A CALL TO ACTION BY TRENT LEISY
November 19, 2023
During the 1988 Republican National Convention, then presidential nominee George H. W. Bush, resoundingly utter the words, “Read my lips: no new taxes”. Little did he know that those very words would come back to defeat him in 1992 when he lost his bid for a second term to President William Jefferson Clinton. That ultimately was the defeat of President George H. W. Bush. Let me fast forward to present day when the voters in Colorado utter those very words, “Read my lips: no new taxes” with the colossal defeat of Proposition HH. A proposition which was disguised as a tax relief. When in reality it was a proposition that would have been a massive tax increase on everyday Coloradoans. The voters were wise and read the fine print and said no.
There has always been a debate on who is more tax hungry, the democrats or the republicans. The older I get the more I realize that neither one of them cares, that if there is a way to siphon money from the voters, they will do it. They do it by creating some emotion filled reason as to why they need your money, and they hope that you the voter is dumb enough to believe them. All the while they have no interest in using your money for the intended reason, they want you to fall for.
When I was appointed to the Weld County Council earlier this year, I was clear that I had no agenda. That it is the job of the council to adhere to the Weld County Home Rule Charter and to make sure that Weld County residents are put before the bureaucracy of the county. One of the duties of the council is to approve or deny any additional tax revenue collected that rises above the county charter limits. In simplified terms, the county is prohibited from retaining tax revenue that was collected in the previous year plus five percent (5%). Now Weld County is in a predicament. The massive increase in assessed value for property owners in Weld County has generated higher taxes. Weld County is expected to collect $366 million dollars in tax revenue in 2024, which is $78.5 million dollars above the Weld County Home Rule Charter limits. In 2024 Weld County can only retain $288 million dollars.
As I said, Weld County is in a predicament as to what to do with the $78.5 million dollars that they cannot hold onto without the approval of the Weld County Council. in October Commissioner’s Freeman, James and Ross came before the County Council to persuade us that the county is in dire need of a new complex at Island Grove. However, after 2 ½ hours of questioning by the Council, of which the majority came from me, Commissioner Freeman finally admitted the inevitable truth. That the Commissioners can do whatever they want with the money. When pressed, he couldn’t even commit that the money would go to a new facility at Island Grove.
Commissioner’s Freeman, James and Ross remind me of Uncle Scrooge, from Ducktales. They want to take your money, dump it all into their offices and swim around in it every day. Using that money with zero accountability. Oh, by the way, all three of these commissioners are republicans. Wait, I thought republicans were for lower taxes? Less government? Fiscal responsibility? Well of course they are when they are pointing the fingers at democrats right? But they forget is three are pointing right back at them. Ultimately the resolution failed 2-3 with Councilwoman Teksten and Beemer voting in favor and Councilmen Welch, Hatch and Leisy voting against the resolution.
One would have thought that a message was sent to the three money hungry commissioners that if they want more money then they can ask the voters for more money. Nope, they now want to come before the Weld County Council again on November 20th and ask for the money again, but this time, they claim they can prove they will be in a financial shortfall. That they will be so negatively impacted that it could cause financial harm to the county. Even though the county has over $500 million in cash and investments currently.
To not bore you with too much technical detail the Weld County Home Rule Charter clearly states in Section 14-7 (2) (a) “If the Board be of the opinion, the amount of tax limited by the preceding Section will be insufficient for the County needs for the current year, it may submit the question of an increased levy to the County Council …” To simplify things, Commissioner’s Freeman, James and Ross want you to believe that even though the county will have an excess of $78.5 million dollars in 2024, that they will be in a financial short fall. That the county will have to stop providing certain services. That the county will have to lay people off. That the county will be unable to construct another ridiculous roundabout.
So, on the heels of Proposition HH failing, Commissioner’s Freeman, James and Ross still want your money. They know the voters of Weld County will not approve a tax increase, so they want to circumvent the system, circumvent the voters, just so they can walk into their offices every day and swim around in your hard-earned money. These establishment RINO republicans are not conservative, and they do not believe in conservative values. Make no mistake, they are nothing more than power hungry elected officials who are not representing their constituents and who want to rob money from the very voter who cast a vote for them.
