Ty Winter’s recent letter, dated 3.19.26, was very well written in terms of strategic messaging. It touches our pride of being rural. It offers us a good “us vs them” (us vs Denver) bone to chew on. And it provides the generic but obligatory political claim of a politician who ‘fights for and listens to us.’ It would be very good stuff in a political tv drama or horrible remake of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.”

What it doesn’t offer are real explanations of why after 15 years (he should have used 30), “costs are higher and regulations are heavier.” Mr. Winter is the master of implication messaging. Because you think he’s a nice guy, he wants you to make the jump yourself and come to the conclusion that it must be the ‘other’ party who is to blame. He either can’t or won’t tell you why costs are higher and regulations are heavier. Costs are definitely higher. But which regulations is he talking about? Can he tell us which regulations need to be rolled back and how as a partisan Assistant Minority Leader he can facilitate these rollbacks?

I’ll tell you that one of the reasons our costs are higher is because of TABOR. As a college student I ignored all of the warnings as partisan rhetoric and I voted for TABOR. Thirty years later I’m able to say those warnings were valid and I wish I hadn’t. Working class Coloradoans are being strangled by fees. License plate fees alone are becoming an almost insurmountable burden for those of us who live on a budget.

Thanks to other fees, hunting is no longer a part of our way of life as much as it’s a luxury for the privileged.

Meanwhile, working class Coloradoans have only received TABOR refunds in 10 of the last 30 years. Most of our refunds have been given to big business in the form of tax breaks. The working class is still paying the same state taxes we were 30 years ago, but the corporations are paying less. My solution, is to end TABOR, lower our exorbitant state fees, and return buying power back to the people.

I’m ready to propose legislation for Rural Ranching Cooperatives that allow our ranchers to cooperatively build, own, and manage beef processing facilities in Southern Colorado. This is how they can once again keep more of the value of the beef they raise, have more sustainable ranches, and be less vulnerable to national politics and national crises like another pandemic.

Those are actions I would take as a representative of the people. And I would hope that the people I represent would feel that I was honoring their voice when I do so. Because a representative isn’t just somebody elected to cast votes on our behalf. Everything they do is a reflection of us. Their actions are our actions. Their words are our words.

When, on Feb 10, 2025, Representative Winters led all House Republicans to physically turn their backs to a group of veterans who were addressing the House concerning J6 pardons, he did so as our voice. He told the House that we approved of the J6 attack and that those who were pardoned were right to do it. He also declared that we do not respect our veterans. As a veteran myself, both of these statements are unacceptable. He might as well call us suckers and losers.