Letters to the Editor – The Journal

‘Still have card after 60 years’

Nov. 22, 1963, is a day that touched my heart and soul. I will never forget! I was 12 years old in history class, when we received word that our then President John F. Kennedy had been shot ...

DATE: Nov 26, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Property taxes absurdly low. Come on!’

Colorado’s property taxes are absurdly low. How can it be said lower taxes are needed? Colorado does not fund education, which includes low teacher pay. In many states, it is the property ta...

DATE: Nov 26, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

No ‘peace until hostages released’

It is disheartening to see people who support Hamas. Hamas uses human shields, human atrocities and human hostages as a tool for destroying Jews. Hamas must be destroyed or will build bigger...

DATE: Nov 26, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Ballot in one hand, AR-15 in other’

OK, now I get it. I don’t feel the love for Donald Trump and admittedly, never have. I’m amazed he’s not in a prison cell with the maggots who did his dirty work on Jan. 6. Trump is a liar a...

DATE: Nov 26, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘A smear ad campaign against Boebert’

Progressive dark money PAC is at it again. Rocky Mountain Values is running a smear ad campaign against Congresswoman Lauren Boebert. The ad accuses the congresswoman of voting against lower...

DATE: Nov 26, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Ballot in one hand, AR-15 in other’

OK, now I get it. I don’t feel the love for Donald Trump and admittedly, never have. I’m amazed he’s not in a prison cell with the maggots who did his dirty work on Jan. 6. Trump is a liar a...

DATE: Nov 26, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Entered point of no return’

Dark and ominous days ahead. We have now entered the point of no return. Our politicians, on both sides, have agreed to continue with more than $2 trillion dollars per year of deficit spendi...

DATE: Nov 22, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Putting fox in charge of chicken coop’

Doesn’t it seem incredible that the more the breadth and depth of the former president’s mischief is exposed in the courts, the more wildly popular he gets in the polls? Not only that, but h...

DATE: Nov 22, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Asking for little help never granted’

Unfortunate end results for missing Rich Moore of Pagosa Springs, but glad his body and his dog have finally been found and, amazingly, the dog is still alive. I was in Pagosa right after th...

DATE: Nov 22, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Call out Boebert on genocide’

So far, there are few who have been willing to show up and support a movement united against racism, islamophobia, anti-semitism, transphobia, and above all, state-sanctioned violence and ge...

DATE: Nov 12, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Some Americans have dysfunctional brains’

My friend George was murdered in 1973 running along the beach in San Francisco. I was running with him earlier or would not be alive to write this letter. Today we are all victims of gun vio...

DATE: Nov 12, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Vicious cycle brought Netanyahu, Hamas’

Patriarchal dominance cements its control beginning with humiliation, proceeding to intimidation and threats, then moving into violence. This vicious cycle has brought us Benjamin Netanyahu ...

DATE: Nov 12, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

If voters adopt ranked choice voting, Colorado may prevent it from taking effectLast-minute provisions added to an elections bill would create a major barrier

If Colorado voters decide in November to pass a ballot measure making big changes to the way the state’s elections are conducted, it may be years before they go into effect – if ever.That’s because of a last-minute amendment added to a broad bipartisan election bill awaiting Gov. Jared Polis’ signature. The provisions would create a major barrier to a proposal to alter Colorado’s primaries so candidates of all parties run against each other, with the top four vote-getters advancing to a ranked choice general election.Now, proponents of the election overhaul, who were unaware of the big hurdles created by Senate Bill 210 until they were contacted this week by The Colorado Sun, are demanding that Polis veto the legislation. County clerks and opponents of the voting changes are demanding that he sign it.Amid the growing pressure campaign, the governor won’t say whether he will sign or veto the measure, which would require ranked-choice voting to be tested in 12 municipalities before it could be used statewide. He has until June 7 to decide.“The governor is reviewing the final version of the bill,” said Shelby Wieman, a spokesperson for Polis.The future of Colorado’s voting process hangs in the balance. So does the rest of what’s in Senate Bill 230, which election officials say is necessary to safeguard state election workers.

