I attended a meet-the-candidates night in Parachute last week and was totally taken back by the behavior of the current town officials and how they acted in a forum that was not organized by them. It turned into a fiasco of “Why wasn’t I invited” and rude, condescending remarks.

What Parachute does affects those of us who live in Battlement Mesa. Hearing the current board members and their candidate only tells me that the town does not want to change its infrastructure in regard to the Board of Trustees.

The majority of the board have ridden the merry-go-round for years. John Loschke on the board for 30 years, Juanita Williams stating 12 years of service, Roy McClung multiple years. Is this because the people in Parachute just plain don’t care about how the town is run and who is running it year after year?

I listened to Juanita Williams state how they “need” the marijuana money, yet at the last board meeting they gave the town manager a 3 percent raise, which equates to somewhere around $30,000. I would think if the town is in such dire straits, the last thing their town manager should have asked for is a raise and the very last thing the board should have done is approve it. Does the town manager need to be making over $100,000 plus benefits is the question town’s people should be asking.

These candidates are not against marijuana coming into the town. All they are saying is give people a voice. As Ms. Hayward stated, there are 271 municipalities in Colorado and the majority of them asked the people by putting it to vote if they wanted marijuana in their towns. In November 2015, 10 more municipalities within Colorado asked the voters to allow the sale of marijuana. However, the powers that be in Parachute have stated if the people put them in office they don’t need to ask them anything when it comes to changing the landscape of the Town. Democracy? I think not.

I guess all I am saying is people need to pay attention. Read the candidate bios in the Post Independent, read the comments, do your due diligence before you vote. It is time for change. Be a concerned citizen.

Regards,

Nanci Brown

Battlement Mesa