Routt GOP: Voters can restore balance in local, state, federal politics on Nov. 8

Routt GOP: Voters can restore balance in local, state, federal politics on Nov. 8

This election year is an opportunity for Routt County voters to vote for balance and make significant course corrections away from the direction Democrats have taken our county, Colorado and America. Our governments at every level need fresh ideas that will restore balance, reason and common sense. Today, seven out of 10 likely voters believe America is heading in the wrong direction.

Democrats know they’re in trouble and they’re doing everything they can to distract voters from their record. In Colorado, Democrat smear merchants are propagating outright lies about Republican candidates and highlighting the abortion issue to avoid discussing the real problems most voters want solved.

The truth is, our neighbors are most concerned about runaway inflation, burgeoning crime, the fentanyl crisis, and the quality of public education, according to recent polling. Democrats like Rep. Dylan Roberts have played a significant role in exacerbating these problems because the Colorado state house and senate lack balance.

Rep. Roberts supported HB22-1326, the Fentanyl Accountability and Prevention bill, that simply adjusted the amount of illegal doses of fentanyl and did nothing to curb trafficking and prevent overdoses. Representative Roberts also supported SB-217, the Police Integrity Transparency and Accountability Act, which mandated onerous reporting processes that took police resources off the street. He also supported HB22-1362, Building Greenhouse Gas Emissions, which will require building code changes to comply with “green energy” mandates. According to the Common Sense Institute, these mandates will add about $42,000 to building costs for each new home in Colorado, making housing less affordable.

Like Dylan Roberts, Meghan Lukens lacks balance by supporting the Denver-Boulder “progressive” agenda. She is already having to backtrack from her record as a Boulder County Democratic Party vice chair. In this position, Ms. Lukens was responsible for advocating and fundraising for Democrat interests including Proposition 114 and the reintroduction of wolves. Although she claims to not have voted for the measure, she didn’t speak out against it and instead enabled its passage through her advocacy. Boulder county overwhelmingly voted to reintroduce wolves to the Western Slope. In order to cover up other political inconveniences, Ms. Lukens recently removed two videos from YouTube where she promotes the virtues of Critical Race Theory in public schools. Clearly, she now believes Marxist-based theories like CRT are not a popular sell to the voters of Routt County and the Western Slope.

County commissioner candidate Sonja Macys wishes to continue the legacy of one-party Democrat leadership on Routt County’s Board of Commissioners. During her time as a Steamboat Springs City Council member, she never met a tax increase or fee she couldn’t support. Ms. Macys’ approach to every problem is more tax and spend initiatives. For example, she believes a $100 million extension of the core trail would help address regional transportation and by extension affordable housing. These are the same approaches that continue to inhibit responsible growth and economic prosperity in Routt County. Ms. Macys’ approach to solving these problems is more bureaucracy using other people’s money. Her approach also includes the implementation of the Climate Action Plan, a boiler-plate document which has never undergone a cost-benefit analysis. The impact of incomplete climate action plans on lives and on the economy is becoming well demonstrated in Europe as millions of people fight to afford their homes let alone heat them and keep the lights on.

Democrat leadership and policies at the federal, state and local level have exacerbated inflation by thoughtlessly pouring more and more money into an already overheated economy that has a limited supply of goods and services. Their soft-on-crime policies have made our communities more dangerous and less productive. Democrat public education policies have stolen from our children and degraded the quality of public education by putting union interests before those of parents and children.

Democrats own these problems. The Democrat Party is the majority party in both houses of Congress and in the executive office at the federal and state level. Now, it’s time to bring balance, reason and common sense back to our federal, state and local governments. Our Republican candidates will listen to Routt County residents and truly represent their interests and values. They will bring new ideas to the table and build bridges to unite our communities and deliver meaningful change to the direction of our country, state, and county. We can no longer afford one party rule in Routt County, Colorado and America. Let’s bring balance and meaningful change by voting for the Republican Party on Nov. 8.

This column was provided by the Routt County Republican Central Committee.

