Section 1. Vestment of political power. All political power is vested in and derived from the people; all government, of right, originates from the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole…
… Section 24. Right to assemble and petition. The people have the right peaceably to assemble for the common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, by petition or remonstrance.
— from the Colorado Constitution, Article II
Back in 2014, at the beginning of the Tuesday, November 18 Archuleta Board of County Commissioners meeting, BOCC chair Clifford Lucero invited everyone in the room to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Most of our Daily Post readers are familiar with that pledge. It concludes with “…with Liberty and Justice for All.” At that point, Commissioner Lucero invited members of the audience to approach the podium and speak to the BOCC about any topic not included on the meeting agenda.
Local businessman and activist Greg Giehl stepped up to the podium and addressed the concept of citizen initiatives.
“I’d like to make a comment about the whole Initiative process. You know, we started that whole thing a year and a half ago. Now the [2014] elections have passed, and you guys had an opportunity to do something with [the petitions] — either address them yourselves or put them on the ballot; you chose to do nothing. We never had a work session on it or anything. So now the crime is complete; we will proceed with whatever we have to do. We’d really like you folks to work with us.”
Mr. Giehl is here referring to the “Liberty Zone” petitions, signed by numerous Pagosa Springs residents, that were presented to Archuleta County officials in 2013. The petitions asked the BOCC to consider 11 specific changes to the way Archuleta County operates its government — changes that the citizen group suggested might enhance “Liberty and Justice for All” here in our little rural community. The petitions were basically dismissed by the BOCC following a so-called “work session” in late 2013.
A few minutes later in the November 18 meeting, the County Commissioners approved the receipt of 7 acres of vacant land from the Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association (PLPOA). The vacant land has been earmarked for a new “Veterans Memorial Park”, to be funded and built by a veterans-based non-profit group calling themselves, appropriately enough, “Veterans Memorial Park.” Previous BOCC discussions indicated that the park planning would involve citizen input. The park is being promoted as a way for the Archuleta County community to celebrate military veterans who’ve given their time and energy, and sometimes their lives, to preserve America’s freedoms.
We might assume those ‘freedoms’ include the human rights memorialized in the US Constitution? And the Colorado Constitution?
Mr. Giehl offered some additional comments at the conclusion of the BOCC meeting, when chair Clifford Lucero once again gave the audience a chance to make public comments.
“Unbeknownst to us here [in Pagosa Springs], Mendocino County in California was doing something very similar to what we have been trying to do here with the [“Liberty Zone”] initiatives. Literally… this election cycle. Look at what they’ve done. You [commissioners] had a choice. To feel ‘safe’ and follow your instincts, based on fear — instead of choosing freedom.
“And you kept us from doing… we could have been the first county in Colorado, with the Initiatives, to start a real change.
“Look at what Mendocino County has done. They are the first county in the nation. You guys could have been the first ones here in Colorado, and Archuleta County and Mendocino County could have been leading the way. This is a movement that’s happening nationwide. … We want to work with the system, but right now the District Attorney is avoiding us…
“There’s big things in the works. You can be part of the solution, or you can be part of the problem.”
Commissioner Lucero thanked Mr. Giehl for his comments.
Mr. Giehl was here referring to “Measure S” — by which the voters of Mendocino County claimed the right, as County residents, to control fracking within their country limits. That measure passed with 67 percent voter approval, and established severe penalties for violations.
From Measure S documents posted online:
Our nation was founded on the concept that government is instituted to secure our unalienable rights and derives its just powers from the consent of the governed. Activities such as fracking affect our health and safety, our quality of life, the health of our natural environment as well as our property values and must be decided by the Citizens who live here and who will be directly affected, or there is no “consent of the governed.”
Yet States routinely issue permits to chartered corporations that make it “legal” for them to violate the rights of the people and refuse to recognize our right to say “no!’ to harmful activities.
Measure S challenges those illegitimate laws which violate our fundamental rights. This measure elevates the rights of the people of Mendocino where they belong, above the claimed “rights” of corporations and state agencies that enable fracking corporations to profit from the destruction of local ecosystems and to harm residents and communities. Measure S protects our water by banning fracking and asserts the right of the people of Mendocino to make those kinds of decisions now and into the future.
In a nation where partisan politics and corporate influence have caused many to lose faith in the federal government and its ability to protect citizens rights and freedoms, a natural result might be a movement to promote the protection of those rights and freedoms — by state and local governments, instead.
Assuming our local government leaders are indeed interested in Liberty and Justice for All… and in allowing citizens to work within the system for democratic reforms?
But maybe they’re not.