It’s an election year, and the San Miguel Basin Forum has been asking locals this spring what they want to hear from candidates. The Forum sent out texts, emails and made social media posts to get locals to respond.
In an area that is remote and rural, the Forum’s readership has often reported feeling unheard. People tend to feel they’re left out of political discussions about water, wolves, or mining — and that people on the Front Range often unfairly speak for them.
Shannon Rayborn said it in the recent Voter Voices survey comments: “I will say it is such a struggle when voting, because the Eastern Slope has all the control over Colorado many times,” she reported.
She referenced wolves and land issues.
The Forum asked citizens in the survey to personally prioritize the following issues: economy/cost of living, taxes, health care, personal liberty, democracy and good government, education, crime, immigration, environment and climate change, abortion, gun policy, social justice and equity, and also national security.
In western Montrose County, 38 people responded, with 15 of them self-described as politically conservative, six as liberal and 17 as moderate. The majority of respondents were white, but two were Native American. For age groups, five in the survey were ages 18 to 29, nine of them were ages 30-44, 19 of them were ages 45-64, and four were age 65 or older.
As far as the issues go, the majority — that is 13 — of West End respondents said the most important issue currently is democracy and good government. Economy and cost of living was the second most important issue with 10 respondents putting that first. Personal liberties and immigration were the third most important issue, with five votes for each of these as most important. Climate change got two votes as most important, and abortion, education and health care each got one vote for most important.
As far as gender goes, 28 in the survey were female, nine were male; one reported identifying as non-binary.
Regarding having confidence in the national election this fall, a majority said they had none at all, with 25 in the survey stating so. Six people felt neutral, and seven said they were fully confident in the national election.
For the local election, the data was the opposite. In fact, 28 people in the West End report having full confidence in the local election, and only one person reported having no confidence at all. Eight in the survey reported feeling neutral about the local election.
Mentioned as top concerns in the commentary were inflation, public lands, gun policy, energy, and a few mentioned war.
“Integrity,” along with “respect” were mentioned in the survey results, as something West End voters would like to see from candidates.
One recent Nucla High School graduate calls for civility.
“I would like them to stop taking jabs at one another and speak their mind on how they want to fix the issues that are prevalent in this day and age,” said Derrick VanDellan.
Carmen Shipley said Colorado candidates need to have realistic discussions. She wants to know how they’ll address “illegal immigration, homeless issues, and government overreach, as it pertains to our public lands.”
Melissa Lampshire wants candidates to discuss term limits at the national level and securing U.S. borders.
“We are so worried about other countries borders, but what about our own?” she asked. She also said that smaller government and less government spending are important, and that dealing with the greater mental health crisis could solve many issues.
The Forum has considered the recent survey data and wonders if it’s an accurate sample. What’s missing from West End voter voices?
The survey is still open for a short time. Anyone who’d like to participate can use the QR code.
