot of people throughout various political spectrums and lifestyles.

I have always been able to bring people together, and I think it is time to do that. We need to elect people who have the ability to do that and demonstrate respect for each other while working together on behalf of the community.

Absolutely. Especially in this day and age, it is definitely needed. At the level that you are running for county commissioner, District Two, is there any such thing as running as a democrat or republican, or do you just run?
It is partisan; I am the Republican candidate. In the suburbs, city council races are nonpartisan, but for whatever reason, they are partisan at the county level. I am a Republican candidate. The county commissioner, most people don’t even know what they do.

County commissioners are the elected officials that are closest to the people, and they determine how to use and allocate property tax dollars. We make land use decisions, and we represent our community on regional issues like homelessness, air quality, transportation, and regional planning. All of those types of things, we are the representatives in those regional discussions.

Going back to what you were saying about being divided, especially in this day and age, if you are running as a democrat, people assume you are a socialist and you want things to be very liberal. If you are running as a republican, people assume that you love Trump, you want to kick out immigrants, you are anti-LGBTQ. It is very divisive. So, what are you doing in your platform to show that even though you are a republican, you are not necessarily running on those ideas?
All of those narratives are false on both sides. They just are. I am doing nothing more than I have always done in my entire life and my entire professional career, and that is showing respect and talking with a variety of different people. Different walks of life, different races, different lifestyle choices.

I have just always done that. I am not doing anything different, and I see that happening today too. I see people saying, oh gee, I have to be different now. I do not feel that way. I have always looked at people as the person and the soul that they are. Without getting too religious or spiritual, I think we are all that. We are all spiritual beings. If we just look at each other from that perspective, then everything else melts away. I am not putting out flyers or saying hey, look at me. I’m celebrating this lifestyle or race. I am saying, look at my life, and look at how I have lived it for decades, and you decide.

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If you are elected, what are some things that you would like to see changed or see implemented?
In Jefferson County particularly, we are facing yet another $8 million in budget cuts. So, we have to be very, very careful about how we allocate money and make sure that we are allocating money to meet the core community values that we have set forth. My priorities are good fiscal management of our money, yours and mine, community safety, and community safety to me means not just getting bad people off the streets and keeping them off the streets, but also making sure those streets are safe to drive on, well-plowed, and addressing things like mental health, which is why I have been such an advocate for Envision:You and the work that they do.

We need to be advocates for those who have mental health issues, those who have substance abuse problems, those who are living in poverty. Those are all things that feed crime. When we are living in poverty and out of desperation, we do we must do to survive. I think we need to address those issues regionally, and of course in my own county. I really feel like we need to empower families in need. All families that need to break a destructive cycle. We need to help them learn how to do that, and I am even supportive of, and most people think Republicans aren’t, I am supportive of using tax payer dollars on programs that help lift people out of poverty and provide mental health support. I think that is a good return on our investment.

Ultimately, that saves tax payer dollars and creates healthier individuals who produce and contribute to the community as a whole. Then, I am a business consultant, so I am a strong supporter of doing what we can to support local businesses. A flourishing business environment in Jefferson County is the lifeblood of our community.That all sounds amazing. What are your plans if you are not elected? Will you lean more into marketing and consulting for the time being?
I have a very good consulting business. In fact, if I get elected, it will be a pay cut for me. I will transition my business to others, so I am for sure not doing this for the money. I am doing this because I think it is time for somebody to help bring people together. If I do not get elected, I have made so many new contacts and friends along the way, and I value that. So, I can’t lose in this. I can’t lose. I have met so many people, and I love people, but I will continue on with my consulting practice. I do good work, and I enjoy working with business owners and members of the community, and I will continue to do that.

There are some things that have come to my attention that I will get more involved with regardless, and one of those is the fact that we have got to do something about homelessness in our community. I don’t think there is a single response; I think it is a multi-prong approach, and I will continue to be involved in that for sure. I am also involved in working on issues around opioid abuse and things like that through The Rx, RALI, Rx Abusive Leadership Initiative, which is also a great supporter of Envision:You. I actually brought RALI to Envision:You, so I will continue to work in those areas as well.

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How did you get interested in dealing with issues like homelessness and substance abuse?
I am just involved in the community. I have been in this community since the eighth grade, and I have watched changes. I know people, and sometimes people in my own family who have struggled with substance abuse. I have seen the increase in homelessness. I often think about what’s going on throughout the country, and I think we are seeing an increase in mental health issues because we have taken away resources over time that need to be reconsidered.

One of my sons is a mental health social worker, and another one is a firefighter. I have four children, but those two are really kind of front line workers. They see what’s happening out there, and I hear things. Like, my son will say they are ready to release people, but they are not quite ready to go out on their own, and there is nothing there to support them as they transition back.

It is the community’s best interest for us to do that, to help people transition. I know I keep saying Envision:You, but I am a big fan of Envision:You and the work that Jerry and Steven are doing. I am amazed at what’s happened in the last year with bringing resources in, but we need to continue to focus on resources for those people who are in a mental health crisis. That can lead to drug and alcohol abuse, which often leads to homelessness. Not in every case, but it can. So, we have to go back to the root. What is the seed that is growing? The problem for people, it is more individualized.

Oftentimes, our politicians try to apply, you know, let’s solve homelessness. Well, let’s look at homelessness. Retired military veterans who are homeless, what can we do for them? Families with children, what can we do for them? Members of the LGBTQ community, what do we do for them? What do we do for those who don’t want help?

You know, there’s not a solution to this. We have to go back and look at people. What do these individual people need? There are a million different stories, and there’s not one way to do it. So, I would like to stay involved in that work because ultimately, that will benefit all of us. It will benefit the community as a whole.

For more information on Inman’s consulting business, visit joniinmanconsulting.com. To stay up-to-date with her campaign, visit joniforjeffco.com. She is also willing to take calls and messages, and you can reach her at (303) 829-1655.

Photos Courtesy of Joni Inman