I’d like to urge readers to review the voting record of our City Council if they want the facts regarding what’s happening in our community. Actions speak louder than words.
Despite rhetoric from the current City Council to protect its neighborhoods, it initially voted to put recreational marijuana in its mixed-use zones. It took a citizen-generated referendum and threat of an initiative to get the council to reverse its vote and do what many Colorado communities did months, if not years ago: Consider the long-term effects and consequences, rather than the immediate profit when selling marijuana within its jurisdiction.
The issue is not limited to the marijuana debacle. This is about listening to citizens and setting aside personal bias. Rather than hearing our elected representatives wax on about what they “believe,” I want to hear more of “what my constituents are saying.”
Is lining the city’s coffers more important than preserving our community’s well-being?
While our City Council protected the downtown (because local businesses demanded it), both incumbents were greedily eager to sacrifice its older neighborhoods to retail marijuana facilities. Take a look at the front page of the Herald for confirmation of what neighbors had predicted and what the council ignored: Increased crime and turmoil in the heart of our community.
Whether the issue is plastic bags, vacation rentals, recreation amenities or fixing the city sewers, ask yourself three questions before you vote:
Are our elected officials representing first the people who work and live here?
Are senior citizens and families who have invested in our community getting the support and protection they need from those presently seated on the dais?
Are you, too, going to have to “lawyer up” to get your City Council to wake up to the obvious?
I’m supporting David McHenry. I think it’s time we give him a chance to do what others said they would do.
Heather Bryson
Durango
