Photo: In January 2023, newly-elected Archuleta County Commissioner Veronica Medina was sworn into office by Judge Justin Faye.
Last week, in this editorial series, I reported on the request by Archuleta County Commissioner Warren Brown — made at the Board of County Commissioners’ January 14 work session — that the newly constituted board make an agreement to rotate the Board Chair duties and privileges, on an annual basis. His request made a certain kind of sense, as he started his fifth year on the BOCC without ever being allowed, by his fellow commissioners, to serve in the Chair position.
Newly-seated Commissioner John Ranson replied that he supported the rotation idea, but said wanted to retain the current Chair — Veronica Medina — for the coming 2025 year, in the interests of ‘continuity’.
The question then passed to Commissioner Medina. She began to talk about trust, and confidence… and the discussion quickly moved from a policy discussion to a personal criticism of her fellow commissioner: Warren Brown.
She mentioned the January 13 swearing-in ceremony at the County Courthouse, and stated that she had heard comments from certain (unidentified) constituents.
“And it bothered me, because I knew that there had been conversations held with them; things that were said negatively about this Board. About me, particularly.
“Trust and confidence have to be there, because the Chair is ‘the CEO’ of the County…
“And Commissioner Brown said it well yesterday [at the swearing-in ceremony]. Decisions are sometimes made here, and the public doesn’t know why they were made. Because the conversation may have gone one way when we’re speaking with you, but then we receive other information or other things happen, and we make a different decision.
“And I didn’t want…. and I really… One of my goals for this year was to be positive. And I think I’m a pretty positive person.”
Commissioner Brown smiled:
“It’s only January.”
Commissioner Medina laughed.
“I know.”
Then she became more serious, and addressed her comments directly to Commissioner Brown.
“It’s just… the signs of trust. And the trust…
“I mean, I campaigned hard for you when you ran the first time. I believed in you. I trusted you. And that, unfortunately, went away when I got into office. And some of those signs were… for example, you know…
“And the only reason I feel like I need to say this, is because… I don’t want to say ‘attacked’, but I was approached negatively…”
At this point, Commissioner Medina paused, and appeared to be holding back tears.
“When I came into office, I wasn’t welcomed. And that’s why I insisted so much that John get the red carpet. It was so hard to come into this office. I was treated… professionally, but it wasn’t kind. It was not kind.
“And so that’s in the past. That’s definitely gone. And then Commissioner Brown was in the [adjacent] office and he decided to move. Why?
“And the closed and locked door? Had Commissioner Brown ever locked his door, prior to me being in office? From my understanding… no.
“Nobody else except Finance locks their door, and Finance has to lock their door, right? So those are signs of trust and confidence.
“So if you can’t trust us, why should we trust you? How are we going to work together, if we don’t trust each other? And the public has said it; constituents have said it, time and time again. Like, it’s my fault that Commissioner Brown is not Chair, or why I didn’t vote with Commissioner Brown.
“I’m not out there in the public, saying, well, we did this because we don’t like Commissioner Brown. That’s not it. Sometimes, we’re not going to agree. And a lot of times, the way things were done was because that’s the way they were always done. And because I have a different view of how things should be done, that is why I did some of the things I have done, because I don’t agree with that…
“…So for me, the Chair should be a position of the other commissioners being able to trust and have confidence in that leadership. As well as the public. They should have trust and confidence in the person who is going to lead this County. It shouldn’t be political, and it absolutely is not political for me…”
Commissioner Medina was not yet done presenting her argument about trust and confidence. But I want to pause here for a bit of editorial commentary.
Serving on a government board and making decisions about expenditures of public funds, and making decisions about charging fees, and making decisions about rules and regulations, and making decisions about allowable land uses, and making decisions about who will serve in community leadership positions…
… all of those decisions are clearly political — according to the generally accepted meaning of the word, as defined in modern dictionaries. So I’m not sure exactly what Commissioner Medina means when she claims her actions as BOCC Chair were “absolutely not political for me…”
She is, in fact, a politician, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, in Definition 1.
politician, noun
1: a person experienced in the art or science of government, especially one actively engaged in conducting the business of a government.
2: a person engaged in party politics as a profession.
3: a person primarily interested in political office for selfish or other narrow, usually short-sighted, reasons.
I presume Commissioner Medina’s claim of being “absolutely not political” when acting as Board Chair, relates to Definition 3… that her actions are not motivated by selfish or other, usually short-sighted, intentions.
The business of government absolutely requires political decision-making, which is — as implied by Merriam-Webster — either an art or a science.
Speaking as a volunteer who has served on several government and non-profit boards in Pagosa Springs, I would suggest that most board members make decisions based on what they believe will benefit the community as a whole, and based on what they believe they are authorized to decide.
At the same time, I would suggest that it’s human nature to seek power. To seek control over whatever situation we find ourselves in.
Read Part Four, tomorrow…