Gavin Rainey

Criminal Justice / Public Safety Public Safety goes beyond law enforcement. It reaches into mental health and public services. As a County Commissioner I will invest in the mental health services the County provides and defend other public services such as but not limited to education, community involvement and healthcare. I will also collaborate with the Sheriff’s Office to improve transparency and maintain the level of protection they provide to El Paso. Taxes / Budget Even though El Paso is a fiscally conservative County, it provides a plethora of services that benefit the community such as maintenance of public parks, healthcare, crime prevention among many others. I would propose instead of cutting funding to these services we use the large reserves or the 'rainy day fund' to maintain the services the community uses and relies on the most. I understand that this plan is only a temporary solution so while it is in action I will work with other Commissioners, state officials and community organizations to devise a plan to maintain County services while replenishing and ceasing to use reserves. Government Reform Almost all roles are filled by Republicans or conservatives when the composition of the County is far more diverse. A good portion of the County's work happens in these volunteer roles. For too long party insiders and friends have been appointed to volunteer roles within the County when the community would be better served with members of all political affiliations and all appropriate ages in these roles. Immigration The El Paso County Sheriff's office has an agreement with ICE to communicate regarding citizen's within the County's detention. This is in violation of state law. The Board of County Commissioners makes the budget for the County, including the Sheriff's office. The Sheriffs office should maintain the full budget necessary to keep the community safe. Environment / Energy AI Data Centers are not only a large strain on public resources such as water utilities, they are immoral. Generative AI uses human art, literature and effort. Any type of consent by owners of these works makes AI unusable so the big companies who operate simply don’t seek consent and instead take advantage of human ingenuity. There is no current plans to build a AI data center on County land but there is a proposal within the County on Colorado Springs land. Colorado Springs provides water for not only itself but many municipalities within El Paso. I will oppose ANY AI Data center and work with City Council to defeat the proposal.