Would vote for a candidate who confessed a misdeed
Dear Editor:
The story is told that as a lad George Washington cut down a cherry tree in his father’s orchard. The satisfying end to the tale is that little George confessed to his misdeed and was forgiven because of his honesty. I would overlook this failing and vote for him as the greatest leader our country has ever had. I, personally, don’t care about mistakes political candidates made decades ago. The best I can do is judge them based on recent actions. I hate thinking about four or eight years of a presidency during which each utterance must be examined for validity. This would be a Hillary Clinton presidency. She is lying even now on a daily basis. Donald Trump is far from being a perfect candidate but he hasn’t been proven to have the deceitful and consistently dishonest habits of Mrs. Clinton.
Dick Prosence
Meeker
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Proposed Amendment 71 shenanigans
Dear Editor:
How can the voters of Colorado be expected to understand the ramifications of Amendment 71 (Making it more difficult to amend the Colorado Constitution), when both the ballot language and its ‘Blue Book’ explanation fail to describe all of the details of its intended revision of Article V, Section 1? Did the Proponents of 71 intend to hide the fact that the total number of valid signatures required for ballot access would also be increased 75 percent (to 182, 452, an increase of 78,660 signatures) from 5 percent of the Secretary of State vote from the prior election, to 5 percent of the total of registered voters, real or imaginary, living or dead? Why has this never been publicized or even noticed by the Colorado Legislative Council (CLC)? How is any voter to know what the incomprehensible reference of ‘..subsection 2 of subsection 2.5..’ means? How can voters, in our present all-mail-ballot regime, know of this subterfuge, much less the details of it, without having a copy of our Constitution mailed to each household, or having an ‘election law specialist’ over for dinner? As Amendment 71’s published descriptive information is incomplete and insufficient, is not 71 illegitimate, and does not that make the purported Amendment itself invalid? Will the Secretary of State do his duty and declare 71 “null and void” before ballots are counted, or will a court? Will the media act swiftly to educate our voters and expose this travesty?
Sincerely, Russell W. Haas
Golden, Colo.
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In support of Baumgardner
Dear Editor:
Senator Randy Baumgardner is a leader and spokesperson for all of rural Colorado and has been a staunch defender of his Senate district. He has earned respect from both sides of the aisle on issues affecting transportation as he chairs the Senate Transportation Committee. Senator Baumgardner’s leadership is also evident in the Colorado House as Randy also chairs the Transportation Legislative Review Committee which consists of both House and Senate Members. His leadership skills and conservative principles makes him an ideal chairman of the Capital Development Committee which is charged with overseeing the state’s assets. Senator Baumgardner’s work to make sure the money allocated for property be prioritized to first be spent on maintaining our current buildings before building new assets has led to better management of the state owned property. Randy makes his living as a rancher so he understands what it is like to face the same issues as the people he represents and then uses that experience at the capitol to be that strong voice his constituents expect. Just like on his ranch, Senator Baumgardner’s work ethic is unmatched as he is normally at the capitol before anyone else arrives to make sure he is prepared for the day. Very few legislative districts have the opportunity to support such a compassionate person that has proven he will give the shirt off his back and help those that need help, as well as being a conservative that has been recognized as a steward of your tax dollars. The people of this district are educated voters and won’t let the out of touch recycled message by former disgruntled candidates to keep them from sending Senator Baumgardner and his leadership back to the capitol. Senate District 8 has the unique opportunity to re-elect a true advocate for his constituents in Randy Baumgardner.
Thanks, Jerry Sonnenberg
Colorado Senate
Sterling, Colo.
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Taylor backs Baumgardner for Senate
Dear Editor:
I had the privilege and honor of representing Northwest Colorado in the Colorado House of Representatives for eight years and also served as your State Senator the following eight years. I was very disappointed to read recently in the Craig Daily Press that Al and Jean White have endorsed Senator Randy Baumgardner’s opponent for Colorado Senate District 8. I write to tell you that I strongly support Senator Randy Baumgardner to remain as our State Senator. Randy served as our State Representative for four years and has been our State Senator for four years. Because of his experience and longevity as our State Senator, he serves on many coveted committees. He is Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee and is Chairman of the Transportation Legislative Review Committee (TLRC). He is a member of the important Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources & Energy Committee and is Chairman of the critical Capital Development Committee. He also serves on the Water Resources Review Committee. Also, Senator Baumgardner is a rancher and he understands very well the issues we face here in rural Colorado—including water. To vote for Randy’s opponent does not make sense to me. His seniority on these committees should not be lost. Randy is passionate about opposing the war on our coal industry and is supporting coal jobs here in Northwest Colorado. A newcomer to the Senate District 8 seat would have to serve for several years in office to reach the level of committee assignments and responsibilities that Senator Baumgardner now holds. I served in the Colorado Legislature with Al White. Mr. White’s endorsement of Randy’s opponent at first surprised me until I remembered that after he resigned from the senate, he went to work for Democrat Governor Hickenlooper for five years. Jean White served as a State Senator only after she was appointed to take her husband’s place when Al resigned from the Senate. Jean was never elected to the Colorado State Senate by the people. Randy and I have been friends for over 10 years and I know first-hand he has been a strong voice for and is deeply committed to our district and Northwest Colorado. I’m voting for Senator Randy Baumgardner and hope you will join me and vote for him, too.
Thank you!
Jack Taylor
Retired Colorado State Senator
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Incumbent DA asks for votes
Dear Editor:
I am your elected District Attorney. I have been in office for the past four years serving Pitkin, Garfield and Rio Blanco County. Since taking office in 2013 I have made sure that your county is staffed with a capable and competent attorney who can provide good advice to the police and sheriff and who can ably represent the county in court. It is important to me that there is a good deputy that people respect serving Rio Blanco County, not just someone who needs a job and agrees to live in the county. I have said many times that I will not hire an attorney just because he lives in the County or agrees to move there. My opponents have committed to putting a Deputy DA in your county who also lives there. However with the use of cell phones, email and fax your community is easily served by a deputy who may not live there. The last two deputies who lived in your community were not attuned to the needs of the police and sheriff. One left every month for 10 days and the other did not interact with the community at all. Steve Mallory, the deputy who does most of the work in your county, is available for telephone calls, warrant reviews and advice at all times. He loves your communities and is more than happy to be up there. He interacts with the police departments and the sheriff quite well and is well respected. My investigators regularly come up to the county to assist with investigations. I have a top notch team of people that provide assistance on cases that develop in your county. I have been very fiscally responsible and have not increased the budget unduly. This year I decreased the budget by a small amount. I believe that I have been doing a good job for you and your communities and I ask for your vote on Nov. 8.
Sherry A. Caloia
9th Judicial District Attorney
