MINERAL COUNTY — Fifth-generation resident and current Mineral County Commissioner Scott Lamb announced Monday, Feb. 7, that he would be seeking re-election in 2022. Lamb has served as a Mineral County Commissioner for the past 12 years and though Lamb briefly considered not rerunning, he decided to go for it.

When considering running again, Lamb took some time to consider his options. After losing his beloved daughter early last year, Lamb looked at his future and what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

“It really made me stop and think and I realized that I wanted to do what I was good at, and this is what I am good at," he said. "It’s the thankless things we do that matter. It all matters.

“It's really hard to believe that it has been 12 years; it has really flown by, and it is incredible to see how much has changed. I went from being the junior commissioner to the senior commissioner in a blink of an eye. At one time I ran against someone who was running for their third term in office, and I think I even used term limits as an example during my campaign at the time. It's funny how things work out because here I am, in the exact situation years later,” Lamb said.

Lamb expressed his absolute love for his position within the community and his desire to see the county continue to grow and evolve.

“It really comes down to the state that the county is in right now. A lot is going on and I want to see it come to fruition. I love being in this position and I love doing what I am good at, which is this. There is always going to be a fork in the road, and we are at a turning point in the county. I want to see what happens,” said Lamb. “We have a very well-balanced board with me, and Commissioners Jesse Albright and Ramona Weber and I feel we as a team serve the county well.”

In the past four years, Lamb has participated in completing several projects that he is proud of within Mineral County including the new courthouse.

“The new courthouse has been a huge benefit to the county, and I hope to the community. It has taken us up a notch in how we present ourselves and our professionalism, but the biggest benefit, I think, was to the county courts. Every other Friday in the old courthouse we would almost have to shut down so that we could hold county court and we no longer have to do that. The separation of county offices and the county court has worked really well,” he said.

Lamb was also pleased to be part of the final Mineral County Landfill land purchase with Rio Grande National Forest.

“I don’t think a lot of people understand how big that was for our county and what it meant for us moving forward,” Lamb said.

Lamb is looking forward to working with fellow commissioners and other entities to see that the Commodore buildings lining the historical Bachelor Loop north of town are revitalized and preserved.

“We are kind of at a standstill with this project at the moment, but I can’t wait to see it be completed,” he said.

One thing Lamb would like to see accomplished if he is re-elected is the housing situation in Creede and Mineral County.

“One thing we really need to unravel is the housing situation here. It would make such a huge difference if we could find an amicable solution to this issue and be able to offer affordable housing to people coming here," Lamb said. "There are some options for housing that we are looking into, and it is not an unsolvable problem, it is just a hard problem that needs a solution.”

Lamb also confirmed that mining may be opening back up in Creede and with that comes an exciting future.

“There is a real possibility that one of the mines here in Creede will be reopening and how exciting would that be to see that happen? I would be very excited to be a commissioner in a time where mining came back to Creede,” Lamb said.

Throughout the years, Lamb said he has created a foundation of trust within the community, and he hopes to continue to build upon that if re-elected this November.