The party of Lincoln gathers in Almont

The Gunnison County Republicans held a Lincoln Day Fundraiser at Three Rivers Resort in Almont on Saturday, Aug. 1.

Featured Speakers and attendees included State Senator Mark Baisley, who is running on the GOP (Grand Old Party) ticket for U.S. Senate; State Rep. Larry Don Suckla, who is seeking reelection; James Wiley, who is running for Secretary of State; and former congressman Greg Lopez, who is running for governor as an unaffiliated candidate.

According to the website of the local GOP, "We are the proud party of Abraham Lincoln. We believe in individual freedom, not government control. We believe everyone should be treated equally and fairly. We believe in personal responsibility, quality education, caring for children, older people, and the disabled. We believe in responsible stewardship of our planet."

According to party officials, about 56 people attended the Lincoln Day gathering.

The candidates each spent time with the Gunnison Country Times to discuss the issues.

State Rep. Larry Don Suckla said rural hospitals are essential to the fabric and economy of a community, and without them, "You are going to kill our communities. As a state representative, I would like to get more money coming to our rural hospitals, and fight to keep them open when they want to close them.

"We live in the most beautiful part of Colorado, and we have these values... I believe we need to have more individualism in these rural communities, which makes good leaders, makes good kids, and we need to keep rural values forming. We don't ever want to change that. That's why I live where I live. I love it, I absolutely love Colorado. I'm going to fight for it and fight for my constituents."

State Sen. Mark Baisley, who is running as a Republican for the U.S. Senate, said he is an advocate of a Ports to Plains highway network. The proposed corridor would start in Mazatlán, Mexico, and traverse 3,200 miles through the United States and into Canada. "It would be so good for their economy.

 "Generally speaking, I want the government to be smaller; I try to get the government out of things it ought not be doing, which is most things. And those things it should do, it should do them well. Working on road capacity is one issue we need to work on."

Baisley said he is a proponent of working across party lines and working to benefit the public and offered a recent experience of working with Governor Polis. After a severe storm, a county needed to have Gov. Polis sign disaster relief. Baisley  was able to contact Gov. Polis on his cell phone and received a quick reply; the declaration was signed within hours, and relief efforts commenced without delay.

Former congressman Greg Lopez, who is running as an independent for Governor, said he did not come from an affluent family: “People should vote for people who really care; I’ve been here for 38 years. I don’t come from a pedigree family. My mom and dad grew up working in the fields; my dad had a 6th-grade education and could not read or write. My mom had a 10th-grade education. So, I understand the struggles of poor people; I understand the struggles that middle America goes through every single day. If people want a governor who has their voice, who is going to talk on their behalf and not talk about party ideology, then they should look at me. They have a right to see who is going to lead Colorado into the future. I will tell them, I am the hardest governor candidate there is."

James Wiley, who is running for Secretary of State as a Republican, said that if elected, he would abolish mail-in voting due to vulnerabilities and imitate in-person voting only on election day, with a photo identification, and have ballots counted by hand.

Visit the Gunnison County Republicans at gunnisoncountyrepublicans.org.