Dear Editor and Readers,

Gilpin County Commissioner Candidate Joe Marr’s statement in the Oct. 13, 2022, issue of The Mountain-Ear is the same statement he placed as an LTE and on Facebook. It is unsettling that this is all we have from him. He did not appear at the debate which would have elicited spontaneous responses, and he evades constituents’ questions he considers not “worth answering.”

I have parsed this, his only statement, and am left wondering:

1. What rumors? Who is talking to whom?

1a. When making decisions, how will he balance “science” vs “politics”? Will he accept informed advice from elected/ appointed officials such as the Gilpin public health coordinator and our Gilpin County sheriff, or rely instead on his own “research”?

2. In a republic, decisions are made by elected representatives of the people. He says, instead, he will have a democratic whole-county involvement on issues. How will that work, and how did it work 25 years ago?

2a. Who is a “stakeholder”? His friends? Can I trust that I too might have input, and that he will consider the general good?

2b. “Using politics,” “side of aisle,” are divisive phrases. Half of Gilpin-ites are unaffiliated. The work of the county is not partisan but rather serving the people.

2c. What is “skin in the game”? Whose skin, what game? Is money involved?

3. If he is elected, would he isolate us from neighboring counties? Build a wall? Non-cooperation? Ignore what works for others? How many county employees now live outside the county and how does that impact the county?

4. He insinuates that county commissioners don’t heed the Constitution of the United States and the Colorado constitution. This is a serious charge needing clarification.

5. He wants no government panel or board to infringe on any person’s free will or beliefs. But if one person’s ideas of personal freedom and personal responsibility differ from mine, then quality governance is useful, and our elected officials must make necessary, tough decisions to respect and protect the rights of others.

5a. Would abortion be a medical decision or, instead, murder? Why the weird Trumpian capitalizations, for instance, of “Doctor”?

6. Where is waste and inefficiencies in county business? Is the budget not balanced? Is equipment ignored? Is the county reserve for rainy days insufficient? What ideas does he have for what to do, if elected?

7. Is he against any and all signs and regulations because “criminals don’t pay attention to them”?

8. “Honor and respect” for country and flag are important shared American values. He implies that current commissioners have less patriotic, fervent feelings for our flag and country than he. Does he have some unique hold on patriotism that he will mandate for others? Who is a traitor, in his view?

For informed voting, citizens must be able to question the candidates. We should find substance, not just dog-whistles and apple pie, in their answers.

Jane Wyss

Pinecliffe