It’s an election year, and the San Miguel Basin Forum has been asking locals this spring what they want to hear from candidates. The Forum sent out texts, emails and made social media posts to get locals to respond. 

In an area that is remote and rural, the Forum’s readership has often reported feeling unheard. People tend to feel they’re left out of political discussions about water, wolves, or mining — and that people on the Front Range often unfairly speak for them. 

Shannon Rayborn said it in the recent Voter Voices survey comments: “I will say it is such a struggle when voting, because the Eastern Slope has all the control over Colorado many times,” she reported.

She referenced wolves and land issues. 

The Forum asked citizens in the survey to personally prioritize the following issues: economy/cost of living, taxes, health care, personal liberty, democracy and good government, education, crime, immigration, environment and climate change, abortion, gun policy, social justice and equity, and also national security. 

In western Montrose County, 38 people responded, with 15 of them self-described as politically conservative, six as liberal and 17 as moderate. The majority of respondents were white, but two were Native American. For age groups, five in the survey were ages 18 to 29, nine of them were ages 30-44, 19 of them were ages 45-64, and four were age 65 or older.