EXAMPLE NO. 1I constantly resist our countyís bully tactics against ordinary citizens seeking to be left alone. One recurring situation is enforcement of our ìrubbishî ordinance, which covers spare lumber, cars without insurance or tags or anything else that a bureaucrat finds irregular or unsightly.One commissioner justified suing a citizen because the county had given him ìplenty of time to conform.î Think about that. Individuality offends governmental robots. Your commissioner thinks it is NOT a crime to be a slob or packrat, nor to tinker with old cars on your own land. Many citizens moved east of Peterson Road to escape the nanny state, but dull-witted drones are swarming that way. Did you ever see the 1957 movie, ìInvasion of the Body Snatchers?î I must associate with soul-less pod people twice weekly!Ironically, I visited the county facility on Marksheffel Road recently. I noticed a dilapidated, shabby, abandoned railway car next to that road. The DOT director said it had been there for years. The county had gone to court and established its ownership of that hunk of junk, but it was a ìlow priorityî to remove it.I pointed out the countyís hypocrisy at the next board meeting. We have a willing recipient of the railway car on the Westside. The Transportation Department should be able to transport it, donít you think? The DOT director said it would cost thousands of dollars, but admitted removal costs are no excuse when the county harasses Joe Citizen about his cars. The railway car windows are missing, so it is deteriorating. Vandals can enter. Trespassing children can be hurt. Contrast that with the risk-free stack of plywood next to your garage.I will keep needling collectivists to obey the Golden Rule, though with slim odds for success.EXAMPLE NO. 2My colleagues have now escalated their public attack on me. At board meetings, they have called me a ìliar,î and say I ìtwist the truthî and make statements that are ìobviously false.î One asked what the weather was like on the planet I came from. He also falsely claimed I had not turned my salary over to charity, as promised. I pointed out the county had the cancelled checks proving I had. You may recall our emotional former county attorney. He called me a ìsociopath, narcissist and crackpotî in a public meeting. None of their personal attacks is merited, yet these insiders contend it is I who embarrasses county government!Why these juvenile tantrums? Because I point out awkward facts about their actions. One ran for re-election with a brochure saying he was ìfighting to keep taxes low.î He will apparently support this fallís largest county property tax increase in history, as he supported past tax hikes. All claim they are fiscal conservatives, but three have voted for over 99.8 percent of all requested spending, the fourth for 100 percent.The most common criticism of local government, both city council and county commission, is the lack of dignity. Bickering, name calling, smears and other childish behavior rightly angers citizens who want us to act like adults. Thatís why I stated at our first board meeting that I would publicly address my colleagues as ìCommissioner,î not by first names. I would always wear a coat and tie, unlike another, who arrives in faded jeans, turtleneck sweaters, sandals, or other ë60s-era attire. I would not call them names, yell at them, nor prevent their speaking, though they routinely do so with me. Every act of their petty needling or vituperation makes me sit a little straighter and smile a little broader. Ask anyone who has attended our board meetings; they will verify the double standard. Who are the hypocrites here?EXAMPLE NO. 3For decades, the county has claimed it operated at maximum efficiency. Then it fired workers, conceding they arenít needed. NOW it is efficient! Then it used an empty building to generate $1 or 2 million yearly. NOW it is efficient! Then it hired an energy analyst, admitting it wastes $280,000 or more yearly on its utility bills. NOW it is efficient! Then it replaced high-priced consultants with full-time DOT engineers, saving $500,000 yearly. NOW it is efficient! Then it squandered $113,000 on a cable contract consultant, before taking my advice and airing a DVD of our meetings on the library channel for free. NOW it is efficient! County insiders are hypocritical in saying they canít cut any more and need a huge property tax increase this fall. They pose as indigents while awash in cash. Tens of millions in wasteful spending remain to be cut. Disbelieve those who deny it.**********Contact me at (719) 520-6412, by email at DouglasBruce@elpasoco.com, or by writing me at 27 E. Vermijo Ave. Colo. Spgs. CO 80903. Audiotapes of all BOCC meetings, both simulcast and in archives, are available at www.elpasoco.com. Comcast cable broadcasts are on Library Channel 17 at 7 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, repeated later both evenings. Back issues of my monthly reports are at www.DouglasBruce.com. Free reports are notices of quarterly Town Hall meetings can be emailed to you regularly. Just sign up. Thank you.
