Colorado is one of the few states that still has political party general assemblies and Rio Blanco County is one of the few counties left in Colorado to use them.
The Republicans and the Democrats in Rio Blanco County held their general assemblies this past weekend, and, in reflection, there is no better time than now to work toward getting rid of these dinosaurs and banish them to the annals of Colorado history. We are in a new century, you know!
Rio Blanco Republicans demonstrated well this past weekend why these archaic rites should become part of the state’s glorious past.
The best race to look at here (and really the only race) is the election for Rio Blanco County sheriff. There are two candidates, both Republicans, both long-timers in the area and both from Meeker: Michael Joos and Anthony Mazzola.
Both men have long been a part of the law enforcement/courts system in this county and either one would likely make a great sheriff.
Well, it turns out that at the GOP assembly there are 51 delegates and for a candidate to actually make the public ballot, they must receive at least one-third, or 17, of the votes cast by the delegates. Otherwise, their petitions and name gathering have been for naught.
That means that a group of 51 Republicans determine who the Rio Blanco County sheriff will be. No vote by the rest of the citizens would really make a difference except that the candidate left off the ballot has a slim chance through a write-in campaign.
As it worked out, there was a lot of talking, it seems, between the delegates and it was decided to see if the vote could be worked out to where both men were on the ballot.
When it was all said and done, Joos, currently the county undersheriff, led the two candidates with 34 votes and Mazzola received the other 17 — one more than was needed to eliminate him from the ballot.
No individual or small group should have the power to eliminate a viable candidate from appearing on the ballot.
Thankfully, most counties and states have done away with this ridiculous ritual.
They let the voters decide who will appear on the ballot.
There is a primary election, which decides the party candidate, but at least more than 51 members of the county electorate get to vote on who will advance.
In Rio Blanco’s case, the primary will decide who is the next sheriff in the county since there is no Democratic candidate. It is unfortunate anytime there isn’t a candidate from each party, but in cases like here, where Republicans are in the strong majority, it often happens.
But to allow 17 persons to decide who will be on the ballot is just crazy politics, reminiscent of the party fixings in Chicago through much of the early days of the 20th century.
The voters sign petitions for the candidates; the candidates qualify for the election and the voters vote in the primaries and then general elections in most cases.
That is the way it should be. Yes, that is the way it should be.
If most of the counties in Colorado have done away with this practice, then it is obvious that there is a way to do away with it here.
Just remember. The Rio Blanco County sheriff’s race came within one vote by a group of 51 people of being a one-horse race.
That should never be the case again. That truly is a travesty of voting justice.
And it certainly is not reflective of the wishes of the voters, the persons who are affected by such a situation.
Get rid of it. Now is the best time I know of.
It does not benefit the Democrats. It does not benefit the Republicans. It does not benefit the public nor the voters.
Get rid of it. Now!
The supporters of Colorado Northwestern Community College were not necessarily out in strong numbers on Saturday night for the 10th annual CNCC Foundation Dinner and Dance, but they certainly came with their wallets in hand.
Due to a number of events taking place in Northwestern Colorado on Saturday and the absence of W.C. ”Bud” Striegel, who was reportedly not feeling well on Saturday, the fewer people assembled this year initially looked like it was not going to be one of the more stellar fundraisers the foundation had ever seen.
What a foolish assumption.
Those who were there made up for the smaller numbers with their wide-open wallets — both as far as the donors and the patrons were concerned.
There were plenty of nice silent and public auction items available, and it didn’t take long for the audience to make it clear this just might be a good year.
It didn’t hurt that a $25,000 check was presented to the CNCC Foundation on behalf of Chevron by Cary Baird, the Rocky Mountain Area community engagement specialist for the company.
While much of the Rector Sciences Building has been remodeled in the past year with money from last year’s foundation dinner, it was decided by the foundation board to use the money from this year’s fundraiser to finish work on the Rector Building, which is the last of the original buildings on the campus to be remodeled and updated, but it is also the busiest building on the campus.
If the $25,000 check didn’t set the mood for the evening, something silent and mighty strong surely did.
Usually, the dinner organizer, college board member and overall CNCC cheerleader Peggy Rector is bustling around the Weiss Colorado Room making certain all goes well. She was pretty much bound to a wheelchair for her broken hip and occasionally stole her way around with a walker. But she was heard in all corners of the room screaming her thanks to the bidders in the auction and spurring on those who were continuing the bidding.
Overall, more than $50,000 was raised through the dinner, auctions and Chevron check this year compared to roughly $35,000 last year, and everyone was more than happy with that figure.
A few folks from Meeker were in attendance, and a couple of those folks joined in the fun and fundraising, but it truly was amazing to see the Rangely folks open their hearts and their wallets to the CNCC Foundation.
Many people in that community made it more than obvious that they are proud of the college and what is being accomplished there.
Rector and the CNCC president couldn’t have been happier with the results of the event, and the residents of Rangely and the surrounding area should be proud of their part in the event. It made for a great evening of good food, good entertainment, serious fundraising and serious community involvement.
It was a great success.
Congratulations to Tom Allen for being named to fill Dan Chinn’s seat on the Meeker School Board.
It either takes someone crazy or someone truly dedicated to voluntarily join the board at a time of trouble like this, when the board is having funding problems unseen before.
Anyone who knows Tom knows he is active in any number of things as well as serving as president of the ever-busy Meeker Lions Club.
Congratulations and thanks also go to George Henderson and Carol Rowles for turning their own names in as well to fill Chinn’s vacancy.
