By STEVE ERKENBRACK
If you meander along the highways and byways of New England, you will notice a common feature in many villages that date to the colonial era: the center of each community is marked by a town square, typically punctuated by an old church or meeting house. This is for neither traffic control nor aesthetics; rather, it was the site for public decision-making, established by the pilgrims when they landed four centuries ago.
Communal decisions were not to be made by lords or landed gentry, as in Old England; they were to be made by the everyday folks who comprise the community. They gathered and groused, discussed and decided.
Grand Junction continues this time-honored American experience these days as we select from our neighbors who have stepped forward and offered to serve us on our City Council. If you tend to take this phenomenon for granted, just consider what is happening on the other side of the globe where citizens in Myanmar, Moscow, and Hong Kong are gassed, arrested, or shot in their efforts to have people control the government, not vice versa.
While pondering this contemporary lesson in liberty, we might note the three things that make this both possible and meaningful.
The Candidates
In an era of social media rants and tweets, its admirable that people have the courage to run for public office. Eight candidates have offered to serve the rest of us, and they deserve our appreciation. Ive run for local office four times, three times successfully as district attorney, and one time not-so-successfully for the state Legislature. It requires an intense personal commitment of time, effort, and focus. Each of these citizens could like the rest of us spend an evening browsing a book, streaming a show, or sipping a beer with a friend. Instead, they have spent hours learning the issues from skating rinks to swimming pools, toking to taxation. They may differ in style, background, or vision, but they all share a commitment to make this community a better place.
In any election, half the candidates go home disappointed, and rejection hurts, especially after pouring your heart into an effort. So, if you bump into one of these brave neighbors, regardless of how you are going to vote, take a moment to thank them. Abe, Dennis, Greg, Jody, Kraig, Mark, Rick and Randall are the next generation of the spirit of liberty that was born in those New England town squares centuries ago, the next tiles in the American mosaic.
The Coverage
Recognizing the risk of accusations of bias (since this paper periodically publishes my perspectives on politics, law, and history), local media is also an essential component of grassroots democracy. Months ago, as candidates declared their interest, most of us did not know most of them. This newspapers reporters outlined key issues, and then gave each candidate the chance to present his message in his own way, not spinning stories to fit a publishers preconceived agenda. News was clearly differentiated from the opinions reflected on the editorial page.
Much has been said of both fake news and the demise of local media, and these are truly topics for concern, especially when national media colors the news with its views, and when social media uses artificial intelligence to feed us topics selected to make us happy, not to make us think. Local newspapers are at the forefront of trying to provide us the facts, and letting us reach our own conclusions.
The Community
Having been born in Washington, D.C., and moving about every three years as the youngest son in a Navy family, I never really had a hometown as a kid. So, when my wife and I settled in Grand Junction as a young couple in 1979, we were looking for more than just jobs; we were looking for a community. And did we ever find it.
Our current municipal election is but the latest iteration of this community collectively addressing its issues, with differences that dont degenerate into denigration. Out of that spirit have come countless public servants and extraordinary accomplishments like the our downtown, the Riverfront Trail, Lincoln Park, Little League, Las Colonias, museums, and theaters. Perhaps the culmination of this spirit is the you-gotta-live-here-to-believe-it phenomenon of JUCO or the transformation of higher education at Colorado Mesa University. None of these accomplishments were without discussion and dissension; we are a scrappy lot. But we pull together through trial, tragedy or triumph. We get hit with a pandemic, we hit back with a 5-Star program to lead the state in keeping our local businesses open.
There is much that can divide us, especially when topics turn to national events. But here, in the shadow of the Grand Mesa, this community has been built brick by brick. The newest bricks will be laid over the next two weeks with our new City Council, selected by you and your neighbors, in this quintessentially American demonstration of democracy, which the people in Myanmar would die for ... and are. Savor this privilege. Vote. It is the key leg of the tripod that is liberty.
Steve ErkenBrack is an attorney in Western Colorado, where he settled in 1979. Over the years, he has served as a trial attorney, as the elected District Attorney, as a health insurance CEO, and as Colorados Chief Deputy Attorney General. He is currently Of Counsel at Hoskin, Farina & Kampf in Grand Junction.
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