A former Colorado Springs City Council member and engineer has announced her run for the El Paso County Commission position opening due to Stan Vanderwerf ’s resignation to run for state Senate.

Brandy Williams, a Republican, announced on Monday that she will be on the ballot for El Paso County Commission District 3.

Williams previously served on the city council from 2011 to 2013 when she lost reelection to Keith King. She was at the time the youngest woman ever elected to the council.

Williams said that she chose

to run for county commission because she was worried that state of Colorado interference in local planning might impact El Paso County’s growth. She sad that as a commissioner she would try to “let the state know that El Paso County is positioning itself to answer those [planning] questions locally.”

She said that with El Paso as the largest and one of the fastest-growing counties in the state, the county commission will be facing unique challenges in the next few years.

“How are we going to be the best community we can be with one million people?” she said.

The campaign announcement emphasizes maintaining the “growth trajectory” of the Pikes Peak region, mentioning economic growth, infrastructure development, public safety and fiscal responsibility among William’s campaign tenets.

Williams said that public safety and community engagement are “linked together” with good planning practices that consider all the needs of the community.

Williams is an engineer who previously worked for the city of Fountain and now works for engineering company HR Green, Inc. She has been a professional engineer for over 20 years.

A third-generation resident of Colorado Springs, Williams was also featured in recent

Former city councilmember Brandy Williams on August 23, 2011.

Gazette reporting on her family’s ranching history in the area.