AURORA | In the relatively small race for Arapahoe County Commissioner in District 3, incumbent Republican Rod Bockenfeld and Democratic challenger Martha Karnopp are talking about big challenges.

The district encompasses the eastern edge of the county, as well as parts of Aurora and Centennial.

And, both candidates say, with such a large swath of rural or undeveloped land, dealing with growth and land-use issues will be a big part of commissioners’ job in the next four years.

Bockenfeld said the district, which he has represented for four years, is different from the other four commissioner districts because of its size and because it has so much unincorporated land.

One of the developments that commissioners likely will have to deal with is on the former Lowry bombing range in Arapahoe County, near the eastern edge of Aurora’s city limits.

Australia-based Lend Lease plans a mixed-use development that would comprise about 3,800 acres and housing for more than 30,000 residents on the range. The Lowry range project is slated for construction at the former Lowry bombing range by 2030.

Bockenfeld said the county has an important role to play in the development and said that Lend Lease has a lot riding on the project.

“They have an international reputation at stake,” Bockenfeld said.

In his campaign, Bockenfeld points to a host of financial issues as successes during his four years as a commissioner.

Bockenfeld said he has immersed himself in the county’s finances in the last four years. As a member of the county’s executive budget committee, Bockenfeld said he helped balance the county’s budget and increased general fund reserves.

He said he also helped initiate the development of the county’s “Mission, Vision and Values” statement, which he calls a first step in improving customer service.

Bockenfeld was a member of the county’s citizen budget advisory committee before running for commissioner and said he has a good understanding of the county’s finances, which he said are very healthy.

“And we’re just getting started,” he said.

Karnopp, a longtime fixture in the county Democratic Party, is running for the commission seat, she said, because the job of a commissioner is very hands on.

She ran against Debbie Stafford for House District 40 in 2006, but lost to Stafford, who was then a Republican but has since changed her affiliation to Democrat.

Karnopp said the state House post she ran for would have been a policy-setting position, and while she said she is very interested in policy, the idea of working on the county level, where policy is implemented, is very appealing to her.

She said the biggest issues in the county revolve around growth and how officials plan to deal with it.

“It has to do with grow and planning for the future,” she said. “We need to meet the needs of this population.”

Karnopp, who lives in Aurora and works as a lawyer, said that as commissioner she would like to make the county’s social services programs, such as food stamps and the Women Infant Children Program, are more customer friendly and easier for people to access.

“I’d like to see that the barriers to people in need are lessened,” she said. “I would like to make the process more user-friendly.”