PUBLISHED SOURCE: Steamboat Pilot & Today

Heidi Ganahl Call on Polis to Act Now to Stop the Polis Premium

Greenwood Village, CO – For three years, Governor Jared Polis has refused to submit a waiver to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would prevent hardworking Coloradans from paying 50 more cents per gallon for gas. Now, Coloradans are supposed to believe that in an election year reversal, Polis is ready to submit the science and save us money. Republican Gubernatorial Nominee Heidi Ganahl is calling on Governor Polis to stop the political pandering and act before the impending EPA deadline.

“For years, Jared Polis has been adamant in his refusal to submit a simple letter that would save Coloradans 50 cents a gallon because he prioritizes his and Joe Biden’s Green New Deal over the suffering of hardworking Coloradans. We see this for what it is: another election year ploy. If he is really willing to submit the letter, I call on Polis to submit that waiver today so that he meets the EPA deadline in time. Coloradans deserve the truth,” said Ganahl.

Earlier this year, the EPA downgraded the Denver area from a serious polluter to a severe polluter. That means, starting in the summer of 2024, gas stations must use a more expensive, refined fuel that emits fewer pollutants.

Previous governors, including Democrat John Hickenloper, sought and received waivers from the EPA because they were able to prove much of Colorado’s air pollution comes from other states. In 2019, two months after becoming governor, Polis said he would not seek an exemption for Colorado’s severe rating. He wanted this crackdown.

According to the executive director of the Colorado Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association, Polis has until September 15th to file the request for reconsideration or Coloradans will be mandated to use the more expensive fuel.

“Which Polis are we to believe? The one that took office in 2019 or the one that is attempting to buy his reelection now? Coloradans should not be fooled by Election Year Polis’ attempt to run from his record of working to destroy the oil and gas industry. Polis must ensure he meets the EPA deadline so that he cannot blame the EPA for his own refusal to act in time,” insists Ganahl.

SOURCE: Ganahl For Governor

Routt County GOP: Implementing County’s climate plan comes at a high cost

Routt County GOP: Implementing County’s climate plan comes at a high cost

June 1, 2022 – Affordable housing, childcare, inflation, and economic growth are all central issues in Routt County. And each of those issues are tied to what many in Routt County believe is the center of gravity about our future – climate change. It is important for each of us to understand, the arguments we make for addressing these central issues are made in the context of the Left’s “Green New Deal” and our county’s “Climate Action Plan”.

What the “Climate Action Plan” doesn’t provide is global context. How can a small, regional effort provide any impact when countries like China, India, South Korea, Japan, and many others are moving in the opposite direction? In 2020, 350 new coal-fired power plants were under construction in these countries and many others.

Climate change is real. What’s not real, or at best unlikely, is that humans are the greatest contributing factor to climate change. Carbon emissions are one of several contributing factors of climate change. There are many other factors, including ocean currents, solar radiation, thermal absorption, clouds, volcanic phenomena, the earth axis, sun-spots, and others that are well beyond human control.

What is told to us about the human contribution to carbon emissions is also misleading. Science tells us that carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for decades. Even if we were able to shut off human carbon emission tomorrow, the amount of carbon remaining in the atmosphere would remain a contributing factor to climate change. Other phenomena on earth would continue adding to atmospheric carbon levels as well, and thus we would only be reducing carbon increase. What’s more, carbon levels in our atmosphere have been at much higher levels in the past and our planet has been warmer, which has resulted in longer growing seasons and potentially more food abundance.

Climate scientists rely on computer models to make their predictions. While computer models and simulations of atmospheric behavior have become more sophisticated, they have also become less reliable. Our predictions of weather rely on many of the same models, and we all know first-hand about the accuracy of weather predictions. Ironically, some experts tell us that the more data that is fed into these models, the more sensitive they become to inaccurate data that feed the variables performing the calculations. What’s worse, the output of these models is what the U.N.’s International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other government agencies use to make policy. Recall when in 1989 that U.N. environmentalists used these model predictions to claim that if global warming was not reversed by 2000, entire nations could be wiped off the planet creating coastal flooding, crop failures, and global “eco-refugees”.

