It never ceases to amaze me how an elected official (in this case County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt) who is open-minded, listens to all sides and has the vision to think past the next election is regarded by some as a radical with “an agenda.”
Really now, isn’t it a tribute to her expertise in natural resources that led Gov. Hickenlooper to appoint her to his oil and gas task force to seek a workable balance between industry and the environment? If he had wanted someone to push an environmental perspective, then he would have chosen someone much better politically connected than a La Plata County official from the Sierra Club to the task force. Her concern about methane leaks and poor drilling practices is a plus in my book.
I was impressed with Lachelt when I first met her during the 2012 commissioner’s race. A Fort Lewis graduate, she had a sound record of 30 years’ service to our area, started her own business, and was motivated to enact a comprehensive plan for the county, one that anticipated the population growth that’s coming.
She deserves our support and re-election for what she’s done in her first term: efforts to pass the Hermosa Watershed Protection Act; work with the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up the Animas River after the toxic Gold King spill; promotion of legislation to clean up abandoned mines; her continuing efforts to keep the county’s fiscal house in order; and the countless responses to the needs of her constituents.
Lachelt’s agenda is to keep the county financially solvent, to engage in meaningful long-range planning and to diversify the La Plata County economy.
Vote to keep Gwen Lachelt in office.
Jay Culver
Durango
