I am among the voters tired of political posturing, wasted time and tax dollars paying the salaries of our so-called representatives.

Starting with air quality. Thank you for bringing to light the politically motivated actions of the state GOP in both the House and the Senate as they moved recently to block funding for our state clean air agency, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The Herald’s editorial (April 8), however, left out that our very own state Rep. J. Paul Brown and state Sen. Ellen Roberts voted for this nonsense. They are clearly both out of touch with the needs and interests of our natural resource-dependent region.

For over a week, the state GOP tried to shut down CDPHE’s air quality program, purely for political reasons. While most funding has been restored, both Roberts and Brown voted numerous times to undercut our clean air and climate action programs because, as the Herald noted, they don’t like President Obama’s Clean Power Plan.

Then, adding insult to injury, Sen. Roberts voted twice in the past year on an industry-funded effort to seize our federal public lands, and on March 31, voted one more time in support of a bill that puts profits ahead of public land protection. And recently, U.S. Rep. Tipton has suggested he has doubts about a Superfund designation.

Tipton, Brown and Roberts were elected to represent the people, not their party, and are failing to do so. Rep. Tipton is serving as the puppet of his anti-EPA political party instead of supporting local elected officials and community members who sought information, weighed options, deliberated and elected a Superfund designation as the best way forward.

It’s time for the GOP to enter the 21st century and take meaningful action on basic public health and environmental issues. It is shameful for our local representatives to use our public health, economy and environment as political pawns. Stand up to your GOP colleagues. Support Superfund, reform of the 1872 Mining Act and protect our air, water and public lands. Good thing voters have some choices in November.

Ellen Stein

Durango