Metro District of Highlands Ranch Board of Directors candidate Ryan Stuart -Incumbent
My age: 30
My family: I have a wife,
Amy, and two wonderful children, ages 3 and 10 months.
Education: I have a Bachelor's from Stanford, a Master's from Harvard, and a law degree from Georgetown.
What I do: I am a deputy district attorney.
My favorite place in town to hang out: Civic Green Park.
What I like most about living here: It's hard to pick one thing I like most about living in Highlands Ranch. Overall, Highlands Ranch is a great place to raise a family: great schools, state-of-the-art rec centers, and beautiful parks, trails, and open space.
My interests and hobbies: I love to ski and scuba dive. More than anything, though, I enjoy spending time with my family.
My favorite thing to cook: Anything on the grill. As my wife will attest, I'm not so great in the kitchen!
People who inspired me (and how): My father inspired me to be a dedicated father; my mother inspired me to be compassionate; and my wife inspires me every day.
How I have contributed to the community: I currently serve on the Highlands Ranch Metropolitan District. I worked hard to pass the consolidation initiative in 2006 which made our local government operate more efficiently, saved taxpayers money, and resulted in a tax cut. While I have served on the board, we have built parks, including Civic Green Park, begun plans for a Veterans Monument and a new regional park near Santa Fe and C-470, and maintained the parks and open space in Highlands Ranch. While on the board, we created a major repair fund to deal with our aging infrastructure and have begun a multi-year fence replacement program. As a Deputy District Attorney, I prosecute criminals that threaten our community's safety. I also serve on the Douglas County Board of Education working on innovative policies that will improve our public schools.
The biggest issues facing Highlands Ranch now: As our community matures, we need to deal with how to continue to maintain an aging infrastructure in a financially responsible manner and keep our home values rising. We have addressed the fencing on our parkways through the multi-year fence replacement program, but we will need to partner with the County to fix our aging roads.
Why I am running: After getting elected to the school board last fall, it was my intention not to run for reelection to the Metro District. However, no one filed paperwork to run for my seat, so after some encouragement by fellow board members, I agreed to serve for another term. I hope to use my experience to improve the parks and infrastructure in our community, while keeping taxes low, to strengthen our home values and continue to make Highlands Ranch a great place to raise a family.