Candidates share concerns, vision

Valley Courier Publisher Keith Cerny, left, moderates a candidate forum in Alamosa on Tuesday night. Center is State Representative Donald Valdez, a Democrat, and right is challenger Scott Honeycutt, a Republican./Courier photo by Ruth Heide

Dist. 2 Alamosa County commissioner responses

ALAMOSA — Candidates for local and state seats responded to questions from voters this week at a forum at Society Hall in Alamosa.

The Alamosa Chamber of Commerce and Valley Courier sponsored the forum, which featured candidates for Alamosa County contested races and the House District 62 contested race.

Alamosa County Commissioner Michael Yohn, a Republican, faces Democratic challenger Edward Vigil for the District 2 seat, and State Representative Donald Valdez, a Democrat, faces Republican challenger Scott Honeycutt for the House District 62 seat, which encompasses eight southern Colorado counties.

Following are questions and responses for the commissioner candidates. See adjoining story for HD 62 questions and responses.

Alamosa County

commissioner

Question: What new vision can you bring to the county?

Yohn: Alamosa County is growing at the rate of about 3 percent per year, which is manageable. Transportation is a big issue in the San Luis Valley, and the airport plays a major role in that. Yohn said the airport provides reliable service now and hopefully will continue to do so in the future. Agriculture is also seeing new developments with the hemp industry.

Vigil: Although people may stay the night in Alamosa as they visit the sand dunes, “we need to keep them here.” Ideas need to be developed to keep people here longer. Officials can work with clubs like Early Iron to help them expand their events “and keep our visitors here longer.” Hemp is a growing agricultural industry, and those and other new crops can be expanded.

Question: Alamosa County has 21 percent general poverty and 27 percent child poverty. What would be your plan to improve that? (The person asking the question said the statistics were from the 2010 U.S. census.)

Vigil: There is a proposition on the ballot that could help alleviate some of that. Also, more support needs to be given to school districts and teachers. The opioid problem also needs to be addressed as well as homelessness. Collaboration with places like La Puente can help address those issues. “We really need to look at how we are distributing our funds and ours services.”

Yohn: Serving on the work force board, Yohn questioned the poverty rates. He said unemployment is 3 percent here. “People that want to work are working,” he said. He said he believed things had turned around since 2010. He said many local businesses are hiring, and some are having a hard time finding workers. He said treatment and education are needed to deal with drug problems.

Question: What can be done to improve the roads in the north part of the county?

Yohn: He said the county only has about $300,000 a year for new asphalt and budgeted $320,000 in 2018. That does not go very far. The road and bridge department is one of the smaller departments in the county with an annual budget of $3 million. “They do everything they can,” he said. He added that the county is trying to use more chip seal on the roads as well.

Vigil: The roads in the northern part of the county are rough, and that can be especially difficult for people with chronic health problems who have trouble with dust. Perhaps temporary situations could be found such as watering down the dirt roads. Funding is on a tiered level and includes highway users tax fund monies for the counties. Communities are tied to the roads, which also are vital for tourism.

Question: What one issue is the most important to Alamosa, how would you fix it and what are the obstacles to that?

Vigil: It’s difficult to narrow it to one, but the opioid crisis is a big issue and has cost the county hundreds of thousands of dollars in inmate housing outside of the county. “That’s money that leaves the community, never comes back,” he said. That money could go a long way in fixing roads. He added that the drug problem affects other areas such as social services.

Yohn: He agreed that the opioid addiction is the biggest problem for Alamosa County. He said there has to be a multi-pronged approach to dealing with it including education, especially for young people, and a treatment center. He said the county had to expand its jail, but that is no place for addicts to go through detox. Roads are also a big issue, he said.

Question: The City of Alamosa has given the economic development group $29,000 each year recently (budgeting $25,000 next year), and the county has given $6,000 ($1,000 directly from the county budget and $5,000 from the lodging tax board.) Would you work towards matching the city’s contribution?

Vigil: “Of course I would work towards that goal.” Economic development is necessary, and if the city is investing that kind of money in it, the county needs to as well. He said more jobs need to be created, and investing more money in economic development would be a good start. He said the county needs to explore funding options, perhaps hiring a person to write grants that could be used for economic development and exploring state programs.

Yohn: “Economic development is very important to Alamosa County. We fund it in many different ways.” He said the problem is “who do we take it away from?” because the county has a limited pot of money to draw from. “All of it is spoken for.” He said if the county could give something to everyone, that will help keep all of the programs going. “It’s a balancing act. We support it all we can.”

