In the Steamboat Pilot & Today article, “Steamboat officials seeking consultant to lead Brown Ranch community outreach,” City Council member Bryan Swintek says, “Unfortunately, the customer and the electorate are two different people … What we have heard is that the electorate has concerns and therefore we need to think about that, and I don’t think enough emphasis was put on that.”

While I agree with council member Swintek’s unfortunate observation, I note that it is the job of an elected official not only to think about the concerns of the electorate, but to fully and honestly represent those concerns. It appears that City Council put very little emphasis on and provided no representation of what a clear majority of the voters actually wanted.

If they had listened to the voters and represented them accurately, how could they have supported a Brown Ranch annexation proposal that their constituents so strongly opposed? They were blindsided by a landslide defeat because they did not listen to or give credence to the opinions of their constituents — the voters of Steamboat Springs. Unfortunately, City Council’s ears were elsewhere.

And now, after an overwhelming defeat at the polls, there is a new proposal to immediately hire consultants for a Brown Ranch Community Outreach. City Council is determined to move the development of Brown Ranch forward via consultants, surveys, committees and “listening” sessions.  However, by this very action, City Council shows that it still does not listen to the voters, give any weight to the election results or even want to take the time for thoughtful introspection. Rather it listens to and supports the parties who want to move forward with the intent of annexation as soon as possible.

Sadly, City Council’s ears are still elsewhere.

Robin Stone
Steamboat Springs