LP McKay
So can you tell us a little bit about your background and what motivated you to run for Montezuma county commissioner? All this is also the place you can give your party affiliation, if you'd like.
Diane Fox-Spratlen
Okay, I can, I can. I mean, I can go as far back as when I, you know, I was born in what, western Colorado, up in northern western Colorado, in the energy and oil field up there, that's where I was introduced to service from by my dad. My dad was a four term Commissioner up there, but he served on the school board and was just always actively engaged in our community. And so I grew up with that in which kind of strikes the motivation for me to run.
I was raised to be, to lead, to serve. He taught me that there is no greater, no greater thing in life than to serve something greater than yourself and and I enjoy to do that. So as far as Montezuma County, I landed here in Montezuma County in 1992 married a local, local Dolores boy and I started with the Cortez Police Department as a police department as a police officer in 1993 after a bit of a battle and some health problems about I think it was in my 18th year of service, I ended up in deciding to retire after 20 years of service. We moved to Las Vegas, you know, we had an empty nest at that point, so we kind of spread our wings and did some other things, and I ended up suddenly that marriage dissolved, but we I came back to Montezuma county a couple years later.
It was after Mike Moran was killed that I came home for his service. I reconnected with an old friend, and we ended up deciding to get married, and I moved home, and that's kind of how I felt. It's good to be home when I when I first left Montezuma County, it was hard to leave because it had been home for so long. This is where we raised our family.
This I I served on the school board here for 12 years. I served on the fire board. I was engaged in the community, and I and I enjoyed that, and we moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where I quickly became anonymous, you know, which, for a brief period of time was kind of nice, but when I didn't ever think I'd come back, but when I came back for that service, I realized that I was home, and this is where I was supposed to be. So I've, I've elected to throw my hat in the ring as a Republican, because I've just, I've been a Republican my whole life.
I decided, for a few reasons, I've watched what's happening in our country and our state, the differences that have happened in this state since I left, I don't think are all good. And, you know, I think at the county level, all of those things come everything that's happening in the country, and then the state happens at the local level, right? Everything starts locally. A big proponent of local control.
So I I thought about those things, I looked at those things. I knew that Commissioner Candelaria was going to be term limited this year, and so I had thought about it, and I got asked a lot of folks when I came back, were like, Have you thought about getting involved? Have you thought about getting have you, Diane, have you thought about making a run for the commission? And initially I said, No, no, I kind of enjoy my quiet life out on summit ridge, out on Haycamp and and I'm not sure I want to really get engaged in meetings again.
But the more and more I thought about it, the more honestly I prayed about it. I really feel like it's what I'm supposed to do, and I feel like I'm a strong person for the role, as far as being able to govern through these times, because I think it's going to be tough. I think we're facing some tough times.
LP McKay
If elected, what would be your top two or three priorities for the county in your first year?
Diane Fox-Spratlen
I think priority wise, I think we need to fix some financing and public safety.
And I'm not here to point fingers at anybody or say what happened or what didn't happen, but it appears to me that there was that there's some breakdown there in public trust. There's some breakdown in the trust between the commission and the office of the sheriff, and because I don't know, necessarily know that that's a budget issue as much as it was a shortfall of coming together and and being proactive to solve those issues. And I think that can be done. I don't think it's going to be a difficult fix, but I think it's a priority.
Because, say, everything starts with Safe Communities. Safer Communities are more vibrant communities. People are more engaged. People want to be here. More people want to move businesses here, more.
So I think that's that's a priority. I also think it's a priority that from what I'm understanding and listening to people as I walk through the campaign, is that there's, there's an issue, and I, and I'm not saying that there had, there's any reason for there to be, because I don't know the intricate details, but that there's a, there's a trust issue between the commission that end up and the public right now, and I think those things need to be fixed. I really think that. But it's doable.
I think it's 100% doable, and I think it will make things better for everybody. So I think really public trust, situating our public our public safety, and making sure that we are giving the best we can to those men and women that are putting that uniform on every day because they're understaffed, and that's dangerous, and it's not good for the community either. I mean, if you if you need police, you need you need a sheriff's deputy, you need a sheriff's deputy, and if there's only a couple of them working, that's not good. I know that there's probably, you could probably find out issues in every department of the county, certainly.
And I think just listening and working for ways to resolve those issues overall, I think the commission has, you know, done a decent job of keeping Montezuma county fluid, but those are two of the things, I think, public trust. And then, you know, it's not the only priority, but it is certainly a priority, because I think everything starts with public safety, as far as making your communities better.
LP McKay
...and you kind of touched on it previously. Here, Montezuma county is facing ongoing financial challenges. How do you view the county's current budget situation, and what steps would you support to improve long term revenue stability?