Question: Now that the jail addition and courthouse are completed, what is the next priority for the county, and if you answer opioid crisis, how specifically can the county commissioners address that problem?

Vigil: The county needs to continue to seek additional funding from state and federal sources to fund programs that will address the opioid problem, such as the LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion) Program and treatment centers. The county can cooperate with folks like Dr. Barbara Troy who are working with addicts, he added. Since the county has a finite amount of money, it needs to cooperate with others to maintain current programs and add new ones.

Yohn: The jail project will not be completed for about another year, and the certificates of participation for the jail and courthouse projects will not be paid off until 2035. One of the county’s next big projects is resurfacing the 6 North from Highway 17 to the sand dunes. The county has been awarded $10 million and must come up with a $2 million match. The county is also working an animal shelter. Roads are also a priority.

House District 62 questions/responses

ALAMOSA — Following are questions and responses from the candidate forum in Alamosa on Tuesday from House District 62 candidates Donald Valdez, a Democrat who currently holds the seat in the state house, and Scott Honeycutt, a Republican.

House District 62 candidates

Question: What single issue do you consider most critical for House District 62, and what are the solutions and obstacles?

Honeycutt: Red tape is one of the biggest obstacles to getting things accomplished, and eliminating some of that might help with the progress on the opioid problem. He said he did not yet have the answer to that but has good people he could go to and ask for information and ideas.

Valdez: There are many issues, with opioid being one of them. He said he sponsored legislation to allow jails to offer medication-assisted treatment for inmates on a voluntary basis. Education is a key component in combatting the drug problem and programs for youth like FFA that help them make good choices.

Question: What motivates you to serve the people of this district in the Colorado House of Representatives?

Valdez: His motivation, he said, is continuing to provide a voice at the state capitol, particularly for residents in rural areas and for the water and how important it is. Without heavier snowpacks, farmers will be hurting, and agriculture is the lifeblood of the San Luis Valley and southern Colorado. It also affects other states and Mexico. He said he would continue being the voice for education, agriculture, affordable and accessible health care, roads and bridges and broadband.

Honeycutt: He said it was time to give back. He was excited about the opportunity to listen to the needs and help with them. He said he believed it was his responsibility to give back to his community and would do everything in his power to do that. He said he wanted to make things better for his kids and their kids. If he could help one person, he would feel like he succeeded in doing that.

Question: How can the Colorado legislature keep costs under control?

Honeycutt: That is hard to answer right now because he is not sure how things operate there. “I believe in cutting red tape. I am sure there’s ways to do that.”

Valdez: Making sure there’s accountability is important. He believes in working with people and listening to them. He specifically mentioned Proposition 110 for infrastructure improvements, but it does not include a single project in the San Luis Valley, which was disappointing.

Question: How are you going to be able to keep up with water projects that will sustain the growth in population?

Valdez: He would continue to advocate for keeping the Valley’s water here. Water is precious for communities and agricultural uses as well as downstream users. One goal with water would be to expand reservoir storage even though it will take some time to fill the current reservoirs back up because of low snowpack levels.

Honeycutt: Developing and growing crops that use less water will be crucial. “I know it can be done,” he said. He agreed that water storage was also important. He added that conservation is also important. “I think each one of us can save hundreds of gallons of water a day.”

Question: Your stand on the Second Amendment?

Honeycutt: He said he would not vote for any type of legislation that would take away the Second Amendment rights. “That’s our God given right and I am going to enforce it to the best of my ability.”

Valdez: He said he was one of the few legislators who passed a firearms bill. The legislation increased the penalty for theft of firearms. He said reducing the amount of crime starts with education. “I still stand for our Second Amendment.”

Question: How do you propose improving school security in our state?

Valdez: He said in the last year legislators set aside $35 million for school safety, and schools can use their own discretion to determine how to use it whether it is in resource officers, security cameras, security doors or other uses. He said schools should be safe zones. Schools such as the new ones being constructed in Del Norte and Saguache are implementing new safety measures all the time. Students should be able to feel safe and able to learn in schools, because education is important and opens doors to the future.

Honeycutt: “We need to do whatever it takes to keep our kids safe,” he said. He added that when he was in school, he had a shotgun in his pickup for hunting. “We never had school shootings back then. I truly believe that the reason we did not is because everybody had a gun.” He said some teachers are being trained on how to protect their students. Teachers should have options on how they feel it is best to protect students, he added. “We need to stand behind them. We need to educate them.”