The commissioners of the county leading the charge for seceding from Colorado and forming North Colorado have begun a campaign of editorials about their cause. In a modern take on Thomas Paine’s Common Sense colonial pamphlet, the Weld County Commission will post arguments for breaking away — in this case, on their government website. The first installment (pdf) includes this:
As your Board of County Commissioners, we have been ridiculed for having the audacity to even suggest we pursue separating from the rest of Colorado. The fact is, the state many of us grew up in, the state we love, is slipping away into something many Colorado residents no longer recognize.
We do not believe it is a waste of time to go out into the community and provide an opportunity for residents to be heard. We do not think it is a waste of energy to discuss your concerns and listen to your frustrations. We do not think it is a waste of money to exercise one of our fundamental rights under the constitution – the right to vote. We do not think it is audacious to stand up to a government that has failed to live up to our expectations.
In the pursuit of liberty, we need to change our course of action — change the path we are on. We need to stand up for ourselves. It is time to send THE message: we will no longer be ignored.
The Weld County Commission voted last month to put the question to voters in November. The ballot measure asks whether the commission should pursue seceding. Commissioner Doug Rademacher tells the Greeley Tribune that he expects the measure to pass 60-40.
Laura Conaway