One may ask, where is Commissioner Buck in all this? She is absent from this conversation. Is that intentional? The only Commissioner who has stood up to this big government power grab by the three sitting commissioners is Commissioner Saine. Who has withstood the test of time with the daily dose of abuse she receives from all four of the commissioners. Who has been stripped of all coordinator positions due to her stance on conservative values and protecting the people. Who was shouted down during the October meeting by Commissioner Freeman due to her opposition to the resolution and for standing firm against the political power grab by the RINO republican Commissioner’s Freeman, James and Ross.
This is typical big government bureaucracy as the commissioners have known about this situation since March and have neglected to inform the council until October. In hopes that we would just “go along to get along”. In hopes that they can create a sense of urgency at the last minute that would force the hands of the council to approve the resolution as the Commissioners are coming down to their deadline to approve the 2024 budget.
All Weld County residents should be enraged by this power grab, by this Uncle Scrooge philosophy that your money belongs in their hands. Have your voice be heard by coming to the November 20th Council meeting that will be held at the Weld County Administration Building located at 1150 O Street Greeley, CO 80631. Meeting starts at 6:30 PM. Send an email of dissent to the commissioners at: Commissioner Freeman This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Commissioner Ross This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Commissioner James This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Commissioner Buck This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and Commissioner Saine This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. These commissioners need to hear from you, they need to know that your money is off limits.
The views expressed in this Op-Ed are my views only and are not a reflection of the entire Weld County Council.
Trent Leisy
Weld County Council District 1
Candidate for Colorado’s Congressional District 4
GOP Counts Paper Ballots in Full View of Voters; Indecent Exposure Charges Are Being Considered
In an obscene display of democracy, the Republican Party State Central Committee conducted at least two completely transparent votes Saturday.
Ballots were disturbingly visible throughout the counting process, which was carried out onstage in full view of a hooting and hollering audience. (The proper procedure, according to experts such as Jena Griswold, carefully preserves ballot modesty by examining them in a locked room with just a few selected people, or better yet examines them by machine, eliminating any prying human eyes.)
“Can they DO that?” one voter asked. “I mean, this was blatant counting, right out in the open. There should at least be a warning about sensitive content.” Ballot boxes were reportedly see-through, though at least voters had to prove their identity in order to enter and cast ballots. Volunteers holding the ballot boxes even paraded the transparent boxes up onto and across the stage where naked ballots were counted and totaled.
The ballot counters defended themselves by pointing out that nobody touched the ballots between the voter and the counters, and the ballots are available to be examined for any tampering.
Another area of concern is that the ballot counting took many minutes to finish. Stunned members of the public had lawyers check state statutes to see if elections are allowed to be counted that fast. “I’m pretty sure there’s something in here that says it’s supposed to take weeks,” one commented. “Just like our comrades do in the People’s Republic of Nevada.”
(See GLASS BOX ELECTIONS for more information.)
