I swore off politics in 1972, after watching my presidential candidate — Democratic candidate George McGovern, who promised to get us out of the Vietnam War — utterly crushed by incumbent President Richard “I am not a Crook” Nixon. In that election, McGovern carried only one U.S. state (Massachusetts) plus the District of Columbia.
I decided, then and there, never to get involved in another presidential election. What was the use?
As things turned out, Richard Nixon himself subsequently got us out of Vietnam, and put some important environmental protections in place, and in the end, may have accomplished more of the ‘liberal’ agenda (that I then endorsed) than McGovern would have been able to do.
It wasn’t until 2004, and my first reporting job for the Pagosa Daily Post, that I got back into politics. But in this case, local politics. First-hand politics. It’s been uncomfortable at times, but also — on rare occasions — rewarding. Just rewarding enough to keep me hooked.
Many of you may have already received your State of Colorado ‘Blue Book’ which provides information about the statewide issues on the November ballot, and you may have received the ‘TABOR Notice’ from Archuleta County Clerk Kristy Archuleta, composed by County Manager Derek Woodman and his staff.
The Pagosa Springs SUN and the Daily Post have written about possible violations of Colorado election law, during the creation of that ‘TABOR’ notice.
Your mail ballot will be mailed today, and should arrive in a few days, if the US Postal Service is on their game.
A few political ads are running in the weekly Pagosa Springs SUN and on KWUF radio. The Daily Post has been pleased to publish a few op-ed pieces by local candidates and voters.
Yesterday, we received a very short press release from the Archuleta County Democratic Party… possibly the shortest press release we’ve ever received in our 18 years of publishing the Daily Post. The email subject line was, “Archuleta County Democratic Party Position on Unaffiliated Candidates”.
The Archuleta County Democratic Party does not endorse or support any unaffiliated candidates. Our slate of candidates can be found at https://app.coloradodems.civicengine.com/.
Apparently, one or more Unaffiliated candidates have hinted at having the official support of our local Democratic Party, which is not the case — as indicated by the two-sentence press release above.
We don’t have any Democratic Party candidates in Archuleta County this season, but we do have a few Unaffiliated candidates.
Two Unaffiliated candidates are running for Archuleta County Sheriff: Wayne Bryant (his website) and Monica Medina (could not find a website). They are in a contest with the official Republican candidate, Mike Le Roux (his website)
One Unaffiliated candidate, Rachel Suh, (her website), is running for County Commissioner District 3, against the official Republican candidate, Veronica Medina (her website).
I have a campaign yard sign in front of my house, endorsing Rachel Suh for County Commissioner. So you know where I stand on that particular election.
I’ve met all of the candidates except Sheriff candidate Mike Le Roux, who seems to be keeping a low profile while running full-page ads in the SUN. Mr. Le Roux — who served as Emergency Operations manager for Sheriff Rich Valdez for several years and was promoted to Undersheriff in December 2021 — received significant financial support during his Republican Primary race against his Republican opponent, police officer Boyd Neagle. According to the Secretary of State data, Undersheriff Le Roux’s campaign has collected nearly $25,000, with large donations coming from some of our most prominent (and wealthy) Pagosans.
You can view the contributions at the ‘Tracer’ website.
In his full-page ad in last week’s SUN, Mr. Le Roux stated that “As Undersheriff I am in the best position to identify the strengths and shortcomings of the Sheriff’s Office, and I have the energy and passion this role requires to build a positive, ethical organizational culture.”
Over the past two weeks, I have had five people call me on the phone — people I didn’t know personally, wanting to share horror stories about how they’ve been treated by the Sheriff Rich Valdez and his employees.
If Undersheriff Le Roux wins the election, I do truly hope he has the energy and passion to build a positive, ethical organizational culture at the Sheriff Office… because based on the stories I’ve been hearing lately, we do not currently have one there.
Sheriff candidate Wayne Bryant also feels we need new leadership at the Sheriff’s Office. From his website:
Of paramount importance, I would like to express that this campaign is not about me: it’s about preserving our Constitutional Republic. There is a war which has befallen upon us in an attempt to destroy our Freedoms and Liberties. ”We The People” are losing. We are being divided: our families, friends, and our children.
Businesses are being shut down. Jobs, careers, savings and livelihoods are being lost while we are being forced to pay into this power and wealth-transfer scheme. For example, the forced-funding and development of the new Fred Harman “Justice” and Detention Center – even though local constituents had voted it down twice! Now, local Archuleta County citizens have been granted a debt from our county representatives which has amassed over $35,000,000, (and counting), while our infrastructure is crumbling.
Mr. Bryant has demonstrated his passion for these issues by appearing regularly at Board of County Commissioner meetings and expressing his concerns during public comment. Some of his concerns — such as our crumbling infrastructure — are not in the hands of our elected Sheriff, however. I do wonder if Mr. Bryant should have run for Commissioner, rather than for Sheriff?
[Editor’s note: When I wrote this on October 17, I was unaware that Sheriff candidate Monica Medina had a campaign website. I was later directed to that website by a Daily Post reader, and it will be linked in Part Two.]