Colorado Voters First, the group pushing for the election system changes, is spearheaded by Kent Thiry, the wealthy former CEO of the Denver-based dialysis giant DaVita. For years he has used his deep pockets to fund ballot initiatives, including ones aimed at tamping down on partisanship by letting unaffiliated voters cast ballots in partisan primaries and taking redistricting out of the hands of the Legislature. Colorado Voters First intends to place a measure on the November ballot asking voters to change how Colorado’s primaries are conducted and adopt ranked choice general elections, similar to what’s used in Alaska. The changes would go into effect in 2026. The overhaul would diminish the power of the two major political parties, which are chafing at the changes.In ranked choice voting elections, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If a candidate wins more than 50% of the first-preference votes, they are declared the winner. If no candidate reaches that threshold, candidates with the fewest first-preference supporters are eliminated. The process continues until one candidate exceeds 50% of the total vote.

County clerks across the state have warned that they are unprepared for the overhaul and expressed anxiety about how the ballot measure could affect their ability to follow other state and federal election laws. They worked on the amendment in Senate Bill 210 delaying implementation of open primary system and ranked choice general elections alongside a group called Coloradans for Accurate and Secure Elections, a consortium of mainly progressive organizations opposed to the Colorado Voters First proposal.The provisions would require a dozen Colorado municipalities in counties of a certain size and with a specific demographic makeup to conduct ranked choice elections before a ranked choice election could be used in a race for state or federal office. Additionally, Colorado could not move to the new primary system proposed by Colorado Voters First until that requirement has been met.

Finally, the amendment would require the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office to produce a report on how ranked choice voting went in the municipalities and present its findings to the Legislature.Only a handful of cities and towns in Colorado – including Boulder, Fort Collins and Telluride – currently use ranked choice voting in their municipal elections. Voter approval would be required before the change is adopted in some communities. That means it would likely be 2028 or 2030 at the earliest before the new primary system and ranked choice voting could be used in state and federal elections.The clauses were added in a two-page amendment to Senate Bill 210 adopted on the Sunday before the end of the state’s legislative session on May 8. There was no debate on the amendment, which was offered on the Colorado House floor by state Rep. Emily Sirota, a Denver Democrat and one of the bill’s main sponsors.“This amendment was worked out with several of our (county) clerks to ensure that as new voting methods are implemented in different types of elections we have a good amount of data to analyze to ensure we’re not undermining Coloradans’ confidence in our elections and that voters understand their ballots,” Sirota said on the House floor.The amendment was introduced, explained and passed within a minute.“These last-minute antics are what voters hate about politics,” said Amber McReynolds, an elections expert who is part of Colorado’s Voters First. “Communities across Colorado have already approved and used ranked choice voting in elections, and our fantastic clerks have systems in place to run and audit those contests. Using ranking systems simply gives voters more choice, and does not substantively change the way votes are processed.”She said the way the amendment was adopted – with no chance for public input during a legislative committee – “begs for a veto.”Curtis Hubbard, a spokesman for Colorado Voters First, went so far as to allege that the amendment was akin to Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

