Look at all of you who turned out for Votes for Women! on Aug. 26th. 

The event -- and the matinee we added after you sold out the evening show -- was a testament to the strength and enthusiasm of Archuleta County Democrats.

Thank you to everyone who made this fundraiser a success!

On Tuesday afternoon, April 22nd, Rep. Jeff Hurd joined a special Archuleta County Commissioners meeting in downtown Pagosa Springs, and a few of us were there or watched it on Zoom. It was billed as a business meeting, and public comment was not permitted, however we submitted questions to his office in advance (read them below) and expressed our concerns in person as he departed. About 30 demonstrators gathered outside. Rep. Hurd spoke with them for about ten minutes before joining the meeting. You can read the meeting transcript below, edited for clarity and brevity.

Our take? He seems like a decent guy and said appropriate things about protecting Medicaid and public lands.

Written questions submitted to Congressman Hurd's office:

1. Thank you, Congressman Hurd, for coming to Pagosa Springs and for meeting our Archuleta County commissioners. This is a work session, and public comment is not permitted. Will you commit to holding in-person town halls in CD3 so that your constituents may ask you questions directly? 
2. When you took office in January, approximately 9,000 federal employees lived and worked in this district. Since then, President Trump has taken drastic measures to cut the federal workforce. Federal employees have been called lazy, incompetent, and parasites. What message do you have for federal employees, former and current, including those in this room or watching on Zoom?
3. You signed a letter last week with several other Republicans opposing cuts to Medicaid in Congress’s budget. Obviously you understand how crucial Medicaid is to the delivery of health services in this district, which we appreciate. Are you prepared to withhold your vote on any bill that would cut Medicaid? 
4. Recreation is an important part of the local economy. There is no longer a Forest Service recreation manager in the Pagosa Ranger District of the San Juan National Forest. What are you doing to restore and rehire fired personnel who are so important for public services? Who will patrol the forest to make sure that there are no campfires this season, should the expected fire ban go into effect? 
5. We have many working families in Archuleta County who are struggling to get by. These families rely on Head Start for early childhood education and the SNAP and the WIC programs to help put food on the table. Republicans say they want to support families, so can you help connect the dots between that and Congress’s budget that would cut these support programs? And if these cuts are necessary, how can we afford to extend $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthy?

Download BoCC Mtg transcript 4_22 2

As many of you know, a Molotov cocktail was thrown into the old courthouse downtown on June 12, damaging the elections and tax assessor’s offices. Word around town in the aftermath was that the attack was the work of a “firebug,” nothing more. 

A suspect was arrested and charged with two felony counts on June 25. That was reported in the Pagosa Springs Sun. The suspect’s political background and leanings weren’t mentioned. 

A July 14 news release from Secretary of State Jena Griswold says what our local newspaper did not in its initial report: 

"It is appalling that a Colorado elections office was firebombed, and even more so that the suspect has a history of spreading election conspiracies. Attacks on democratic institutions must be strongly condemned,” said Secretary of State Jena Griswold. “I take any threat to elections incredibly seriously, and thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case. We will support the Archuleta County Clerk's Office and ensure they are able to fully recover from this attack.” (emphasis ours)

Colorado Public Radio revealed a lot more about the investigation and the suspect’s alleged motives this week. Officers believe the attack was deliberate and tied to anti-government sentiments and “dissatisfaction with Dominion voting machines.” Remember where that false narrative started?

The man arrested, William Wayne Bryant, ran for Archuleta County sheriff in 2022. He finished third in a race won by the current sheriff, Mike Le Roux. Bryant collected 1,206 votes. Think about that: One of every six voters in this county cast their ballot for him.

You can read and listen to CPR’s deeply reported story here. The Durango Herald also did a creditable report.

You can read the full news release from the secretary of state’s office here.

Trump's federal funding freeze is leaving La Plata County farmers and ranchers high and dry. The freeze, enacted by Republicans on Jan. 20th, halted some $19 million in federal grant money awarded in the Biden administration to pay for a backlog of maintenance on the Pine River Indian Irrigation Project. The federally managed water project supplies water to about 400 farmers and ranchers on the Southern Ute Reservation and in La Plata County. Repairing its crumbling infrastructure will ensure that farmers get their full share of water this summer.

In an especially dry water year, it seems critical for the government to keep its prior commitments to maintaining our local water infrastructure. If Rep. Hurd truly supports local farmers and ranchers, as he claimed at last night's Tele-Town Hall, we think he should hear how the farmers in our area have been left in limbo, and explain how his votes will fix that. 

Read the whole story in the Colorado Sun.