Politics as usual — anybody listening?

Our most recent political drama has left many progressive residents outraged, frustrated and confused.

“Our democracy is being destroyed!” “How could this have happened?” “I can’t believe this!” Sound

familiar? It’s national politics on the local level.

Local conservatives have spoken out, saying our county council is out of touch with state policy and

politics. They’ve complained about unaffordable housing and low paying jobs that push their kids and

grand-kids out of this community in search of a better life. They’ve pointed out the growing pains of the county and needs for upgraded infrastructure. Sound familiar? Hmmm? Working class people

saying, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore!”

Don’t get me wrong. I most heartily disapprove of the tactics used by local conservatives, re: HB224.

Certainly, one could question the ethics and good faith of several of our elected officials based on their

handling of the situation. But let’s not focus solely on the tactics here. Unless we listen, validate and

take action on the legitimate issues of our fellow citizens, we’ll never fix what is broken! Democracy

works only when you have majority rule and minority influence.

By the way, local conservatives must work to construct answers, not to obstruct local progressives. And

vice versa. If there is room for everyone at the table, and all expect to be taken seriously, we can move

forward. If these conditions are not present, changing our form of government may create more

problems than it solves. It should be said that the problems alluded to above will not be fixed with

some silver bullet. These are weighty issues which can be solved if we spread the burden across many

shoulders. Let’s get together and make it happen!

Bo Kolb

Spanish Valley

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