Excessive regulations, tariffs on building materials and shipping costs are driving up the cost of housing in Colorado. Jason Mikesell thinks he has a better idea and is campaigning for the office of governor on that message and others.

After nearly eight years as the Teller County Sheriff, Mikesell is term-limited and has set his sights on the higher office. A Republican, Mikesell faces 18 other GOP candidates running in the primary on June 30, 2026.

In the meantime, he is out there. In an interview with The Courier, Mikesell proposed housing solutions that, in his view, need to happen.

“Colorado has been under single-party rule for the last 10 years,” he said. “Quite honestly, the only reason we have unaffordable, or unattainable, housing costs is due to so many regulations.”

Part of the problem is Colorado’s status as a landlocked state.

“Builders receive all their materials from other states, which adds to the cost,” he said. “So, we not only have tariffs, but we are shipping in most of our products from Canada and other places.”

Mikesell has a solution for that.

“We could help local counties drive industry if building products are made and sold in Colorado,” he said. “And give tax rebates to those businesses and businesses that purchase those.”

For Mikesell, if it’s not one regulation it’s another.

“The state has forced counties to move to a different code,” he said. “Today’s building codes require an increase in electrical in homes, which has increased the cost of a home by at least $20,000.”

Over the past two years, Mikesell has fought for local control, testifying several times before the state legislature in Denver.

Mikesell has issues with locations designated by the state as Wildland Urban Interface areas some of which are not on the edge of the forest, a designation that adds to the cost of home insurance, Mikesell said. Last month, the county commissioners convinced the legislature to remove Teller County from designating the entire county as WUI.

Along with increased electrical requirements, shipping costs and tariffs on building material, there are fees for water taps and building permits

“Now a water tap fee will cost between $35,000 and $65,000,” he said.

The increase in fees, Mikesell said, is due to the restrictions on wastewater treatment facilities, or water treatment systems.

“If you really want to lower costs on building a home, you can do so if we continue to keep more Colorado water, reduce the restrictions on fees and regulations Colorado is pushing on local counties,” he said.

Without all the regulations and associated costs of building, Mikesell says the workforce might be able to live in Colorado.

“Here’s the problem – when we talk about attainable, or affordable, housing in Colorado, we set a price on that, somewhere between $250,000 and $350,000,” he said. “Right now, even in my county, houses average between the $450,000 and $650,000 mark, so it’s costing local workers out of the ability to afford homes.”

In addition to doing an interview with The Courier, Mikesell talked to a group of residents at the Hungry Bear restaurant in Woodland Park last week.