At this morning’s board meeting, the Weld County Commissioners approved a resolution that will allow residents to vote on whether or not they would like the Board to pursue the creation of a 51st State. “This item was initially brought to the Board by Weld County residents, and now Weld County residents will have the opportunity to vote on it this November,” said Commissioner Chairman William Garcia. The ballot language approved today will read: Shall the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, in concert with the county commissioners of other Colorado counties, pursue becoming the 51st state of the United States of America? Weld County’s Home Rule Charter authorizes the Board, by resolution, to submit a ballot question to the registered voters of Weld County in the form a referendum. Talks regarding the statehood initiative began last June when commissioners from several northern and eastern Colorado counties were discussing their frustrations with 2013 legislative session including the passage of firearm restrictions, oil and gas regulations and renewable energy mandates on rural Colorado. Ten Colorado counties (Cheyenne, Kit Carson, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, Weld and Yuma) participated in several discussions throughout June and July regarding the statehood initiative, and several counties held public meetings to hear comments from residents. The Weld County Commissioners held four public meetings in July and August and received valuable input from Weld residents. “Even residents who didn’t agree with forming a new state, still wanted to be able to vote on the issue,” said Garcia. Support for the initiative however has been overwhelmingly positive, as phone calls and emails from hundreds of people have encouraged the board to make a stand for the voice of rural Colorado. “The concerns of rural Coloradans have been ignored for years,” said Garcia. “The last session was the straw that broke the camel’s back for many people. They want change. They want to be heard. Policies being passed by the legislature in Denver are having negative impacts on the lives of rural Coloradans. This isn’t an ‘R’ versus ‘D’ issue; it’s much bigger than that.”
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 18:56:58 +0000
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