What's that smell? It's El Paso County

I'm so glad... (0.00 / 0)

I moved away from there.  Teh crazy tax-cutting, government can never do anything right mantra is coming home to roost.

Making the Centennial State a Blue State

---

by: RichM @ Fri Nov 21, 2008 at 11:14:25 AM CST

I'm sure all the "pro-lifers" at Focus (4.00 / 3)

and the Catholic Diocose will volunteer to take care of all the children who need day care. They'll feed them, they'll make sure their centers are up to standard and healthy, and they'll stay late when the parents can't get off work on time.

Right?

---

by: Zappatero @ Fri Nov 21, 2008 at 11:53:03 AM CST

They'll have to volunteer (0.00 / 0)

They're getting laid off too.

A Responsible Plan for Iraq: endorsed by Jared Polis

---

by: WeatherDem @ Fri Nov 21, 2008 at 16:51:32 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Obviously they don't need government (4.00 / 2)

The Lord shall provide for all.

---

by: redstateblues @ Fri Nov 21, 2008 at 11:56:06 AM CST

Where should the fingers be pointing? (0.00 / 0)

El Paso County had the chance to vote for 1A, which was a sales tax measure.  Unsurprisingly, they voted it down.

But Daniel Cole, campaign manager for Citizens for Cost Effective Government, the group that pushed for 1A's defeat, blamed the health department itself, saying it should have done more to earn voters' trust.

I'm sure when the next West Nile or E coli outbreak occurs, residents will be overjoyed that their government is "cost effective".

A Responsible Plan for Iraq: endorsed by Jared Polis

---

by: WeatherDem @ Fri Nov 21, 2008 at 17:15:08 PM CST

every (0.00 / 0)

time I've had to deal with the Health Department they've been professional and knowlegable and helpful.

That guy's just another anti-government asshole like Bruce.

---

by: Zappatero @ Fri Nov 21, 2008 at 19:16:47 PM CST

[ Parent ]

This is not just a 1A issue (0.00 / 0)

the County Commissioners refused to allow 1A to procede to the ballot as a Public Health only tax raise. The area health groups were told they needed to bundle public health with the new County Jail or the Commisssioners would not allow the health raise on the ballot. The fear of the Commissioners was that public health would pass but the jail would fail, because the jail was unpopular. The jail was unpopular - so the big new jail also dragged down public health.

---

by: tjlord @ Sun Nov 23, 2008 at 12:55:17 PM CST

This is not a partisan issue (0.00 / 0)

at least not in the way some posters here are suggesting.  You might be interested to know that 1A was opposed by all three Democrats running for EPC commission seats, as well as by a couple liberal Dems running for the legislature.  

Tjlord makes an excellent point: 1A was far bigger than the health department.  The county was asking for $75 million per year, the bulk of that going to build a new jail and a new sheriff's headquarters.  The commissioners were trying to force people who cared about one issue (the health department) to swallow the others (the jail, the sheriff's headquarters) and as a result, the whole thing went down in flames.

I think that if WeatherDem had posted my comment in its entirety, you might agree that the health department's management leaves something to be desired.  The next sentence reads something like, "Cole questioned why the health department left public information untouched while it axed their other services."  When I spoke to the reporter, I specifically mentioned the health department's wealth of "communication specialists" (including Colorado Springs City Councilwoman Margaret Radford, who got the job at a salary much higher than advertised, creating quite a scandal two or three years back) and suggested that the health department cut some of these professional press releasers before they ask for more money to prevent e coli outbreaks.

Also, the Hanover fire department debacle didn't do much for the health department's case, especially when the acting administrator so ardently defended the health department's decision.  Nobody, Zappatero, questions the dedication of most of the department's employees; but management and the cushy press release jobs make people think that extra money wouldn't necessarily be put to good use.  

---

by: Daniel Cole @ Sun Nov 23, 2008 at 16:13:00 PM CST