John Odom joins Jeffco’s commissioners, replacing McCasky on board
John Odom
JEFFERSON COUNTY – John Odom, a Golden resident who unsuccessfully tried to wrest state Senate District 20 from Democrat control last year, replaced Kevin McCasky on the Board of County Commissioners Wednesday.
Odom was selected from a field of nearly 20 applicants for the District 2 BOC seat by the Jefferson County Republican Party Vacancy Committee and will serve the remaining two years of McCasky’s term. He signed his oath of office Wednesday morning, according to a county spokeswoman.
“The (Vacancy) Committee was very pleased with the broad interest expressed by the community and the large number of well qualified applicants” said Don Ytterberg, Chairman of the Vacancy Committee. “Mr. Odom is a life-long Jefferson County resident and a successful business owner. He is an ethical, fiscal conservative who demonstrated his enthusiasm for the job and earned the unanimous vote of the Vacancy Committee. His business experience will be valuable during these difficult economic times and we look forward to his leadership.”
Odom, who is co-owner of a health-care related business in Wheat Ridge, has been a resident of the county since he was 6 months old. He is a former Lakewood resident and attended Jeffco public schools, including Stober Elementary.
“I am honored to be chosen by the Committee and excited to work with the other Commissioners to meet the challenges facing Jefferson County”, Odom said after his appointment was announced by the county GOP Tuesday. “I will do my best to be responsible and transparent to the citizens of Jefferson County.”
He will serve alongside commissioners Faye Griffin, who chairs the commission, and Don Rosier.
“We are very pleased that Mr. Odom has been selected to fill this vacancy,” Griffin said. “With only a three-member Board, it is important to have full membership on the board as soon as possible. Mr. Odom signed the oath of office this morning, so he could officially assume the duties of his new office and get up to speed quickly. “
Rosier said: “I look forward to working with newly appointed commissioner John Odom. I got to know John very well during the last election campaign when he ran for Senate District 20. His knowledge and skills will be an excellent complement to the existing board members.”
Denver and the University of Colorado. He also attended schools in China for an intensive, language immersion program as part of his degree program. He holds a masters degree in business administration from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Odom earned his bachelor’s degree in Chinese from Metropolitan State College of Arizona.
Odom is a resident of the Applewood Grove neighborhood in Golden.
He ran for the Senate District 20 seat against Democrat Cheri Jahn, but lost by 1,634 votes of more than 43,000 votes cast in the 2010 race. The district includes Wheat Ridge, Golden and parts of Arvada, Lakewood and Edgewater.
McCasky resigned last month to take the reins of the Jefferson Economic Council. He will serve as president and Chief Executive Officer of the public/private JEC, an economic development organization that lobbies businesses as an advocate for “retention and expansion of primary jobs,” according to its web site. The JEC was formed in 1955 and has more than 70 private investors.
McCasky has represented the three-member Board of County Commissioners on the JEC Board for the past six years.
McCasky, a Republican, took office as County Commissioner in January, 2005. He previously was Jefferson County Assessor for six years.
District 2 includes a large swath of Lakewood. Jeffco commissioners serve by district, but are elected at-large. County commissioners are paid $87,300 a year.
