April for Carbondale
This letter is in support of April Spaulding who is running for a seat on the Carbondale Board of Town Trustees (BOTT).
April is a local and works in Carbondale, so she is aware of the issues facing all of us. April has served on the Town’s Board of Adjustment, the KDNK board and The Sopris Sun board. She is also on the Ladies Auxiliary Board for the American Legion. She volunteers for many nonprofits and at Mountain Fair.
I am happy to support April in her most recent endeavor to join the Carbondale BOTT.
Martha Collison
Carbondale
Basalt endorsements
For Basalt Town Council, I’m voting for Hannah Berman who has worked in my office for six years. We focus on climate change, urban planning, philanthropy and civic health. That makes her a perfect candidate. She’s also smart, a hard worker and a good listener. She’s the youngest candidate and lives in affordable housing — we need that voice on council.
I’m also supporting Angele Dupre-Butchart, who was cogent and prepared at the recent forum. Then I’ll choose between Chris Mullen and Kaja Rumney — both seem great.
While I’m not backing Rick Stevens, there’s no shade intended. Rick has been a dedicated public servant. He put in 16 years on council and as mayor. But after witnessing low interest in elections, when we have eager young new thinkers, it’s good for democracy to let those ideas and people have a shot. I hope Rick will stay involved if not elected, because his input was valuable to me as a council member myself.
Last, a note on the referendum on downtown construction. During the forum, Rick and Chris said, effectively, they’re all for the discussion. That’s not what this is. This is a costly disruption. Basalt, under the leadership of our excellent town manager, undertook a textbook process to get here, asking first what residents cared about, then passing a bond and then executing. The effort to reverse that is a violation of public process and trust, and an invitation to governmental chaos. I’ll be voting to continue the Midland Avenue Streetscape project.
Auden Schendler
Basalt
Berman for Basalt
Hannah Berman would be an exceptional Basalt Town Council member. I have known her longer than most people in the Valley because I was actually her school principal in Denver. Twenty years later, she’s still the same Hannah I knew as a student with grit, intelligence and aplomb, but she now stands out as a professional who is truly serving our community.
I have witnessed Hannah’s strengths through her work on a range of projects since she moved to Basalt five years ago. Early in the pandemic, Hannah rallied people and resources to deliver meals and coordinate internet services. In 2021, she helped organize the successful ballot measure to increase teacher pay. Hannah has shown her commitment to ensuring local people get healthcare through her role on the board of Mountain Family Health. And she’s been a vocal proponent of early childhood care through her role on the Confluence Early Childhood Coalition. I know that Hannah will continue working to support children and families by looking for more opportunities like Basalt Vista to create affordable housing for teachers and advocating for early childhood care and access to healthcare for all.
Most remarkable about Hannah is how quickly she has become a leader in our community. She has done so by being a good listener, collaborator and problem solver, and by being kind, thoughtful and helpful. Although I don’t reside in Basalt, I can attest that Hannah Berman would be an excellent steward of the community as a member of the council.
Rob Stein
Carbondale
Supreme Court fail
Our Supreme Court has failed us again by denying the Colorado ruling to disqualify Trump. Their rationale was erroneous. They were concerned with having the states make their own decision about disqualifying Trump. So, they said that the states had no jurisdiction. They said Congress would have to act. However, historically, after the Civil War, thousands of Confederates were disqualified without one act by Congress. Further, by accepting the Colorado decision it would apply across the nation. Justice Roberts had complained that approving Colorado would lead to the political parties disqualifying each other willy-nilly. That’s a straw man argument. An insurrection is required. We went 160 years between insurrections. It’s not common.
Also remarkable is the quickness of their decision and that it was released online when the court was closed. Meanwhile, they have yet to rule on the Trump request to find him immune from anything he did while in office — such as creating an insurrection. Seems like a “no brainer.” Are they dragging their feet?
But the disqualification issue is not over. Should Trump win the election, he could be denied from taking the office. Expect a flood of lawsuits.
This Supreme Court is partisan and contains some people who lied about their intentions, who lied about their past behavior and who lied about large financial gifts. It is time to add four honest and reasonable people to the court.
Patrick Hunter
Carbondale
Israel-Palestine history
Come listen to Georgetown Professor Dr. Nader Hashemi’s talk, “Israel-Gaza War: Myths versus Realities,” at the Pitkin County Library on Thursday, March 14, at 7pm. This is a rare opportunity to learn from a Middle East expert about Israel and Palestine.
Don’t miss it!
Admission is free, but donations made in support of Doctors Without Borders’ relief work in Gaza are encouraged. A question and answer session will follow and live Spanish interpretation will be provided. RSVP at bit.ly/hashemirfv
Hashemi is an associate professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, and the director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. He has edited several anthologies on the Middle East and is a frequent voice on NPR, PBS and other outlets.
Hashemi draws on his deep experience and informed study of the region’s history and politics. At his Aspen lecture, he plans to discuss the historical seeds of Israel’s war with Hamas and debunk common misconceptions about the conflict and the role of the U.S.
He will also address the critical role and responsibility of Americans, whose government has urged Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to show restraint; but shows no sign of withholding funding or weapons and has repeatedly vetoed nearly unanimous ceasefire resolutions in the United Nations (UN).
Hashemi’s talk comes at a perilous moment in the war as Israeli forces are poised to invade Rafah, the last city in Gaza its forces have not entered and where a million Gazans have fled to after five months of bombing. The UN and aid organizations report sharp increases in child mortality and warn of famine.
The event is presented by Ceasefire Now Roaring Fork Valley, an all volunteer group that persuaded the Glenwood Springs City Council to unanimously pass the state’s first municipal ceasefire resolution on Feb. 15. The group continues to pressure Aspen and other Valley municipalities to pass similar resolutions and for citizens to lobby their members of Congress.
Hannah Saggau
Glenwood Springs
Non-sanctuary support
The Garfield County commissioners have been criticized by locals and Voces Unidas de las Montañas. State Representative Elizabeth Velasco opines that declaring GarCo non-sanctuary status is “inhumane, anti-immigrant rhetoric and promote[s] dangerous stereotypes and misinformation.” Voces Unidas CEO Alex Sanchez said it’s “divisive and harmful.”
They try to legitimize their grievances by conflating our Latino communities with Denver’s sanctuary overflow of Venezuelans. We know and trust our longtime Hispanic neighbors as hard working family oriented members of our communities. We do not know who these “newcomers” are or their past history.
I have yet to hear anyone say “‘I’ will house,” or “‘I’ will feed,” or “’I’ will employ an un-vetted and un-vaxxed foreign national. It’s always “we” … “We” must take responsibility. I guess it’s easier to be generous with other peoples’ quality of life and interests.
I applaud the officials of Garfield, Mesa and Moffat counties for passing non-sanctuary policies. These leaders are taking care of the tax paying citizens who elected them. Bravo!
Bruno Kirchenwitz
Rifle