Diane Fox-Spratlen
Well, that's a that's a long question, that's a big question, but I think that, and I'm going to be be really forthright, I have dug through some budgets, I've looked through some audits, but I haven't done a deep dive. There's so much to this job. And I think people, there's so much to this job and so much you have to learn, because there's nobody an expert in all of these things. But I think the budget shortfalls, obviously, we look to, we look to Kinder-Morgan and their, you know, their fall off.
That's, that's the nature of the beast. And I understand that. And energy, the energy, excuse me, the energy industry, that that's, that's a thing, and but we have to make sure that we save for that rainy day. So I, I kind of understand the reserve thing, and wanting to make sure that when things hit and those shortfalls happen, that we can still pay employees that we can still provide services. So I am not.
I'm not all about just opening up the reserves and throwing money at problems, because that's not always going to solve the problem. We have to look at other revenue streams. We have to look to other revenue streams before we start saying, hey, let's just pass a tax. Let's tax, let's I again, I'm a Republican.
I'm against taxing people into poverty. I think that it is the wrong the wrong thing to do isn't necessary. Sometimes it absolutely is. And I think that we may look to trying again, to do a public safety tax to offset some of that cost.
But again, I think that can happen with some re budgeting and some other things. So, yeah, long term, I think we have to, we have to look to what's going to sustain Montezuma County, besides the taxpayer. We have to bring some stuff in here, starting with make safe communities for people to want to come to.
LP McKay
How should the county balance funding for core services like road maintenance and you've mentioned their public safety with other community needs, other services that the county provides?
Diane Fox-Spratlen
Well, I think we have to with anything. With your own family budget, with your own home budget, you have to prioritize. What do you have to have? What do you have to have to survive, to sustain life as we know it.
We have to have public we have to have safe communities. I guess I've harped on that enough, but we have to have we have to have road and bridge. We have to have roads. We have to have public health.
We have to be able to do, Lord forbid, we have another pandemic. We have to be able to those, those those, those have to be priorities. Health and Human Services, public health, road and bridge public safety, are all priority, and they have to be you fund those. And I think that you strategically plan, and I think that's important, and I can speak to that a little bit more, but that we need to strategically plan.
What does that look like four years from now, we can't I would like to see that from all of our department heads. Quite frankly, I would like to see a strategic plan for the next four years. What do you want your what do you want think your department needs to look like? What will it look like?
And how do we, how do we get there for all the major things? And then then you look to the other things, right? Then you look to the other programs, and the things that we that I hate to say are supplemental, because I don't, I don't mean that. I think there's some really valuable programs that we need, obviously. I mean, we've got to, we've got to look to the things that sustain a real community, right in Montezuma county fairs, and the things that we.
And here. And those kinds of things are so important quality of life things. But you can't do all those things without prioritizing the important stuff first, and then you get to expand once you have those things under control. That's kind of the way I look at that.
LP McKay
Here's something we haven't quite touched on thus far. What role do you see the county playing in supporting local businesses job growth and the workforce here in Montezuma County?
Diane Fox-Spratlen
I think the best way the Commission can support that and help their own because, let's face it, local, local, small business is what drives a community. I think anytime you lose local business, you lose local control, right? I think that you know, anytime that we lose that and we lose your identity. So what I have seen, and I and I alluded to this a little bit earlier, is that in the years that I have been absent from Colorado is that the regulation that has come from the state to small businesses, even people that operate a food truck, are being choked to death by regulations.
It seems like they're just throwing more and more legislation at people that are just trying to make a living. And I think, I think fighting that, you've got to fight that I was speaking with somebody then we were talking about that, and I used to serve on the legislative committee when I served on the school board, so I spend a great deal of time at the state level fighting for rural Colorado education. Because if we came up with this quote, or he said this to me, I believe it was that if you're not at the table, then you're on the menu. So that how we have to fight at the state level to say, No, you're going to kill, you're killing small town Colorado.
You're going to, you know, you're destroying that way of life by pushing regulation after regulation. And I think that's the way that you can really support those local businesses, is if you free them up to do their business and they're not being taxed and regulated, it up, because that's what kills small business.
LP McKay
What would you or how would you work to make county government more accessible and ensure residents feel heard in decision making? You did already touch on that a little bit, but more specifically,
Diane Fox-Spratlen
I think it's huge that people feel heard. It's important for me that if I'm discussing something with somebody, that they are paying attention and they're listening. And I don't think that that's the only thing that needs to happen. I think that not only do we need to hear and listen, we need to follow up.
Now, how does that follow up with folks and say, Hey, this is what I found out. Because we don't have, nobody's going to have all the answers, but you can certainly work really hard to figure them out and and help people know that they've been understood, and maybe help them understand something. I think, I think part of the thing is, is that people, and I used to see this on the board of education, was that we have to remember that boards hold meetings in front of the public. They don't hold public meetings, and so they're doing work.
