By Hal Walter
The early morning phone call caught me by surprise. It was a longtime and well-respected friend and neighbor. As I was rushing about trying to get my son Harrison to the school bus, he quickly explained he was calling on behalf of some local citizens hoping to draft me to run for county commissioner. They felt I had a good chance of winning.
Brief by Central Staff
Local Politics – December 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine
In this fall’s elections, Central Colorado voters did not follow any discernible trend. Citizens retained incumbents and tossed them out, and likewise some tax increases were approved while others were rejected. This was an “off-year” election which involved school boards, city councils, mayors, and tax measures.
Essay by Ed Quillen
Local Politics – October 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine
ALTHOUGH MOST COUNTY OFFICES — clerk, treasurer, sheriff, etc. — are up for election this year, there’s only one hot race in Chaffee County. That’s the commissioner contest. You can tell from the proliferation of yard signs, either “Tim Glenn Again” or “People First: Bev Scanga,” that it dominates local politics in 2006. The only sign that might outnumber them is “Save Our Shelter: Vote Yes on 1A,” and that small property-tax increase doesn’t appear to be controversial (since I’ve yet to encounter anyone who’s against it).
Brief by Central Staff
Local Politics – May 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine
Unlike many mountain towns where the mines have closed, Bonanza still has residents and a town government. And it has a controversy about who’s enough of a resident to be part of the town government.
Bonanza sits about 20 miles northwest of Villa Grove, and it had its scheduled municipal election on April 4. Turn-out was perfect — all 22 registered voters cast ballots.
Brief by Central Staff Local Politics – March 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine In our experience, the usual ranch gate consists of wooden fence posts and barbed wire to keep the cattle where they belong. In more prosperous operations, the gate might be metal, and a cattle-guard could be part of the installation. But if …
Brief by Central Staff
Local politics – June 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine
Lake County seems to be leading in the contest to be Recall Capital of Central Colorado.
A year ago, voters recalled Sheriff George Shears. Earlier this year, residents began circulating a petition to recall Commissioner Bill Hollenback on the grounds that he was micro-managing the county and invading county employees’ privacy by photo-copying their paycheck stubs.
Brief by Central Staff
Local Politics – May 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine
There’s the saying that “every vote matters,” and it was certainly true in the Westcliffe municipal election on April 2.
Jess Price beat Dave Purnell for the mayor’s seat by a one-vote margin: 64-63.
Price has served on the town board of trustees for a dozen years, and this isn’t his first close election. When he first ran for the board, in 1990, he and Tom King tied with 56 votes apiece.
Brief by Central Staff
Local politics – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine
If there was a pattern in this year’s “off-year” election, it escaped us. Some tax increases passed, others failed. Some incumbents were tossed out, others were retained by substantial margins. So if you’re looking for one of those analytical “mood of the electorate” articles, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
In and around Salida, the big issue was the mill-levy override for School District R-32-J, to increase pay all across the board. It passed, but by only 20 votes: 1,769 to 1,469.
Letter from Clint Driscoll
Local Politics – April 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine
Dear Martha,
I enjoyed your piece on partisanship, and at the risk of being run out of the county I would like to posit a theory, strictly on the academic level, that you did not touch on in your letter. My thesis is this: We are seeing in Chaffee County not so much an increase in ideological partisanship as a shift in the basic power structure. Essentially the political battles up here, despite what some Republicans claim about party-switching Democrats, have pitted Republicans against Republicans. Face it, up here Democrats (like me) are rare as Hump
Essay by Martha Quillen
Local Politics – March 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine
IN THE PAST, I’ve grumbled quite a bit about partisan politics, and so has Ed, and dozens upon dozens of national columnists, and many of the people writing letters to our local newspapers, and… People on the streets, over ridges, near to bridges; in the cities, next to bays, near the highways; in the region, on the hillsides, by the legion…
Brief by Central Staff
Local politics – March 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine
In recent weeks, we’ve heard a lot about those damned “trustfunders,” and most of the time the term is applied to people who wish it were true.
This inspires four observations:
Essay by Kent Maxwell
Local Politics – December 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine
GOVERNMENT IN CHAFFEE COUNTY has grown more slowly, thanks to me. Next year alone, some $700,000 worth of property taxes won’t be leaving taxpayer wallets to fill the coffers of the Salida School District and Chaffee County Fire Protection District.
Yet, I’d be the first to admit that Salida teachers deserve higher salaries and that more equipment is needed for adequate fire protection in outlying areas of the county.
It comes down to a difference of opinion as to the means to achieve those ends.
Brief by Central Staff
Local Politics – November 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine
Chaffee County Sheriff Ron Bergmann has pleaded guilty to one charge of second-degree official misconduct. Since that’s only a petty offense, not a felony, he can stay in office, but he was sentenced to 50 hours of community service and to donate $3,000 to charity.
The case began in 1999, when Dean Schumacher of Buena Vista was sentenced to six months in the county jail for driving while ability impaired, and three months for driving with a suspended license.
Brief by Central Staff
Local politics – September 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine
This summer, Chaffee County Sheriff Ron Bergmann has proven himself to be a dexterous politician, right up there with the masters of the trade.
