Attending the county commissioner debate a week or so ago, my first feeling was of gratitude – for the four individuals sitting at the table having the courage and fortitude to campaign and put themselves up for public scrutiny. We’re lucky to have citizens willing to do this.

I found the debate to be something of a mismatch, however. The incumbents, Gwen Lachelt and Julie Westendorff, were able to clearly explain a variety of complex challenges facing the county ranging from land-use code reform, to mitigation of global warming, to airport construction and suggested fact-based solutions with clarity and nuance.

The challengers, Lyle McKnight and Kayla Patterson, on the other hand, had difficulty articulating their positions in concrete terms and explaining how their approaches might differ from the incumbents’.

For example, when McKnight was asked if he favored federal lands being turned over to the state (a pretty big issue in these parts), he first said he was not in favor of the state taking over, then he said he wasn’t sure, then dissolving into uncertainty, he said it was a really hard question that he just couldn’t answer.

Patterson described her greatest attributes as being youth and energy, attributes she clearly possesses, but it was hard to understand what life experiences have prepared her to be a commissioner. She did repeatedly declare herself “pro-business” and, while speaking of the King Coal Mine, took this to the extreme by declaring that businesses should never have to compensate the county for damage done to county roads by their trucks.

There was a weird, jarring couple of minutes at the end of the debate when, after a completely civil hour of discussion, McKnight read a closing statement that sounded like a personal attack against Lachelt.

Thankfully, neither Lachelt nor Westendorff went down this road. Respectful and articulate throughout, they made winning cases for re-election.

Herb Bowman

Durango