Many in the West End know Larry Don Suckla, who’s running for House Seat No. 58 in Colorado. His family’s ranch is down the road in the Disappointment Valley and Gypsum Valley area. That’s where Suckla grew up. As a child, he went into Naturita to watch movies at the drive-in theater and eat popcorn. He also spent time at the Basin Store, back when it had pool tables.
His family still has the ranch, and that’s where he runs his cows in the winter. In the summer, he takes them up to Groundhog Mountain.
Suckla previously served as Montezuma County Commissioner for eight years, 2012-20. Though he’s a cowboy, he felt it important then to also learn about mountain biking and to expand trails. He said making the terrain more appealing with established trails on public lands for recreation helped recruit good doctors to the area, thereby improving the local health care industry.
He told the Forum he also worked on paving more roads in Montezuma County and cutting user fees for the fairgrounds and in other circumstances, saving the county a lot of money. He and fellow commissioners also worked during COVID to keep businesses from receiving fines for employees choosing not to be vaccinated.
He said when Colorado counties were offered a raise by state legislators, he didn’t take it.
In general, he feels the people are taxed too much. He doesn’t understand why “the people have to tighten their belts, but not the government.”
Suckla told the Forum he likes to find better ways of doing things. He said it’s commonplace for candidates to claim that “they’re not politicians,” but he said anyone with a desire to serve in politics is by nature a “a politician.” At the same time, Suckla considers himself different.
“I am a West Ender,” he said. “I am one of you.”
He’s more comfortable at the sale barn, in a coffee shop, at the farm, or on horse than he is in board rooms. Still, 11 times Suckla has traveled to Washington, D.C.
“I was vice-chair of public lands in all counties of the U.S., and chair of public lands for the State of Colorado,” he said.
The Forum asked Suckla if he’d consider sending updates, letting voters know what was happening in government at the state level, if he won the November election.
“I would be more than happy to do that,” Suckla said. “That’s so important.”
Government transparency is something he said he believes in, and he feels most people don’t have a clue what’s happening in legislative offices. He said he’s willing to do even weekly updates with the San Miguel Basin Forum, if elected.
Suckla admitted he’s never been a state representative, but he’d never been a commissioner before he served in that capacity either. And, he ended up being recognized as Colorado’s Commissioner of the Year in 2017 by CCI, Colorado Counties, Inc.
“My angle is sometimes it’s best if you find your own way,” he said. “You might find a better way.”
He said he did that at the county level many times, questioning government offices about standard practices. When asked why certain things were done in specific ways, Suckla said he often got told, “That’s the way we’ve always done it” — an answer that doesn’t sit comfortably with him.
Suckla told the Forum that there can be better ways of doing things, and he’s ready to work on that at the state level.
