In December, we wrote an opinion editorial on the Falcon incorporation efforts, citing problems weíve had educating our readers about those efforts.The problem is the incorporation committee. Tom Cline, committee chair, has publicly lambasted the NFH for an article we published in August, which focused on the Colorado Springs annexing process and the content of the state-mandated consent letters that were sent to 40-acre-plus property owners. Cline accused us of printing false information, but we stood by our recorded conversations and the documents we referenced.The incorporation issue is going to a vote of the people May 29, and we felt compelled to address at least one reason to vote no.On March 28, NFH reporter Stefani Wiest finally reached Tom Cline for updated information on the incorporation process for this issue. Stefani recorded the following information from her conversation with Cline: He would know more about the results of the petition process by Thursday, March 29. He would be going to the courthouse to find out the results, he said. Stefani then asked Cline to explain the steps that would follow. Cline said if the petition was approved, an election committee would be chosen and a date would be set for the actual election.Well, imagine our surprise when we read the March 29 issue of the Ranchland News. From the Ranchland News: ìOn March 18 Judge Edward S. Colt of the Fourth Judicial District approved the petition to proceed with the incorporation process for the Town of Falcon. Eight residents were appointed as election commissioners.îRanchlandís Toni Gibbons named the commissioners in her article, and Tom Cline was among them. The rest are all incorporation committee members, which has us wondering about the legitimacy of this process. Cline, the Ranchland News reported, was chosen to be the ìClerk of Election.îCline also was quoted in the article.In other words, Clineís nose was growing when he talked to our reporter. He obviously had talked to the Ranchland News prior to his conversation with Stefani. He had obviously known that the election commission had been established and a date for the vote had been set. He chose to withhold the information he had provided to Toni Gibbons, and further, what he told us was not truthful.On March 29, we called Cline again to confirm the information in the Ranchland News article. He then e-mailed us a copy of a letter he wrote to Robert Balink, El Paso County clerk and recorder, acknowledging that the Falcon election commission had been appointed on March 26, three days prior to his conversation with Stefani. Also included in the e-mail was an affidavit calling for an election ìset for May 29î ñ signed by Cline. He offered no reason for misinforming Stefani.Is it a grudge against the NFH that would prompt Cline to misrepresent information? It seems that if the intentions were honest, Cline and his committee would do everything in their power to ensure Falcon residents had the latest information about the incorporation process, regardless of negative feelings toward the NFH. We distribute, via subscriptions and distribution sites, more than 4,500 newspapers twice a month. The majority of our readers live in Falcon.At this point, itís not about incorporating Falcon, itís about the potential leaders of the proposed city of Falcon. You cannot trust an effort led by people who arenít truthful with the press.There are many reasons to vote no May 29. You havenít been informed. Why is the election commission comprised exclusively of the incorporation committee members? Why have there been no public meetings until now? Why isnít there updated information on the incorporation Web site? Are you sure your needs, as a resident, will be aptly covered by the proposed budget?However, the biggest reason of all to vote no at this time is related to trust and leadership. If a committee chairman is not telling the truth to a news reporter, we cannot count on the validity or credibility of the effort. And incorporation ìleadersî often end up in government positions.Itís not time to incorporate; the time is right when there is trust in the process and the people behind it.