Twenty-two years later, no nation has been wiped off the planet and there are no “eco-refugees”. As a matter of fact, the survival rate for humans from environmental disasters (floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.) has increased over 95% in less than a century. This is thanks largely to our global use of fossil fuels. This cheap, available, and reliable energy has allowed tens of millions of people to continue living in harsh climates through improved air conditioning, dependable heat, efficient food production, ubiquitous electricity, reliable transportation, improved construction, and rapid communication. And over the last few decades, fossil fuel has become cleaner and more available through improvements in technology.

What does all this mean for Routt County? Routt County has adopted an aggressive “Climate Action Plan” that seeks to move our communities from cheap and reliable energy to expensive and unreliable “green” energy. This effort is not only misguided by the idea that humans can alter the course of climate change, it comes at an unsustainable price to low and middle income families who struggle to live here. Add this reality to the current inflation and fuel shortages, many Routt County residents will no longer afford to live here. Businesses will become too expensive to operate, families will not be able to afford rent and utilities, and people will move. And when people move, so does the tax revenue and everything that makes us a community.

As Republicans, fiscal conservatives, and realists who understand the true impact of energy economics, we must remain educated on the costs of “going green” and the negative impact on future economic growth in our Routt County communities. And we must be prepared to show our government leaders what this impact will cost our low- and middle-income families as this “Climate Action Plan” is implemented.

PUBLISHED SOURCE: Steamboat Pilot & Today

Survey finds Steamboat more prepared for climate change than many other resort towns

Survey finds Steamboat more prepared for climate change than many other resort towns

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, February 11, 2021 — Steamboat Springs City Council and Steamboat Springs Chamber partnered with Summit Economics to conduct a study aimed at measuring the impacts of climate change on the tourism industry and assessing how prepared Steamboat is for its future.

The Chamber sent a survey to all tourism-related Steamboat businesses — restaurants, retail, outdoor rental equipment and other businesses that attract visitors — and asked them what, if anything, they are currently doing to mitigate future impacts of climate change, particularly as it relates to precipitation and potentially shortening Steamboat’s ski season.

While Steamboat is heavily reliant on tourism, particularly in its winter season, Tom Binnings, a senior partner at Summit Economics, said the Yampa Valley is at an advantage due to its high elevation. He presented results from the survey during Tuesday night’s City Council work session

“Steamboat’s altitude may act as a buffer against the warming impacts of climate change,” Binnings said.

However, Binnings said Steamboat should expect a shorter winter season and be even more conscientious of wildfires in the summer and fall.

“Late summer and early fall will come into play as you have a shorter winter season,” Binnings said. “The greatest threat facing Steamboat comes from wildfires.”

A major fire near Steamboat could “devastate the city’s tourism industry, have prolonged impacts from greater flood potential, water quality degradation, erosion and danger and could close recreation areas for an extended period of time,” Binnings said.

Council members said they believed the city is already taking wildfire mitigation seriously but more urgency is needed.

“Whatever we can do to mitigate the threat of wildfire is so important, because we could lose our town,” said council member Robin Crossan. “I think that needs to be our number one priority.”

Binnings said the survey found Steamboat’s business owners were more prepared for climate change action than many other Colorado resort communities.

“We turned over a lot of stones in trying to find other tourist areas asking the questions, and a lot of places just aren’t there yet,” Binnings said.

Half of survey respondents have taken action in their business to adapt to changing conditions, 66% felt “intentional action” needed to be taken to deal with climate change and 76% of respondents stated they believed doing so should be one of several top priorities, Binnings said.

The survey also found shoulder seasons are underutilized and should be used as an opportunity for the tourism industry to expand.

Many tourism-related businesses are promoting summer tourism just as much as winter tourism, and Steamboat’s abundance of outdoor-related nonprofits can help educate locals and visitors on climate impacts.

“The industry perceives significant climate impacts are currently occurring,” Binnings said. “The coming decade will result in significant negative impacts on both the local natural assets as well as the region’s tourism industry.”

Going forward, Binnings advised council to identify and fund a destination management entity, continue wildfire mitigation efforts and develop key partnerships.

“If we’re moving in the direction of taking climate action seriously and developing a climate plan, we need to go out and be more proud about the fact that our community is taking this seriously,” said council member Sonja Macys.

To reach Alison Berg, call 970-871-4229 or email [email protected]