by Fred Hernandez

In a casual sit-down with the Editor of the Sentinel last week Mr. and Mrs. Kevin and Gayla Day immediately came across as a downright pleasing, friendly and honest couple. Both are long time natives of this general area of Southern Colorado with Gayla having been raised on a ranch on the Oak Creek Grade and Kevin having been raised in Cañon City, Florence and Carbondale, spending over thirty-five years in Custer County. Currently residing in Wetmore, Kevin has been with the Custer County Road and Bridge since January of 1996 and with the Wetmore Fire Department equally as long.
Before that his work history includes having done an eight year stint as Deputy Sheriff in Wetmore and a short spell in the Federal
Prison as Corrections Officer. A strong and devoted Christian,
he worships at the Wetmore Community Church and has served on their board since the mid 1990s.

Going right into the interview the first question was obviously; why are you running for this position? Coming across as sincere and candid, the answer was that a deep desire to serve, built over the years of public service on the job at Road and Bridge, a past member of the Sheriff’s Office, in the service of the Church and its community of believers and his years as a member of the Wetmore Volunteer Fire Department.
Asked about problems that might exist which he may want to help solve the response was that there are no “pet peeves” per se, but there are issues that need to be addressed. Speaking specifically of Wetmore the problem of the ambulance service is of paramount importance. At the moment that community is served by the Westcliffe EMS/ Hospital District. Florence served the Wetmore community for years but it is a totally volunteer operation and some of the members, who have been serving for many years, are beginning to retire. This resulted in Florence being forced to drop their coverage of Wetmore. The Northeast Custer County Citizens Coalition is continuing to work with the Florence EMS to come up with a viable solution. So, while still being served by Custer County the distance (30 miles) remains a real challenge.
The next issue is flooding and one even more pressing at the moment is the Chinese Virus which has taken everyone unaware. As Kevin says “you can’t live your life in fear.” Only in his personal opinion, the feeling is that the BoH was too strict with their mandates as cases in this county were not even comparable to the ones in the urban
areas. A ‘one size fits all’ solution does not work well. In fact, he would have allowed more stores to remain open to
reduce the negative impact on small business.
Asked if he would raise taxes the candid response was that some things you just have to pay for. The important thing is to maintain balance. On other matters such as the plans for a justice center and the water issue it was refreshing to hear someone vying for public office to admit the need to learn more and that he had taken steps to arrange to meet the right people to learn from. “I don’t have a
personal agenda. I will represent the people of the community”. Self-described as a “true” conservative,
Kevin wants to “do the right thing”. He has taken this decision to prayer and he will follow the response. If the job is meant for him, he will get it. If not meant for him, so be it.
Asked about the current county administration he reveals that he does not have personal relationships with any of the incumbents. But, having said that, he admits he does not agree with some of their decisions. On the question of whether or not he could work with some of them, the answer was simple and to the point, “Yes, provided there is mutual respect. You will not always agree with one another but you do need to be able to work together.”
As for the matters that he has to brush up on, Kevin has made the necessary arrangements and will be meeting the experts on the issues he needs to master.
When he takes office, he will be well prepared.
Overall, the interview was one which was easygoing and leaving one with an overall pleasant feeling. A feeling that one had just had a conversation with an honest man. We wish Kevin Day the best campaign.