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RESOLUTION URGING A “RETURN TO EXCELLENCE” IN AMERICAN VOTING AND ELECTIONS
WHEREAS, To present a formal Resolution from the Republican National Committee for declared opposition to voting manipulation schemes and to return to the functional and historic balloting and polling experience that Americans understand, appreciate, and love;
WHEREAS, The mission of the Republican Party is to act as the party that encourages and allows the broadest possible participation to all voters and to assure that the Republican Party is open and accessible to all Americans;
WHEREAS, Ensuring the integrity of our voting and election administration is critical and foundational to maintaining a civil and decent society decentralized from a federal government as the Founders intended;
WHEREAS, Americans expect accurate and swift determinations as it pertains to elections and the administration of elections;
WHEREAS, Elections have been under assault from those on the Left as they attempt to implement schemes and intentionally inject chaotic administrative changes that have drastically changed how elections are conducted in hundreds of the most populous counties and regions across the nation;
WHEREAS, Election officials are obligated to apply polling place access equitably in states, and should not eliminate polling places in order and to move to “vote center” models that make polling place access more difficult in more conservative areas;
WHEREAS, Democrats are passing non-citizen voting laws in liberal cities, which the Republican National Committee has previously resolved to oppose and ensure only United States citizens decide our elections;
WHEREAS, Republican officials are explicitly asking for decisive direction and support from the national Republican apparatus and elected Republican leadership;
WHEREAS, The grassroots activists of the Republican Party have discovered and made it abundantly clear that there are recognized problems with electronic election procedures and intentional complications of instituted systems that complicate, belabor, and slow down our election processes;
WHEREAS, Election experts agree that the most resilient voting systems use paper ballots, either marked by hand or with an assistive device, and are verified by the voter before any means of tabulation; and
WHEREAS, The Republican National Committee has unanimously opposed complicated election schemes like Ranked Choice Voting that is a clear example of the chaos being pushed on our states and territories; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, The Republican National Committee boldly opposes means of voting that do not have the proper safeguards in place and are exclusively electronic and calls on every county and state in the nation to use as the default ballot systems, which are fully auditable, namely hand-marked, voter-verified paper ballots to ensure every voter is memorialized by a paper record;
RESOLVED, The Republican National Committee calls on secretaries of state of each state to implement anti-counterfeit ballot printing, tracing and verification procedures;
RESOLVED, The Republican National Committee formed a special Election Integrity Committee designed to offer ideas, suggestions and reports on election equipment and voting procedures and it will integrate its findings of best practices through the Election Integrity Department and communicating its findings on voting schemes, balloting systems, election equipment, and safeguards to elected officials, candidates, and voters;
RESOLVED, The Republican National Committee supports the rights of counties and states that are willing and able to competently and efficiently implement voting procedures that do not require the use of machines and those that implement hand counting procedures that are fully auditable;
RESOLVED, The Republican National Committee calls on state legislatures, county, and municipal governments to pass laws and municipal codes and rules that allow for full transparent hand-counting procedures that are planned, timely and fully observable by the public and the registered parties for geographically defined audits and recounts;
RESOLVED, The Republican National Committee calls on all Republican officeholders to defend the historic practice of geographically-defined and assigned precinct, ward and localized polling places for means of balloting and tabulating paper ballots by geographic unit;
RESOLVED, The Republican National Committee stands firmly behind voter identification laws and calls on state legislatures to pass laws to ensure every voter is verified to be the actual voter regardless of method in which they vote at the time of voting, casting, or delivering a ballot;
RESOLVED, The Republican National Committee hereby opposes any and all efforts for states to unreasonably expand time periods for early or vote-by-mail that makes ballot counting procedures intentionally unmanageable or incapable to complete expeditiously following the conclusion of an election on election day;
RESOLVED, The Republican National Committee calls for elimination of temporary or ‘pop-up’ voting locations, drop boxes, and any other voting center that are not fairly defined and bound to a designated geographic territory and where voting locations exist, namely by precinct, so that voting is accessible equitably by legal precinct, ward or defined geographic unit in order to provide impartial access for all voters; and
RESOLVED, The Republican National Committee calls for a necessary “return to excellence” or in other words, a return to the simple and proven methods of precinct, ward or geographically-defined localized voting with auditable balloting procedures using paper ballots, in fair, reasonable limited time periods, using proper identification to strengthen voter confidence and to ensure that American election procedures can be a fair and open process for all to participate.
CLICK HERE to download the Resolution from the RNC.
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Excellent weekly publications by volunteers in Arapahoe County, answering the question "What can I do to help make my county a better place to live?"
Click on the issue number to read the .pdf file.
NEWSLETTER NUMBER TEN - September 2, 2023
NEWSLETTER NUMBER NINE - August 12, 2023
NEWSLETTER NUMBER EIGHT - July 29, 2023
NEWSLETTER NUMBER SEVEN - July 14, 2023
NEWSLETTER NUMBER SIX - June 23, 2023
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NEWSLETTER NUMBER FOUR - MAY 26, 2023
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NEWSLETTER NUMBER ONE - APRIL 2023
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