Young people deserve a voice to advocate for rural life on the Western Slope, says Delta Suckla, the 20-year-old local leading a newly formed group in Montezuma County.
Suckla founded the Montezuma County Young Republicans in September. If you recognize her name, it’s likely because she’s the daughter of – and a legislative aide to – Larry Don Suckla, the House District 58 representative in the Colorado General Assembly and a former Montezuma County commissioner.
Delta Suckla sat down with The Journal earlier this month to talk about the MCYR and what’s on her mind as a young conservative passionate about politics.
Editor’s note: the following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Question: Can you tell me more about your background getting into politics through your father?
Absolutely. He’s definitely been the main source. I didn’t have much involvement at all. He used to be a county commissioner, so it’s always been something that ran through my household. Then he ran for state representative for HD 58. When he was elected, I had just graduated high school and was trying to figure out what my next steps were. He brought up the idea of being an aide for him. I decided it was similar to a lot of my interests. I’m a very social person and saw a lot of problems growing up.
I learned about different groups like the Young Republicans while I was up in Denver. Those are organizations that aren’t as prominent in areas like Montezuma County or other rural areas. I was very eager to hop on that. I think it’s also a bit of a crazy world right now. There’s a lot going on. I would say everything is pretty heightened. I’m starting to learn about these things and feel it’s very important to be involved.
Question: I’ve often heard that state-level politics, on the Front Range in particular, can be disconnected from what’s happening in rural, Western Slope communities. Can you talk about that disconnect?
I think there’s definitely a huge disconnect. We do share similarities. The Front Range and Eastern Plains are very similar to the life we live on the Western Slope, especially in terms of ranching and farming. But there’s definitely a big disconnect between the two, namely from the metro area. That’s one of my reasons for forming the Young Republicans here. Over on the Western Slope, our voice seems silent, and we rarely get opportunities to speak up about what affects us.
A lot of these decisions made by people in the metro area have no effect on urban people at all, and the only effect is actually on those of us in rural areas. Many people don’t realize that Colorado is not just Denver. There’s a lot of beautiful rural communities. We definitely need to make our voices heard because that often doesn’t happen.
Question: Are there any policies that come to mind as examples of what’s passed in the Front Range area that are felt here differently?
The first one that comes to mind would be the wolves being reintroduced into Colorado. It was a ballot measure. People on the Front Range and in metro areas voted this in because they believe it’s important. However, wolves being reintroduced isn’t affecting them. They’re not dropping wolves in downtown Denver. They’re dropping them here on the Western Slope – right in some of our communities.
They don’t live this day-to-day life of actually seeing how this is affecting farmers and ranchers. And they don’t quite understand that a wolf is not the same thing as a bear, a mountain lion or a coyote, all animals we already have here. It’s actually quite different and they’re very harmful to farmers, ranchers and especially cattle producers. They’re attacking the livestock. If our voices were heard here, this wouldn’t be happening because we all know how detrimental it is.
Question: Can you tell me more about the mission of the Young Republicans here?
I started the Young Republicans group here because we don’t have something like that in Montezuma County. We have the GOP and Republican Women of Montezuma County. Our group is specifically for young people, which hasn’t existed here before.
For me personally, I thought it would be very important to bring something like that into the community. People need an outlet where they can be involved and make a difference. They’ve had these groups in Denver and in El Paso County. These are all amazing groups. The whole Colorado Federation of Young Republicans is a great organization, but it hasn’t been very prominent on the Western Slope.
For my group here, we’re focused on local issues, as other groups are too. Our main priority is protecting our rural way of life so that our children can have the same life we had, without excessive regulation or control.
Question: What other takeaways did you get from the concerns of young Republicans local to the area?
A lot of the people in my group have young children. They’re just now starting their families. That is probably the most highlighted thing for them. They’re seeing a lot of what’s going on, whether it is local, state or federal, that will affect their children in the future.
Question: Do you have visions of running for office one day?
At this time, I don’t have a vision to run for office. I don’t know what the future will hold. I will say, I see my life deeply involved in politics, no matter what happens. I think politics will be something that I always stay heavily involved in. Whether it’s a career path outside politics, I’d still volunteer heavily.
Question: What do you value in political leaders? What sort of values would you hope to see in someone you’d vote for?
There’s many values that a person needs to have. Something that’s really huge for me is following through with promises made to constituents. A lot of times that doesn’t happen. Often, constituents don’t notice. I’m not talking one side or the other. It happens on both. Much of what’s said during campaigning often changes once they’re in office.
Then, of course, just someone who values the rural way of life, like I do, and someone who has the same conservative values as I do. Someone willing to go beyond what was promised.
People say it’s good to do kind gestures when someone’s not looking because that’s not what it’s all about. Actually, I think with politics specifically, sometimes it’s the opposite. That’s when it’s most important – doing those things when everyone is looking, without worrying about public opinion. If it’s the right thing to do and what’s best for their constituents, it should be done regardless.
Question: The news outlet Politico reported in mid-October on a leaked series of group chats among Young Republican leaders across Arizona, Kansas, New York and Vermont containing highly racist messages. What is your response to that sort of talk being normalized behind closed doors among Young Republican leaders?
I’ve talked a lot about it with various people. And this would just be my own personal opinion, not on behalf of the Montezuma County YRs or the Colorado Federation of Young Republicans. I personally think that’s not OK. I don’t agree with that at all. I don’t think there should be any time or scenario where that’s OK. I don’t think that language like that needs to be used. If those are the people that are the leaders in groups like these, that’s also not OK. I will say I don’t think that they’re bad or horrible people. I’m sure a lot of horrible things have also been said about them. I think they said very stupid things that they shouldn’t have said.
People have said, ‘Well, these messages were jokes,’ or whatever they might have said about it. I think it’s unacceptable. I don’t think those are jokes you should be making. But I also don’t think that anything was actually intentional in wanting those things to happen. Similar things have happened on the Left as well, and I don’t think that should be accepted either.
Question: These are polarizing times. Do you have a certain approach to bipartisanship or working together across division?
In light of recent events with Charlie Kirk’s assassination, I think he is actually a great role model when it comes to that. One of the main things, especially when it comes to bipartisanship, is that everyone should be open to conversations. It’s a shame when hostility prevents change on issues where there’s agreement. I think dialogue should always be present. Some people aren’t willing to have that dialogue. As Charlie Kirk would say, that’s when bad things happen.
If we’re having some type of meeting, or if we were to have a tabling of some sort, if someone were to want to come open up a discussion, even if it might be something that we don’t agree with, we do allow for that. We allow conversation, as long as it’s respectful.