“Anyone who was – rightly – outraged by Trump’s efforts to overturn an election after the fact should be disgusted with this front-loaded attempt to undermine the will of the voters,” he said.Matt Crane, who leads the nonpartisan Colorado County Clerks Association, said his organization worked on and supported the amendment. He said it’s smart policy for ranked choice voting to be tested on the municipal level before it’s adopted statewide. (Only Alaska and Maine conduct all statewide elections using ranked choice voting.)“Anytime that you are going to make a seismic change to an election model, it’s a bad idea to do it without understanding all the impacts of it,” he said. “We just aren’t there with rank choice voting. Will it create broader voter confusion? Does it have a suppressing effect on people of color and the seniors?”He added: “We like to be on the cutting edge. We just don’t want to be on the bleeding edge.”Crane said if support for ranked choice voting is as broad as its supporters say it is, it shouldn’t be difficult to get the system adopted in towns and cities across Colorado. He added that because Senate Bill 210 would make a change to state law, the Legislature could come back next year and strip out the statutory hurdles should voters overwhelmingly back the ballot measure on open primaries and ranked choice voting.“As clerks, we don’t care about who wins,” Crane said. “We just care about who’s participating. Ranked choice, this movement is designed to change who wins.”Crane said if the governor were to veto Senate Bill 210, which is 42 pages long, a laundry list of other provisions meant to improve the state’s election system would be collateral damage, including clauses protecting local elections officials from conspiracy theorists, improving safety for presidential electors and shielding county clerks from nuisance public records requests.“It’s a critically important elections bill in an election year,” Sirota, one of the bill’s main sponsors, said in an interview Thursday. She rejected the idea that the way the amendment was passed was inappropriate. She said the bill arrived in the House late in the session, crossing over to the chamber from the Senate on May 1 after it was first introduced April 17.And, she said, the ranked choice voting provision is “a totally fair way to ensure if the voters pass a ballot measure that it is rolled out in a methodical way.” Sirota said the provision would force the rollout of ranked choice voting to be akin to how Colorado adopted its universal mail ballot system.“I’m getting pretty tired of the uber-wealthy among us just throwing their money around and the impact on Colorado’s public be damned,” she said, referring to Thiry.The Legislature has passed other bills in recent years aimed at affecting ballot measures.In 2021, lawmakers passed a bipartisan measure kneecapping a ballot measure seeking to cut property taxes. This year, the Legislature approved a bill aiming to neuter the effects of a possible November ballot measure requiring voter approval for new government fees.Colorado Voters First still has a ways to go before it gets a measure on the November ballot. It must collect about 125,000 voter signatures by Aug. 5 to qualify. The group also hasn’t settled yet on which measure to pursue as two of its proposals are being reviewed by the Colorado Supreme Court.But because of Thiry’s deep pockets, it’s widely assumed that it will land a measure on the November ballot.The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com.

Last-minute provisions added to an elections bill would create a major barrier

Photo gallery: Farmington hosts Healing Field for Memorial DayMore than 100 people braved the hot sun to pay their respects to San Juan County veterans and first responders, who lost their lives in the line of duty. As they sat atop the bleachers, 528 American flags fluttered in the wind, and the tingle of dog tags could be heard as the names of those lost were shared.

More than 100 people braved the hot sun to pay their respects to San Juan County veterans and first ...

Photo gallery: Montezuma-Cortez commencementOn Thursday, the Montezuma-Cortez school district bid farewell to the Class of 2024

On Thursday, the Montezuma-Cortez school district bid farewell to the Class of 2024

Lasting roughly 75 minutes from start to applause-heavy finish, commencement concluded DHS’ 2023-24 ...

PHOTOS: Durango 9-R’s Title VI Native American Education program celebrates Class of 2024Graduates represent seven tribes, including Southern Ute, Ute Mountain Ute and Navajo Diné, on Saturday

Graduates represent seven tribes, including Southern Ute, Ute Mountain Ute and Navajo Diné, on Saturday

Fruitland’s Timberlin Henderson wins men’s Shiprock MarathonMassachusetts resident Christina Marin wins women’s marathon; Farmington runners also shine

Massachusetts resident Christina Marin wins women’s marathon; Farmington runners also shine

Some touched down onto the water cleanly, while others crashed hard into the pond. But that was part of the fun

Officer injured by La Plata County Jail escapee sues county, jail and sheriff’s officeElias Buck is accused of shooting Farmington cop 11 days after escaping detention center

A Farmington police officer who was allegedly shot in the elbow by a fugitive who had escaped from the La Plata County Jail is suing the jail, county government and Sheriff’s Office. Joseph Barreto is accusing the county of negligence stemming from its operation of the jail in Durango, from which Elias Buck allegedly escaped on Dec. 27, 2021. Buck shot Barreto 11 days later while the officer tried to detain him, according to the lawsuit.In a notice of claims sent to the county in March 2022, Barreto’s attorney offered to settle the lawsuit for $3.5 million. He then filed a formal complaint in 6th Judicial District Court in December 2023, and the county filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit last month.

