Lindstrom’s career focused on public service

EAGLE COUNTY – Elective office has its rewards, but they’re hard to put in the bank. At least that’s been Gary Lindstrom’s experience over the years.Lindstrom, a Breckenridge Democrat, has spent most of his working life in public service, and has spent that last 18 years as an elected official, serving first as Summit County’s coroner, and the last 10 years as a commissioner there. He resigned that position earlier this year to accept an out-of-session appointment to the seat in the Colorado House of Representatives that representatives Eagle, Summit and Lake counties. Lindstrom replaced former Rep. Carl Miller, a term-limited Leadville Democrat who resigned earlier this year to serve on the Colorado Public Utilities Commission board.Lindstrom, an Iowa native, came to Colorado in 1970 to take a job with the Lakewood Police Department. That job led to a position with Jefferson County schools as the district’s first director of security.While still working in Jefferson County, Lindstrom and his wife, Lynne, moved to Summit County. They adopted the commuter lifestyle for a couple of years before landing jobs locally, Lindstrom with the Summit County Sheriff’s Department and Lynne with the local school district.Except for a brief stint working construction jobs with his friend Del Ewald, Lindstrom has spent virtually all his time in Colorado working in government. The construction job ended when Ewald was elected Summit County’s Sheriff. That’s also when Lindstrom became a Republican.”I’d been a Democrat all my life,” Lindstrom said. “But Del was a big-time Republican. When he asked me to be undersheriff, I told him, ‘I’m a Democrat.’ And he said, ‘No, you’re a Republican.’ So I went and changed my registration.”

The accidental politicianThanks to Ewold, Lindstrom started attending various party functions, and got to know committee members, state officials and other bigwigs. When Summit County’s Republican coroner resigned, he was urged to apply for the post, which he landed. Lindstrom then ran for the job three times, winning election each time.Since the coroner’s job isn’t full-time, Lindstrom also held down his job as the county’s director of public safety.In the early 1990s, another political office opened up: a commissioner’s job. Lindstrom was one of nearly 20 applicants for the job, and, after a selection process that included public interviews, he was appointed to the post.”I’ve always kind of thought of myself as an accidental politician,” he said.Lindstrom ran in and won three elections for the commissioner’s job, the last as an independent.”I was actually endorsed by the Democrats and Republicans that time,” he said. “But after that, I decided I’m not going to go through running as an unaffiliated again. That’s when I realized I was really more of a Democrat.”But going from his appointed county job to an elected one meant taking a pay cut. There were other rewards, though.”You don’t do this for the money,” he said. Lindstrom said he talks nearly every day to a woman in Leadville who’s having trouble navigating the state’s disability pay system. “That’s the payout, genuinely knowing you’ve helped somebody in their own life,” Lindstrom said. “There’s a lot of gratification in that.”

While he was still a cop, Lindstrom volunteered to run some “tough love” classes for juvenile offenders. “To this day, I’ll get calls from people who say ‘You don’t remember me, but I was in that class,'” he said. “That’s neat.”The chance to make a change is what’s driving this run for the state House. “I really feel as though the Legislature and the state are in deep trouble,” he said, and partisanship is a big part of the problem. Lindstrom said his skills as a trained mediator can have an effect in Denver.”You do this because you think you can make a difference,” he said. “I’ve always been in public service. I just can’t imagine being an insurance salesman or selling real estate.”Staff Writer Scott N. Miller can be reached at 949-0555, ext. 613, or smiller@vaildaily.com.Vail Daily, Vail Colorado