In order to get all the 2012 election letters in prior to the Nov. 6 election, deadline for all candidate or ballot initiative endorsements is Mon., Oct. 15. Letters will be run in the order they are received. Please email all correspondences to: telegraph@durangotelegraph.com.

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Gwen can face looming challenges
To the editor,
I am a Durango resident and voter, and a former attorney and Wharton Business School teacher. I write to support Gwen Lachelt for La Plata County commissioner.

Durango and La Plata County together face looming challenges of economic development and potential environmental degradation.

 

Gwen is the only candidate who understands that, with proper planning and management, economic development and environmental protection can be complimentary, not opposing, forces that must be traded off against each other. She is the only candidate with the courage to face the issue of local responsibility for climate change. She is the only candidate with the training and experience to accomplish this goal and had a platform of specific steps to do it.

 

Her very considerable experience includes fund raising, management, long-range planning and environmental protection. Perhaps most important, she has a track record of success in reconciling opposing interests and viewpoints.

 

What you read and how you lead
To the editor,
Man, I almost fell off my boat when I read that Kellie Hotter’s biggest fear for the country and the county was “collectivism.” Holy Batman! Not since 1962 when Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich explained the daily life of the Gulag have I heard that word.

And Kellie’s biggest goal is to develop a comprehensive plan, but she is reading Ayn Rand’s 1943 The Fountainhead? No wonder after 5½ years there is no plan. For Ayn Rand’s fans, no plan is the plan! Government is the enemy.

We have heard this kind of stuff before. In times past we were told not to build a better airport because sheep don’t fly and that we didn’t need libraries because people read too much. Progress prevailed in spite of those views, thanks to progressives in both parties.

So, here is my suggested reading list for Republicans: First, forget Reagan. Read any of the biographies of Eisenhower, Teddy Roosevelt or Lincoln. We need Republicans that will stand up to the military industrial complex, tax the people to pay for the wars we have fought and build up our infrastructure—Ike. We need Republicans that believe in conservation of natural resources—Teddy Roosevelt. We need Republicans that have the moral courage to stand up to the extremists in the Republican Party—Lincoln. Yup. There have been progressives in the Republican Party, too.

Fear of collectivism and a belief in no government is not leadership. It is obstructionism. Lean forward not backward. This year, vote the straight Democratic ticket from top to bottom. They are not afraid of the future. And we need people who are trying to make government work.

– James R. Callard, Del Norte

You’re in good hands with Gwen
To the editor,
I am struck by the image of our community coming together on the river trail for “Durango Connect,” not only in celebration of the completion of the Animas River Trail, but also (as I take it) in a classic Durango-stubborn stance against the maelstrom of divisiveness sweeping the country. Now we need our local leaders to take up the torch and build upon this desire to bridge divides, achieve consensus and get plans moving.

 

That is what Gwen Lachelt does. With her knowledge of the issues, skills as a leader and remarkable ability to truly listen to people and their concerns, Gwen has, over the last 25 years, been a builder of coalitions, particularly between urban and rural interests. This includes her work as executive director of the Western Colorado Congress and San Juan Citizens Alliance, as well as founder and director of Earthworks’ Oil and Gas Accountability Project.

 

A strong proponent of landowner rights, Gwen worked closely with Ellen Roberts to pass the Colorado Landowners Protection Act, aimed at reducing oil and gas impacts.

 

Gwen understands the necessity of addressing the sometimes-competing concerns of citizens, local businesses and nonlocal corporations. As she says, “One interest cannot economically damage another.” She has shown that she considers both the environmental health and economic well-being of our community a joined priority, and has developed the knowledge and political savvy to help lead us in that direction.

 

Gwen was my first neighbor when I moved to Durango some 17 years ago, and she helped shovel us out of some difficult snowy conditions. I have to say, that as good as Gwen is at snow shoveling, persistence is really her forte.

 

I trust her implicitly. And I strongly believe we’d be in good hands with Gwen Lachelt as county commissioner.

 

As a reminder, everyone in the county and city is eligible to vote for the county commissioner positions, no matter your district.

 

– Caroline Arlen, Durango

Gwen, there for the little guys
To the editor,
If you don’t own the mineral rights under your land, vote for Gwen Lachelt to protect your private property rights. Gwen has stood up against Big Oil, Big Gas and Big Coal to defend the little guys, the small property owners, for over 20 years.

Does she support oil and natural gas development in La Plata County? You bet. Gwen is a pragmatist and knows we need to develop these local resources, but not at the expense of our good water, clean air or productive land. Gwen will stand up to the corporations to protect our rights and our environment; she has dedicated her life to doing it. She knows that preventing and minimizing the impacts from the oil and gas industry may require even more protection. She recognizes that supporting increased gas and oil development with less regulation is reckless and would surrender management of our land; it would jeopardize the health and welfare of our residents and environment for corporate profit.

Gwen supports another local source of energy: solar. We live in an area rich in its capacity to produce clean power. We have the potential but need robust political advocacy to exploit the opportunities of local, renewable energy generation.

Gwen recognizes the need for and the risks of energy development and has a well-researched and balanced approach. She will take the tough stands necessary to protect the citizens and the environment of our county. Please give her your support, vote for Gwen Lachelt for County Commissioner!

– Harry Riegle, Durango

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To the editor,
Mitt Romney thinks it’s immoral to pass a debt on to the next generation, and I couldn’t agree more. So how come it never even occurs to the Republicans that the ultimate crime would be to leave our grandchildren a planet that’s used up, burned up and outta gas?

Ayn Rand is at the top of Kellie Hotter’s reading list and her philosophy is, “It’s all about me.” J. Paul Brown’s only solution for zoning and land-use issues, “If you don’t like what your neighbor is doing on their property, then buy it.”

Not a brilliant strategy when someone 2 miles upriver and upwind puts in a factory hog farm.

The Republicans have developed this manic phobia of anything that involves a group solution. “Me First” thinking in an economic, environmental or military sense can only lead to disaster in a totally interconnected and shrinking world.

– Con gusto, Jeff Wise, Durango

U.N. has tackled world’s woes
To the editor,
Take a break from thinking about the election! Oct. 24 is United Nations Day, recognizing 65 years of effective work across our world. While the UN is not a perfect institution, it serves a near-perfect purpose: to promote global cooperation to address the world’s most pressing challenges that no single country can resolve alone.

This month the UN is focusing on rural women, older persons, global food, poverty and, new this year, exploitation of girls. Sadly, the first “Day of the Girl Child,” Oct. 11, coincided with the shooting by the Taliban two days earlier of 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai, the courageous advocate for education rights of girls in Pakistan.

Even though some of the actions and inactions of the General Assembly and the Security Council give us heartburn, we must remember that the UN is much more than 194 nations getting together to talk politics. Its humanitarian, diplomatic and peace-keeping efforts over the years have produced solutions to many health and social problems. But, the work is far from over.

The League of Women Voters has supported U.S. membership in an international organization for the peaceful settlement of disputes, with the machinery to handle economic, social and political problems as early as 1944, before the creation of the United Nations organization. The League was one of 42 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) invited by President Truman to serve as a consultant to the UN delegation and to this day the League follows UN action through its official UN Observer status.

Although the UN addresses global issues, its work impacts all of our lives, even at the local level. On the UN’s birthday, we encourage you to take a moment to reflect on all that has been accomplished and what remains to be done. Each of us can start here in La Plata County by taking action to keep our corner of the Southwest healthy, vibrant and strong, thus contributing to a healthy, vibrant and strong world.
– Nadine Ancel, treasurer, League of Women Voters of La Plata County

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