They've been doing work behind the scenes. And I don't mean that in any non transparent way. I just mean there's a lot of meetings and a lot of other things that they have to do to decide what to do, to move through an agenda. Until you've served on the board, you don't really you get that process. Now that said the, you know, typical board meetings are going to not be a time for public, really, the public to engage, although, you know, they can have that time for a couple minutes, I think is what the board does now, or a few minutes.
But I think it's important to find time to engage with your community. I know that they do a coffee with the commissioners, but it's at like 930 on a Tuesday. I mean, most people are not going to be able to pull that off. And I think those kinds of ideas are great, and I think they're engaging, but I think we have to make them more accessible to the public.
I was able to attend a town hall meeting at the Pleasant View Fire Department last last week, I believe. And there, it was not hugely well attended, but it was, it was attended, and there were people that raised issues for the commission. And I think those, those are so important, and I think more of that needs to happen. I think that we need to be more engaged in listening.
Because, again, I think when you're listening and you're engaged in a dialog, you have a far fewer misunderstandings about what is happening or what can happen. I think oftentimes that it's just that confusion about what what can really happen, what has happened. I think some questions got answered that night. I got some great information and that I didn't have before.
So I think, I think those things really need to happen, and the public needs to know that the commission is listening. I think it's important imperative. So that's, that's one of the things I would do, or a few of the things, I guess, yeah.
LP McKay
Yeah, and this is an opportunity for some positive, affirmational kind of stuff that you can see doing in the future. But what do you see is the biggest challenge facing Montezuma county right now, and what opportunity are you most excited about if you're elected?
Diane Fox-Spratlen
I think the same challenges that are facing Montezuma county are the same things that are facing the state and and the nation. We're we're living in tumultuous times, and that's all going to roll downhill to local control, or local issues, local funding. We're seeing it happen now in some you know, where funds are being cut because things are not, things are not being done the way they're supposed to be done. And, you know, there's so many grant funding issues, and I know you guys are probably feeling that here too.
So grants are amazing, and they can be a real detriment as well. So I honestly see those are, those are our challenges. The same challenges that we're facing as a nation and a state, are the same things we're going to face here, maybe on a, you know, a smaller scale, obviously, but budgeting and and and providing services based on what monies you have available, I think that it's going to, you know, tax increases, property tax increases, are going to hit People hard. And it's, I think it's going to get worse before it gets better. And I hate that. I hate to say those words out loud, but I believe it's true.
I do believe it's going to get better. I do believe that we're doing some things right now to to sort out some waste, fraud and abuse, and to figure out where where the money really needs to go. And I guess I see that as exciting, the prospect that maybe for right now we're going to we're going to stop the bleeding a little bit and reevaluate and decide this is what we need to do, and finding those new pathways that's exciting to me, finding new ways to lead through that time, that, to me, is is exciting,
LP McKay
...and that that leads right into our next question. Here is one of the biggest roles that our county commissioners have is to work with the staff other elected officials you've mentioned, even at the state level, higher up even we've had Jeff heard recently pop into the county, things of that nature, as well as neighboring governments. How would you describe your leadership in collaboration style?
Diane Fox-Spratlen
My leadership is collaboration style. I think that's the own the really the best way to lead. It's only especially in small communities, small counties, the only way to lead, or the only way to really have everybody represented at the table, because it's not just the Republicans that live in Montezuma County. There's 30,000 people that live in this county, and they all deserve representation.
And I think that that's how you collaborate. And I did a lot of that through the school board and my work as a school resource officer, and that's important, bringing people to the table and understanding what each other does, what we can do. How can we help? What are we duplicating? What needs to happen though it's it's imperative.
It's imperative. Collaboration is the only way that we're going to move forward in a positive way.
LP McKay
And how should voters measure your success if you're elected? And what would you hope to point to at the end of your first term or that term?
Diane Fox-Spratlen
Well, I think that is the is the is the county financially solvent? Are we still being able to provide services? Are we moving in the right direction? Have we bolstered some public safety?
Have we built some trust and good working relationships with the employees of the county overall? Does the County, the county residents, feel like they're being heard and that their needs are being met where we can. And I think through this first four years, that's the that's that's what we need to really work towards, is leading through tumultuous time and seeing things in the in the where things aren't necessarily as good as they could be seeing those improvements.
LP McKay
And this is kind of an opportunity here at the end. I'm sure there's like, 1000 million things that we could talk about that we haven't touched on thus far.
Diane Fox-Spratlen
I have a feeling there's 1000 maybe, that you and I could chat about,
LP McKay
For sure, yeah, and maybe in the future, that would be great. But is there an issue or a topic that we haven't touched on that you specifically do you want to make sure that we get out to the folks?
Diane Fox-Spratlen
You know what? I don't think so. I think first of all, your your your questions were thoughtful, and I appreciate that. And I really, I don't I think that that it's that's where I am.
I really believe that we're at a place that's going to get tough for a while, and we need strong sure leaders experience leadership that knows that knows how to fight that battle and and that we do it. Why we're being very transparent and and and listening to our community, and that's that's my goal.