Recently Bergmann was charged with a Class 1 Petty Offense for failing to perform a duty imposed upon him by law. The story starts with Dean Schumacher, a 38-year-old Buena Vista man who last year was sentenced to a 90-day and a six-month term in the county jail, to be served concurrently. But the jail staff misunderstood this as consecutive terms, so Schumacher spent an extra eight weeks in jail.
Brief by Central Staff
Local Politics – September 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine
Chaffee County set the state record for voter turn-out in the Aug. 8 Republican primary, where challenger Joe De Luca defeated two-term incumbent Frank McMurry by 1,787 to 1,293, which works out to a 58-42 margin. No Democratic candidate has been named, so De Luca is pretty well assured of election in November.
Essay by Ed Quillen
Local Politics – August 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine –
I HALF-EXPECTED A THREE-PIECE SUIT to materialize around me, a phenomenon which would no doubt be followed shortly by a sudden, inexplicable craving to play golf.
But nothing of the sort happened when I signed a blue card and switched my voting registration from Democratic to Republican.
Brief by Central Staff
Local Politics – July 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine
Okay, it’s summer, and you’d rather dig postholes than pay attention to politics. We understand, but we’ve got to do our job.
There’s no U.S. Senate race in Colorado this year, and the only statewide office contest is for secretary of state, to fill out the term of Vicki Buckley, who died in 1999, early in her second term.
Brief by Central Staff
Local politics – April 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine
Bjünites will get new mayor
Clint Driscoll’s name should be a familiar one to our readers — in past years, he’s written several articles for us, and he currently writes the On Mountain Time comic strip, which is drawn by Lara Ravenwood.
Brief by Central Staff
Local politics – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
Chaffee County’s property owners are fairly diligent about paying their property taxes. We know that because the annual list of delinquent property taxes, which the law requires to be published in a local newspaper, was only one page long.
Around Central Colorado, Park County had the longest list — just over 15 tabloid newspaper pages of owner names, property descriptions, and taxes owed. Next was Saguache County, with 11+ pages. Lake County had nearly 6 pages, and Custer County had 2.
Brief by Ed Quillen
Local politics – July 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
THERE WAS A TIME when our local governments protected us from wolves by offering bounties on them. That worked so well that there aren’t any wolves left to protect us from. And now that we’re in the “information age,” we need to be protected from information about wolves.
Brief by Central Staff
Local Politics – July 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
Bjüni recalls 4 trustees
Buena Vista’s title as “Recall Capital of Colorado” should be secure for a while.
On June 8, voters replaced four of the town’s six trustees in a special recall election; the recall margins were on the order of 250 for ousting the incumbent to 220 to retain. About 37% of the electorate — 510 of 1,385 registered voters — went to the polls.
Essay by Norm Wallen
Growth and Local Politics – June 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
ANYONE WHO LIVES in a growing western community can understand how development changes the character of the place they live. But most of us are uninformed about the development process itself. We curse the powers that be when new subdivisions and strip-malls go up, or we get stuck in traffic jams that didn’t exist last year, but we don’t really understand the rules, both hidden and apparent, that created this new reality.
Column by Hal Walter
Local Politics – February 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
USING THE FINGERS on both of my hands, I can total all full-time Custer County residents I know who maintain regular exercise programs. And some of those programs aren’t even all that regular.
I’m excluding from this list residents whose daily activities include low-weight, high-rep, 12-ounce curls, deep-nicotine-breathing exercises, and anærobic assault. Regular exercise is just not a priority for these folks.
Brief by Central Staff
Local Politics – February 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
Home, Home on the Range,
Where the taxes are low every day
According to the Census Bureau, Custer County is the fourth-fastest-growing county in the United States. But its assessed valuation dropped by about $1 million last year, from $44.7 million in 1997 to $43.7 million in 1998.
Brief by Central Staff
Local Politics – December 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine
Our turn to spin about the ’98 election
The only candidate we meant to endorse in the last edition, but didn’t get around to writing up, was Carl Miller. He’s a conservative Democrat and state representative for District 61, which had new boundaries this time that comprised part of the San Luis Valley.
Brief by Central Staff
Local Politics – November 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine
Finally, a smaller new jail proposed for Chaffee County
Last year, Chaffee County voters turned down a chance to add a use tax on building materials and car sales, with the proceeds going to a new 100-bed jail. Now, there’s a plan for a 50-bed jail.
Earlier this year, the county commissioners sponsored a survey, complete with some dubious projections, to find out how voters might be persuaded to support a 100-bed jail. Last summer, they were floating the concept of “sales tax equalization” — raise the county sales tax to 4%, to match the 2% for municipalities plus the 2% for the county that is charged in towns, and use the extra revenue to build a bigger jail.
Essay by Martha Quillen
Local Politics – July 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine
THE CITY OF SALIDA has a public relations problem. As most of you know, Ed, The Mountain Mail, and KVRH Radio have gone to court to try to make Salida’s public relations more public.
But that isn’t the problem I’m referring to. No, I was thinking about the problem that started this whole episode.
I suppose a lot of city officials think their problem is Monika Griesenbeck. But it’s a lot more complicated than that.
Brief by Central Staff
Local politics – May 1995 – Colorado Central Magazine
SALIDA — Spring cleaning is a worthwhile annual tradition, and it extends beyond households to towns and even river corridors.