Arrest, escape, arrestBuck was being held at the La Plata County Jail in December 2021 on suspicion of auto theft when he allegedly scaled a fence behind the kitchen and escaped on foot the evening of Dec. 27. He was the second person to escape the jail that year.Buck remained on the lam for over a week. On Jan. 7, 2022, Barreto was on duty in Farmington and was responding to a call of a possible drunken driver when he allegedly encountered Buck. According to the lawsuit, Buck asked if he was being detained. When Barreto replied in the affirmative, Buck allegedly drew a handgun from his waistband and shot Barreto in the elbow. The incident was captured on Barreto’s body camera.

Buck allegedly fled the scene and was arrested seven days later in Phoenix. He was sentenced in March 2023 to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. State charges related the shooting were dropped to allow the federal case, which carried a longer sentence, to proceed. Allegations of negligenceIn the lawsuit, Barreto alleges that the county, the Sheriff’s Office and jail staff members breached a duty to provide a safe and secure jail facility and failed to maintain adequate surveillance and oversight of the inmates. It was that breach of duty that led to Barreto’s injury, he alleges. The officer has suffered permanent injuries “as a direct result of the (La Plata County Jail’s) negligence,” the complaint says.The county filed a motion to dismiss the case on multiple grounds. First, attorneys argued, the county did not have a specific duty of care to Baretto, who was injured as a result of Buck’s actions. To whatever extent it did have a duty of care to keep the jail secure, Buck’s subsequent actions were “unpredictable and unforeseeable” given that he was being held (and had not been convicted of) an alleged auto theft. Second, they argue that the county retains sovereign immunity. Generally, the government cannot be sued save for certain circumstances. Colorado law carves out several exceptions to this doctrine, including in circumstances when an injury occurs related to the operation of a correctional facility.

However county attorneys argue, citing case law, that Buck’s behavior in Farmington was too disconnected from any possible negligence in the jail’s operation for the county to be held responsible. “Mr. Buck’s actions in absconding from custody, concealing himself from law enforcement for 11 days, traveling across state lines, stealing a firearm, and firing at Plaintiff resulted in Plaintiff’s injuries – the alleged operation of the jail is too attenuated,” the motion reads. County spokesman Ted Holteen said he was limited in what he could say given the pending litigation.“La Plata County extends its deepest sympathies to Officer Joseph Barreto for the injuries he suffered,” Sheriff Sean Smith said in a written statement. “However, the County does not have a legal duty to an officer injured by the unforeseeable criminal actions of an escaped inmate, particularly one who had traveled across state lines and caused the injury many days after the escape occurred. While we have tremendous respect for law enforcement, we cannot be held liable for the spontaneous violent acts of a third party under these circumstances.”The Board of County Commissioners will hold an executive session Tuesday to discuss the matter.rschafir@durangoherald.com

Elias Buck is accused of shooting Farmington cop 11 days after escaping detention center

Firefighters douse car fire at Durango gas stationBlaze started in trunk of vehicle, which held two propane tanks

Firefighters responded to a car fire Wednesday at the Marathon gas station near the Toyota dealership across from Walmart in Durango.Police and firefighters staged a significant response given the fire occurred at a gas station.

The fire was reported about 10:15 a.m. at 1220 Carbon Junction.The blaze started in the trunk of a four-door sedan. The exact cause of the fire was not immediately known, but it did not appear to be suspicious in nature, said Tom Walsh, fire captain with the Durango Fire Protection District.

Two propane tanks were inside the trunk of the vehicle and became engulfed in flames. Still, Walsh said the fire does not appear to be suspicious. It may have started from faulty wiring, he said.Two occupants of the vehicle left the scene, according to police. But police believe they left the scene because one or both of them had active arrest warrants.

