Brad Blake, the sole Republican on the three-member La Plata County Board of County Commissioners, is running for reelection as District 1 representative against Democratic challenger Clyde Church.
Durango native Blake runs a family-owned plumbing and heating business, and wants to stay on as the board hammers out a long-overdue revision to the county’s land use code.
“There is still a lot left to do,” Blake told the Herald editorial board. “I am a problem solver and I enjoy challenges. I want to take a run at them.”
Church brings an engineering background and a notable record of community service and economic development to the campaign. He hopes to continue building on that record as a full time commissioner.
But we want to give Blake a second term. District 1, the more rural, western portion of the county, leans conservative, and it is important that residents feel that their voices and values are represented on the board. Blake also knows many problems exist in the county’s planning and approval process, which needs to be streamlined.
“I have actually taken a project through. It took two years, and I know the frustrations,” he said. “When you cost people money and cause them stress, they get upset.”
Blake praised the county staff as bright and capable. In his second term, he will be in the right position to point them toward solutions. We vote for Brad Blake.
We have been gratified to see that we are not the only ones alarmed by the city’s push to sell a combination property tax and sales tax hike with Ballot Issue 2A.
Nor are we alone in resenting the implication that an objection to the tax means that we do not support the Durango Police Department and its officers. Mayor Sweetie Marbury and the City Council should know better.
Spurred by the results of the recent Citizen Engagement Survey, the measure would address general fund needs – to fix roads, sidewalks, alleys and gutters, repair and remodel government buildings and construct a new police station – with a 5.4 mill property tax increase and 0.55 percent bump in sales tax. Ballot Issue 2A would provide some $7.6 million in additional revenue each year for 25 years.
For such a large sum of revenue, the city should provide a much more detailed list of just how and where the money would be spent, before a vote. Saying the money may be used to cover “budget shortfalls” does not inspire our confidence.
We’re certainly not alone in asking how the slogan “Back to Basics” applies to a tax increase in the first place. Getting back to basics would mean doing more with current revenue before putting a tax increase in the picture.
We won’t for a moment argue that a new police station is not needed. The department outgrew the old car dealership it calls headquarters years ago. But some of our more budget-minded residents argue that savings available now in the city budget could pay for a new station over the same time span. These ideas should be explored.
Pointing out that 1982 was the last time the city asked residents for a property tax increase does not mean we are past due for the next. Provide a clearer, more detailed plan before bringing it before the voters. In the meantime, we vote NO on 2A.
