“The West cannot…lose sight of its own values, its historically unique stability of civic life under the rule of law—a hard-won stability which grants independence and space to every private citizen.” – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

There is much happening both locally and down at the statehouse that we should all be paying attention to. The city of Lakewood continues to try to find ways to take in / take on more of Denver’s overflow if illegal immigrants. Meanwhile we are seeing national headlines about some of these very same people committing heinous crimes. If you live in Lakewood, reach out to your city councilor and let them know how you feel. See who they are and how to contact them at https://www.lakewood.org/Government/City-Council/City-Council-Members.

If you live further north in Broomfield, check out https://broomfieldtaxpayermatters.com. These folks keep tabs on what the city and county government is doing with their tax dollars.

And if you are a concerned citizen you can track your city council meetings in person and often online.

But there is more. Our Jefferson County Commissioners are using your tax dollars to hire a consultant to figure out how to get even more money out of us by removing TABOR (tax payer bill of rights) limits on how much of our money they can have.  Find and contact your county commissioner at https://www.jeffco.us/2075/Meet-the-Commissioners.

Perhaps most concerning is what the state legislature, with a super-majority of left-leaning Democrats, is doing to us (and our so-called libertarian governor is signing off on). Are you concerned about how public K-12 education is trending (especially in Jeffco)? The legislature is trying to make starting charter schools MUCH MORE difficult to open and operate (HB24-1363) Whether you have school age children or not, you should ask yourself (and your representative) “What problem does this solve and what other perhaps unintended perhaps intended consequences will there be?”

Another bill that Monica Duran, HD 23 Representative and House Majority Leader is sponsoring would raise taxes on firearms and ammunition – do you care about the second amendment? If so you many like her other infringement – HB-1174 which adds an onerous burden on concealed carry users.

Concerned about inflation and the rising cost of everything, including heating your home? Rep. Tammy Story (HD 25) is doing all she can to add more cost to oil and gas – check out HB-1357 for example.

The list goes on and on. Remember friends, if you don’t engage in politics, politics will engage in you.

You can TAKE UP THE TORCH. Visit your local city council meeting and make your voice heard. Serve on a board or commission. Or, better yet as November rapidly approaches, run for an office. If you don’t step up and run, who will?