GEORGE LANTZ focuses on community and connection
By Kristen West
MAYOR GEORGE LANTZ of Greenwood Village can recall when the nurses let him and his wife, Debbie Lantz, leave the hospital with their firstborn son more than 30 years ago. “I said, ‘What do you mean, you’re letting me out of the hospital with this little thing?’ We had no clue what to do with him,” he jokes.
But, like most parents, they figured it out one day at a time. Lantz’s journey to mayor was like parenthood, full of small stepping stones and gradual wisdom. In both roles, he thrives by focusing on his “why.”
When Lantz and his family moved to Greenwood Village in 1989, his neighbor approached him while he was doing yard work with a casual request to help the city. “As any neighbor would, I said, ‘Sure, Charlie, I’m happy to help you,’” Lantz says. He didn’t know that would be the beginning of a nearly three-decades-long journey in public service.
Lantz served a 12-year tenure on the Greenwood Village Board of Adjustment and Appeals, and then, in addition to running his own full-time telecommunications company, he followed his newly inspired drive to help the city by serving on the planning zoning commission for 8 years, the city council, then mayor pro tempore and finally as elected and reelected mayor. In each role, Lantz says he learned and developed a deeper appreciation for the city, its people and their needs.
The fact that the role is non-partisan has been a blessing, he says, allowing him and his colleagues to focus on taking care of the city rather than politics. “We have to keep people safe, keep the roads clean and in good shape and plowed, and keep the parks nice and pretty and available,” he says. “So, as long as we do that, we end up with a good city.”
And that is precisely what he’s been known for; just ask the local kids who run to thank him at the opening of a new playground, which he says is one of his favorite types of memories so far as mayor. He also credits the quality staff in Greenwood Village for making his job more fulfilling. Many have been working or volunteering for more than 30 years and have deep ties and love for the town. “You’ll see a truck or a police car, and they’ll wave at each other, creating a hometown feeling.”
Being mayor, business owner, father, husband and friend can be a lot to juggle. However, Lantz has always found ways to stay grounded and make time for what he values. In addition to his family, he loves fly fishing, exercising and golfing. “I’m miserable at it, but I go out there with my friends, and we just have fun,” he says.
His top priorities, though, are his wife and children. Reflecting on that day when they took their first baby home, Lantz can appreciate the wild but gratifying ride it’s been now that their two boys are grown. “They live three blocks apart in West Village in New York. They do things together, and they truly like each other.” Lantz says. And while he says that the boys visit frequently, he and his wife hope they might return to their hometown one day. “Do we wish that they were here in town somewhere so we could see them more regularly? Absolutely. But we want them to spread their wings, too.”
Lantz still has two more years in his term as mayor and plans to make the most of it. “I got into this to help the city,” he says. “In a way, I’m helping myself too because I like to live here. I like the environment. I like the people. And so, I’m caring for my neighbors and friends.”