At least one of the owners of the vehicle was taken to Mercy Hospital with minor burns after he tried to access the trunk to extinguish the blaze, Walsh said.Police helped create a perimeter around the gas station to keep people at a distance in case the fire spread to the gas pumps. But firefighters were able to quickly douse the flames.shane@durangoherald.com

Blaze started in trunk of vehicle, which held two propane tanks

Fort Lewis College students explore ways to have more civil political discourseMisinformed stereotypes among reasons for divisiveness

In a world that seems divided by political discourse, a Fort Lewis College political science professor and his students are examining how things became this way and methods for holding more civil debates. In a world where it seems political discourse has become completely divisive, a Fort Lewis College political science professor and his students are examining how things came to be this way.Students and community members gathered in groups Wednesday at the FLC Ballroom to discuss divisive issues. Each table included topics such as student loan debt relief, banning of books and environmental issues.Political science students, meanwhile, stood by to help participants understand how to engage in civil conversation about politics.The workshop was part of a Paul DeBell’s political psychology class.During the Community by Conversation event on Wednesday night at The Fort Lewis College Ballroom, students had community members gather in groups to discuss divisive issues. The students helped participants understand how to have a civil conversation about politics.This was part of the FLC’s political psychology class taught by Paul DeBell.“We believe that identifiable facts are the basis of important political conversations and effective policymaking,” said Wyatt Bair, vice president of the FLC Political Engagement Project (formerly the Political Science Club). “Good-faith negotiation between parties is essential to solving the issues that we care about, and that public interests should always come before personal interests or party interests.”DeBell and his students sought to demonstrate how a person’s reaction and body language when confronted with other’s political beliefs can create a vitriolic environment. DeBell said people often make assumptions about opposing political beliefs based on stereotypes. He referenced an article published in The Washington Post called “Democrats are gay, Republicans are rich: Our stereotypes of political parties are amazingly wrong.”According to the article, a survey was given to people with conservative views and those with liberal views. It found that people with conservative views believe that 30% of Democrats identify as members of the LGBTQ community. But in reality, only about 8% of Democrats identify with the LGBTQ community. By the same token, Democrats taking the survey estimated that 40% of Republicans make $250,000 or more per year. But that salary range applies to only 2.5% of conservatives.DeBell took it a step further by saying 74% of National Rifle Association members support background checks for gun owners, based on data from the Center for American Progress.“That’s pretty surprising,” he said. “I’ll bet a lot of us, if we saw somebody’s NRA sticker on their car, would make all sorts of presumptions about them, and what they believe in.”It is a perfect example, he said, of how people can find common ground, despite their political differences.“It’s really easy to focus on differences. Again, that’s profitable for a lot of people. Not for us, but for certain political elites, pundits and media,” DeBell said. “It’s really profitable to show the fight. But as we saw earlier, there’s a lot of research suggesting that we agree on many issues.”Students discussed methods such as active listening to help navigate political conversations.“There’s four main components to active listening, which are understanding, communicating, observing and correcting,” said FLC senior Esai Gomez.He said it is important to use listening skills to create a respectful environment.Near the end of the event, DeBell played a clip from Robb Willer’s TED Talk, “How to have better political conversations,” which led to a discussion about how both sides of the political spectrum endorse values. This opened discussion about how both sides of the political spectrum endorse values.

For example, Willer’s findings indicate that liberals tend to endorse values like equality, fairness, care and protection from harm, while conservatives tend to favor values like loyalty, patriotism, respect for authority and moral purity.That was used to show how people will take their political perspective and use those inherent values in conversation rather than approaching a political opposite based on their values.Wednesday’s workshop was the first of multiple events to be hosted by DeBell, the Political Engagement Project and Restore the Balance. This was the first of multiple events that will be hosted by DeBell, Political Engagement Project and Restore The Balance. tbrown@durangoherald.com

Misinformed stereotypes among reasons for divisiveness

‘Still have card after 60 years’

‘Property taxes absurdly low. Come on!’

No ‘peace until hostages released’

‘Ballot in one hand, AR-15 in other’

‘A smear ad campaign against Boebert’

‘Ballot in one hand, AR-15 in other’

‘Entered point of no return’

‘Putting fox in charge of chicken coop’

‘Asking for little help never granted’

‘Call out Boebert on genocide’

‘Some Americans have dysfunctional brains’

‘Vicious cycle brought Netanyahu, Hamas’

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