El Paso County Commissioner Mark Waller wrapped up four years of county leadership Tuesday, attending virtually his last Board of County Commissioners meeting.

Waller was elected in 2016 to serve on the board and represent District 2, encompassing eastern Colorado Springs and up to the edge of northeastern El Paso County. He quickly took on leadership roles, serving two years as vice chair and his last two as chairman.

Republican Carrie Geitner will succeed Waller in January.

Waller touted the county’s collaboration with Douglas County to contribute $35 million toward the $350 million I-25 South “Gap” project, adding lanes between Monument and Castle Rock, and securing a crucial $65 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Construction began in September 2018 and is scheduled for completion in 2022.

Another success Waller highlighted was hiring top-tier staff to guide the county.

“We don’t own our jobs here. We just borrow them for a little while,” he said. “There are people that dedicate their life’s work to this. We need to recognize and understand that as elected leaders, and give them the tools they need to be successful, then back off.”

He acknowledged the sometimes frustrating nature of the job, including navigating the county’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The decisions that have been made have been made at the state level, and those have been made absent from county officials,” Waller said. “It’s been frustrating that way because we haven’t been able to take more of a leadership role in our own community in order to help our citizens meet their needs.”

Previously, Waller served as deputy district attorney for the 10th Judicial District in Pueblo and for the 4th Judicial District in El Paso County. He served three terms in the Colorado House of Representatives, first elected in 2008. He served as House Minority Leader in the 2013 session and did not run for a fourth term, focusing instead on the Attorney General race in 2014.

He made the ballot at the Republican state assembly, but dropped out in favor of Cynthia Coffman, who was elected to the post that November.

Waller also served in the Air Force and was deployed to Iraq in 2006. He prosecuted insurgents in Baghdad during the Iraq War, and served in the Air Force Reserves from 2001-2009. He separated from the Air Force as a major when he was elected to the state legislature.

In June, Waller lost the GOP primary in a tense race for 4th Judicial District Attorney to then-Senior Deputy District Attorney Michael Allen. Allen won the race by around 8,000 votes.

Candidates traded barbs throughout their campaigns and questioned each other’s fitness for the job, growing more contentious as Election Day approached. In early May, a formal investigation was launched into whether Waller was living in the district he represents. The 10th Judicial District in Pueblo County, which probed a complaint to avoid a conflict of interest, found insufficient evidence to support claims Waller was misrepresenting where he lives.

Waller has said the inquiry was politically motivated, and said he was disappointed in the loss and the tactics used by “the other side.”

“They’re the ones that have to look themselves in the mirror at night,” he said. “But there are worse things that have happened in life than losing a political race. I can move on from that.”

Waller isn’t ready to abandon the idea of a political career in the future.

“You’ll see me in a more private capacity, but you’ll still see me, and you’ll see me a lot,” he said. “It has been the most difficult professional year of my entire life. Right now, I’m ready for a break, but never say never.”