Dear Editor,

“Read my lips, no new taxes” – George H. W. Bush at the 1988 Republican National Convention. Economic reality subsequently ensued, Mr. Bush was forced to raise taxes and lost the election to Bill Clinton in 1992.

The two Republican candidates for Gilpin County Commissioner, Ms. Mornis and Mr. Marshall, have both committed themselves to this slogan. Their thinking seems to be: “The voters turned down the mill levy for the Community Center by a large margin so this must be the most important issue in the County. Let’s run on that!”

Here are some problems with it:

The Board of County Commissioners doesn’t raise taxes, it only asks voters to do so. By refusing to even ask the voters, these candidates are giving up one of their primary responsibilities, i.e., when required, to address the health and safety of the citizens and the efficient operation of the services of the County.

As a County Commissioner if you have promised to never ask the voters to raise taxes, what do you do when it is imperative that you do so? How about these circumstances:

A wildfire sets the slash pile, the transfer station, and the Human Services building alight leading to their complete destruction. Anyone paying attention to the weather knows that this is not a far-fetched scenario.

Another pandemic or summer-long wildfire emergencies cause gaming revenue to fall off a cliff.

The State Legislature passes an unfunded mandate that breaks the County budget.

A ballot measure passes that negatively impacts property taxes, causing a funding crisis in the County. See Initiative 50 this year.

A major flood wipes out numerous roads in the County.

The “last mile” of broadband build-out requires new funds.

And so on…

As a side note, both these candidates say they will vote for the City of Black Hawk Intergovernmental Agreement which will blow a $1 million hole in the Community Center budget if taxes are raised.

To say you will never raise taxes is a rhetorical phrase that serves a political purpose but is meaningless and deceptive. Hopefully the voters of the County will see it for what it is.

On the other hand, the Democratic Commissioner candidates, contrary to the rumors spread by the supporters of Ms. Mornis and Mr. Marshall, have no tax increases on their agenda but are realistic enough to know there are situations where the voters may need to be asked to raise taxes.

Sincerely,

Eric Douglas

Chair, Gilpin County Democrats