By Cara Pallone


Mike Bordogna out of Leadville will be the new San Miguel County Manager.

The board of county commissioners announced Tuesday that Bordogna accepted the position to succeed outgoing county administrator Lynn Black upon her retirement in October. He will start working with Black to make the transition on September first.

 Bordogna was one of three finalists who met with the public last week at the Sheridan Opera House Show Bar. During that meet and greet, KOTO News stepped outside with Bordogna to learn more about him and why he applied for the position in San Miguel County.

Bordogna, who will move here with his wife Emily and two children Althea and Everett ages 9 and 7, says the job was attractive for several reasons: 

“We are a small-town family….”

Bordogna grew up outside of Philadelphia and was an educator prior to moving to Colorado.  He has lived in Leadville, which as the highest elevation if any city in the U.S. at 10,100 feet, for over 17 years. There, he was a County Commissioner and served as acting County Administrator for Lake County from 2009-2017. It was during this time in his life, he says, that he felt most alive.

 “I realized that’s my passion and I felt most alive and I decided I would only do that again if it was a place where I could be part of the community…”

Since 2017 Mike has been the Executive director for the Lake County Economic Development Corporation. His many skills and accomplishments include recruiting, supervising, and guiding department directors, creating and administering a $20+ million-dollar local government budget, grant writing, speaking publicly about policies and legislation, and bringing diverse partners to the table to implement new programs and projects.

When asked about what he sees as major challenges in San Miguel County, he addressed several items:

Among the list of his many professional accomplishments are negotiating and championing power purchase agreements for arrays at Lake County Public Works, Landfill, Search and Rescue, and Airport locations as well as the development of a community solar garden; planning for a new transit system, working to facilitate the Arkansas River restoration within Lake County and securing conservation easements and public access to more than 7 miles of river, and creating a business retention and expansion program, a healthcare program, a business in schools program and the Leadville downtown WiFi network.

Bordogna was asked what the first year on the job would like if he’s hired:

 “Listening…”

The commissioners commented in the news release announcing Bordogna’s hiring that “his skills, energy and commitment will be a great asset to San Miguel County and they look forward to welcoming him and his family into our community.”