It’s tough getting a grip on Lew Gaiter III based on the intangibles of character, principles and policy he offered to delegates who chose him to fill the Larimer County (Colorado) commissioner vacancy.

That’s because Gaiter, as one of the three top elected officials in the county, is a work in progress who admits he has a lot to learn — particularly about agricultural and water issues.

Lacking the information he wants to have, Gaiter said, he is reluctant to take firm positions on issues.

On the proposed Glade Reservoir project, for example, Gaiter concurred with some of the other candidates who sought the commissioner position.

“I would say build it,” he said.

“I guess I have some concerns about how it’s being done,” he then added. “There’s a lot I don’t know about Glade.”

And on ag issues, Gaiter confesses to being a “city boy” who grew up in the suburbs. He said he will listen to the learned to become better informed about issues faced by residents of the rural areas that constitute by far the largest portion of the territory he represents.

District 1, represented by Kathay Rennels of Livermore for 11 years, includes Wellington, Livermore, Red Feather Lakes and parts of Fort Collins.

Gaiter said he already is doing homework on county budget issues and asked for patience as he begins a completely new pursuit in his high-tech life.

“You’re talking to a guy who drives computers for a living,” he explained.

That is indeed the consistent thread throughout his life. Born in Denver and raised in Littleton, Gaiter said he built his first computer in high school in 1975. By the time he arrived at Colorado State University in pursuit of a computer science degree, he had built two more and mastered three computer languages.

Before completing his degree, Gaiter moved to California and worked as a software developer for various Silicon Valley firms for five and one-half years. He returned to Fort Collins in 1986, working for Hewlett-Packard until 1992, when he took voluntary severance to start his own company, StarFire Enterprises Inc.

He subsequently has worked on projects worldwide and locally, including work for CSU and Larimer County in 2005 to 2006.

With his son, he owns and operates a custom software development company, Gaiter Enterprises LLC.

Gaiter, 50, and his wife, Jeannette, live northeast of Fort Collins near Tavelli School. They have nine children. Among his community activities, he has served as vice chair of the Larimer County Republican Party, a volunteer ski patroller for 18 years, an outdoor emergency care class instructor for Diamond Peaks Ski Patrol and chair of the Realities for Children Triumph Awards board of directors.

Gaiter said he had long been interested in the commissioner position because it blended executive and legislative duties with a “high level of human interaction.”

He said the Republican Party recruited him and he had already planned to run for commissioner in November because Rennels was term-limited. Her resignation in December, however, forced the timing, he said.

Gaiter said he waited to become a candidate until Sheriff Jim Alderden decided not to seek appointment to fill the vacancy.

He said the commissioner’s job will be full time for him. He said he doesn’t expect a primary within his own party when he seeks election to a full term in a countywide vote in November.

“I’m going to be a phenomenal county commissioner,” he said. “I’ll be hard to beat.”