{"id":123624,"date":"2026-04-03T15:03:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T21:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/rep-jeff-hurd-meets-with-la-plata-county-business-leaders\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T15:03:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T21:03:52","slug":"rep-jeff-hurd-meets-with-la-plata-county-business-leaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/rep-jeff-hurd-meets-with-la-plata-county-business-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"Rep. Jeff Hurd meets with La Plata County business leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Colorado\u2019s
Colorado\u2019s 3rd Congressional District Rep. Jeff Hurd, met with 17 small business owners and economic leaders from La Plata County on Friday to discuss affordability and economic policy. (Durango Herald file)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Affordability, workforce housing, business regulation and unpredictable federal policies: Those were the top concerns business leaders from across La Plata County expressed while meeting with Colorado\u2019s 3rd Congressional District Rep. Jeff Hurd on Friday at the Durango Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n

The congressman traveled to Southwest Colorado to meet with a 17-person group of small business owners and economic leaders to learn how policies made in Washington are affecting people who must live with them.<\/p>\n

\n

Who attended<\/h4>\n

U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd met with 15 small business and economic leaders Friday in Durango. Here\u2019s who was in attendance:<\/p>\n

Kim Oyler<\/strong>, chief operating officer and advocacy lead for the Durango Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n

Jeff Dupont<\/strong>, CEO of the Durango Chamber of Commerce and the co-owner of Studio B, a psychology clinic in Durango.<\/p>\n

Alex Miller<\/strong>, owner of Smart Enterprises, Animas Glass and Halo Installation.<\/p>\n

Clark and Sharon Craig<\/strong>, owners of Meadowbrook Mobile Home Park in Ignacio.<\/p>\n

Dave Woodruff<\/strong>, mayor pro-tem of Durango.<\/p>\n

Jeff Dickerson<\/strong>, insurance adviser and co-owner of the Leavitt Group.<\/p>\n

Jerrod Jones<\/strong>, regulatory and corporate affairs manager at Harvest Midstream Co.<\/p>\n

Joe Lloyd<\/strong>, Durango Joe\u2019s Coffee owner.<\/p>\n

Kris Oyler<\/strong>, founder and CEO of Peak Food & Beverage.<\/p>\n

Liz Cartier<\/strong>, dean of the Katz School of Business at Fort Lewis College.<\/p>\n

Michelina Paulek<\/strong>, executive director of the La Plata County Energy Council.<\/p>\n

Sarah Tober<\/strong>, executive director of the La Plata Economic Alliance.<\/p>\n

Symone Massey<\/strong>, market president for Vectra Bank.<\/p>\n

Trevor Bird<\/strong>, Durango Harley-Davidson owner.<\/p>\n

Vaughn Morris<\/strong>, CEO of the La Plata County Boys & Girls Club and member of Durango Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.<\/p>\n

Zachary Ray<\/strong>, owner of Desert Sun Coffee Roasters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Hurd said the top concerns raised during the meeting included improving workforce housing, implementing a fair regulatory environment and ensuring predictability in international trade decisions \u2013 particularly the sporadic nature of President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs, which were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in February.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusinesses can address risk well, but the unpredictability and uncertainty that comes from quickly changing policies is devastating,\u201d Hurd said. \u201cSo ensuring that we have a regulatory environment that\u2019s predictable, that\u2019s stable, that\u2019s lasting, is something that I heard loud and clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he intends to keep making policies with a \u201cpro-business, pro-jobs, pro-growth mindset,\u201d balancing Southwest Colorado\u2019s strongest economic drivers, including tourism, outdoor recreation and its diverse energy economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are legs in a stool that\u2019s essential for economic health and growth here in Southwest Colorado,\u201d Hurd said.<\/p>\n

He said he supports tax policies, such as the 199A qualified business income deduction, along with regulatory and permitting reforms to encourage development.<\/p>\n

Hurd said he was told there is a need for more vocational training opportunities for careers in the trades.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the interesting things I heard was that without adequate skills and training for workforce, what happens is our small businesses here tend to go to larger projects that are more expensive with wealthier clients, and the average people are left out when it comes to the services that they need,\u201d hesaid.<\/p>\n

\"Colorado's
Colorado's 3rd Congressional District Rep. Jeff Hurd met with 17 small business owners and economic leaders from La Plata County on Friday to discuss affordability and economic policy. (Courtesy of Jeff Hurd)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Encouraging more people to pursue careers as plumbers, electricians and welders \u2013 all fields with high demand in the U.S. \u2012 would aid in economic growth, he said.<\/p>\n

Hurd\u2019s meeting came a month into the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran. With the Strait of Hormuz closed \u2013 through which about 25% of the world\u2019s oil is exported, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica<\/a> \u2013 fuel prices have spiked worldwide and gas prices have risen by more than $1 per gallon in the U.S. since the war began.<\/p>\n

The congressman said he agrees with Trump that there was a threat from Iran. But the spike in global energy costs, Hurd said, is not conducive to sustainable business growth, which thrives in stable, predictable circumstances.<\/p>\n

\u201cBad energy policy is a hidden tax on every single Coloradan, every single American, and so my commitment is to doing everything we can to ensure long-term price stability and affordable, safe, reliable energy,\u201d Hurd said.<\/p>\n

He said he was in support of the U.S.\u2019s involvement in Iran and anticipated a short rise in oil prices.<\/p>\n

\u201cI support the military action in Iran to dismantle not only the Iranian nuclear program but also the ballistic missile program that was shielding that program,\u201d Hurd said. \u201cBut I recognize that the result is what I am anticipating will be short-term energy increases, and we need to work long-term to ensure that the energy policy that we have in this country is aimed at lowering those costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is, however, a concern among experts that the war in Iran could have long-term effects on the global economy. A Wednesday article published by the Brookings Institution<\/a> warned that a prolonged conflict in Iran could \u201ccause a recession, as economic activity contracts to adjust to high fuel prices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hurd also said the president acted within his authority under the War Powers Act by attacking Iran, and that Congress received a briefing about the war before it began. But as the war wears on, the House and the Senate must have more oversight, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the days go on, I think it\u2019s more and more incumbent on Congress to ensure that we have a role with respect to what\u2019s happening in this military action, and ensuring that the dollars that we\u2019re spending are tied to a strategic objective that Congress agrees to,\u201d Hurd said.<\/p>\n

sedmondson@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Congressman discussed affordability, economic growth and Iran war<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[431,981,2518,11],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-123624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-business-general","tag-colorado-3rd-congressional-district","tag-economic-policy","tag-economy-general"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123624"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=123624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}