This election year is an opportunity for Routt County voters to vote for balance and make significant course corrections away from the direction Democrats have taken our county, Colorado and America. Our governments at every level need fresh ideas that will restore balance, reason and common sense. Today, seven out of 10 likely voters believe America is heading in the wrong direction.
Democrats know they’re in trouble and they’re doing everything they can to distract voters from their record. In Colorado, Democrat smear merchants are propagating outright lies about Republican candidates and highlighting the abortion issue to avoid discussing the real problems most voters want solved.
The truth is, our neighbors are most concerned about runaway inflation, burgeoning crime, the fentanyl crisis, and the quality of public education, according to recent polling. Democrats like Rep. Dylan Roberts have played a significant role in exacerbating these problems because the Colorado state house and senate lack balance.
Rep. Roberts supported HB22-1326, the Fentanyl Accountability and Prevention bill, that simply adjusted the amount of illegal doses of fentanyl and did nothing to curb trafficking and prevent overdoses. Representative Roberts also supported SB-217, the Police Integrity Transparency and Accountability Act, which mandated onerous reporting processes that took police resources off the street. He also supported HB22-1362, Building Greenhouse Gas Emissions, which will require building code changes to comply with “green energy” mandates. According to the Common Sense Institute, these mandates will add about $42,000 to building costs for each new home in Colorado, making housing less affordable.
Like Dylan Roberts, Meghan Lukens lacks balance by supporting the Denver-Boulder “progressive” agenda. She is already having to backtrack from her record as a Boulder County Democratic Party vice chair. In this position, Ms. Lukens was responsible for advocating and fundraising for Democrat interests including Proposition 114 and the reintroduction of wolves. Although she claims to not have voted for the measure, she didn’t speak out against it and instead enabled its passage through her advocacy. Boulder county overwhelmingly voted to reintroduce wolves to the Western Slope. In order to cover up other political inconveniences, Ms. Lukens recently removed two videos from YouTube where she promotes the virtues of Critical Race Theory in public schools. Clearly, she now believes Marxist-based theories like CRT are not a popular sell to the voters of Routt County and the Western Slope.
County commissioner candidate Sonja Macys wishes to continue the legacy of one-party Democrat leadership on Routt County’s Board of Commissioners. During her time as a Steamboat Springs City Council member, she never met a tax increase or fee she couldn’t support. Ms. Macys’ approach to every problem is more tax and spend initiatives. For example, she believes a $100 million extension of the core trail would help address regional transportation and by extension affordable housing. These are the same approaches that continue to inhibit responsible growth and economic prosperity in Routt County. Ms. Macys’ approach to solving these problems is more bureaucracy using other people’s money. Her approach also includes the implementation of the Climate Action Plan, a boiler-plate document which has never undergone a cost-benefit analysis. The impact of incomplete climate action plans on lives and on the economy is becoming well demonstrated in Europe as millions of people fight to afford their homes let alone heat them and keep the lights on.
Democrat leadership and policies at the federal, state and local level have exacerbated inflation by thoughtlessly pouring more and more money into an already overheated economy that has a limited supply of goods and services. Their soft-on-crime policies have made our communities more dangerous and less productive. Democrat public education policies have stolen from our children and degraded the quality of public education by putting union interests before those of parents and children.
Democrats own these problems. The Democrat Party is the majority party in both houses of Congress and in the executive office at the federal and state level. Now, it’s time to bring balance, reason and common sense back to our federal, state and local governments. Our Republican candidates will listen to Routt County residents and truly represent their interests and values. They will bring new ideas to the table and build bridges to unite our communities and deliver meaningful change to the direction of our country, state, and county. We can no longer afford one party rule in Routt County, Colorado and America. Let’s bring balance and meaningful change by voting for the Republican Party on Nov. 8.
This column was provided by the Routt County Republican Central Committee. For more, go to RouttGOP.com.