Editor:
A rocket scientist I’m not. I’m a “beer guy from Cleveland” who has enjoyed and been so welcomed into this wonderful valley we all get to call home.
The people, places and ideas all make our community so diverse and special. A jewel it is.
In order to lead and guide us all, we must be able to trust and count on the competency and veracity of the motives of our elected officials and the bureaucracy that serves us. Judgment combined with, as my old pal Joe Friday of “Dragnet” always said “Just the facts, ma’am,” must always be forthright and the utmost confidence in government must always be able to reside in the good citizens of this prized valley.
Accountability must always be held to the highest standards. We must have total comfort in our governing body. The judgment this community is examining regarding the government-provided Burlingame project voter information material, which did not take into account land costs and infrastructure and failed to disclose the significant impact to the cost that that represented., which in this valley is among the highest in our great country, was — at the very least — unfair to us all.
Complete disclosure of all relevant facts is essential and required in matters of this magnitude to the needs of all our residents who make this valley so special. I know it is important to every one of the citizens who call this place home.
When called upon, with the complete set of facts put forth, this community will do the right thing. History has shown this. This event and the response that has come from our elected officials is damaging the credibility the citizens deserve from our community leaders. This needs to be addressed.
Criminal? I’m not sure. Damaging? Yes, it is. Even a dumb beer guy from Cleveland knows this.
The amount of money in question that was not revealed clearly and concisely is unprecedented, even in Aspen dollars. As a beer guy from Cleveland, I talk to Joe Six-Pack a lot. We try to keep it simple. The omitted costs (land and infrastructure) were critical to the analysis we were all asked to make (before voting to authorize the project in May 2005). To have not included these facts in such an important matter was truly bad judgment and will have long-standing impact on the trust and confidence we need to have in our local government.
This question in confidence must be repaired. We deserve better from our elected officials and our staff.
Tim LaRose
Snowmass
