Eagle County Remembers Matt Solomon, Gun Shop Owner and Councilman

Aspen —Matt Solomon didn’t just serve Western Colorado. He annoyed it.

That’s the part the obituaries miss. The Vail Daily reported Tuesday that Solomon, a two-time former Eagle Town Council member and owner of a local gun store, died recently. The circumstances remain unclear. What isn’t unclear is the friction he left in his wake.

Solomon was chairman of the Club 20 Foundation, a nonpartisan coalition of Western Slope counties and businesses. In an email shared online, Club 20 officials called him a "dedicated leader" and a "passionate advocate." They noted his expertise in energy policy. That matters. In recent years, Solomon pushed hard for nuclear energy and proposed data centers in Northwest Colorado. These aren’t soft topics. They bring NIMBYs out of the woodshed.

He was a Democrat-friendly candidate in a red district. In 2022, he ran against Democrat Dylan Roberts for the state Senate District 8 seat. Roberts won. Solomon ran again on Nov. 3. He was accessible. He was transparent about his policy preferences and his past.

Liz Qualman, a local higher-education administrator and recent candidate for the Holy Cross Energy board, wrote to the paper. She called him a "good friend and soul who had a knack for pissing people off in a best way." She listed his roles: raft guide, paramedic, gun shop owner, community service member, and politician.

Read that again. Raft guide. Paramedic. Gun shop owner.

Eagle County Commissioner Chairman Tom Boyd, a Democrat, said Solomon had a knack for reaching across the aisle. Boyd sent a text to the outlet. He said the news sent a ripple of shock through the community. He hoped to honor Solomon’s memory by processing the loss together.

Russ Andrews, the Colorado Republican Party secretary and a candidate for state House District 57, agreed. Andrews said Solomon’s contributions would be felt for years. He called him a "dedicated public servant." Andrews noted that Solomon understood leadership was about service, not recognition.

Make no mistake: this was a man who did the work. He was a deputy coroner. He was a paramedic. He owned a business. He sat on the town council. He chaired a regional foundation.

The short version? Western Slope politics is small. Everyone knows everyone. Solomon was everywhere. He was in the valley. He was in the energy sector. He was in the gun shop. He was in the rafting guide’s lodge.

He is gone now. The energy projects continue. The data centers are still proposed. The nuclear plants are still debated.

His friends are processing. His family is grieving. The community is heartbroken.

But the work remains.