Kuns for HD 58

In January, Marc Catlin co-sponsored amendment HD22-1004. It said the House should “Acknowledge the serious accounts of election fraud across the country and call into question the legitimacy of Joseph R. Biden to be president.”

It called on Colorado county clerks to “end the use of electronic voting systems, including Dominion Voting Systems,” and “offers our support to Tina Peters, who upheld her oath of office and now faces unjust prosecution,” according to Catlin.

It ends by saying it stands with “Donald J. Trump in his righteous efforts to fight for election integrity.”

In addition, Marc Catlin did not endorse fellow moderate Sen. Don Coram in his primary contest against extremist Lauren Boebert. Coram represented the HD58 prior to Catlin. He served as a state senator since January 2017. Coram and Catlin worked together on numerous legislative efforts over the years.

Whatever Catlin’s motivation, it is clear he does not have the courage to stand up to political extremism. Today, more than at any time in the recent past, we need political courage from elected officials.

I am independent. Unfortunately, it seems the Democratic Party in Denver, and the DNC in Washington, have no clue about the Western Slope. They don’t understand our values and spend little time and effort getting to know our problems, let alone offer reasonable solutions.

Thankfully, Kevin Kuns, Marc Catlin’s opponent for HD 58, is an exception. He grew up around farming and ranching in Wyoming. He understands small business from his experience in the restaurant industry. His understanding of the problems of Western Colorado is clear from his policies around education, teen suicide, housing, and strengthening law enforcement (See www.kuns4hd58.org).

With candidates like Kevin Kuns, there might be a better balance between Republicans and Democrats on the Western Slope. And that might serve all of us by making the Republicans more responsive to all constituents, not just the extremists.

Steve Mandell, Montrose