| OPINION: The commissioners hear a W.H.O! I've told my team in the past there's a short period of time when you're allowed to use "I'm new to my position" as an excuse for not knowing what's happening around them. This seems to be happening with Montrose County commissioners Scott Mijares and Sean Pond quite a bit. But yet they fell over each other at their first meeting to name themselves chair and vice chair when the obvious choice was to let the experienced commissioner, Sue Hansen, lead the board. But apparently experience has no influence on the commissioners. Paging Dr. Ahmed! What we're seeing is leadership from Mijares and Pond that's reactionary, with each leaning into something akin to that old Phil Hartman character from Saturday Night Live, Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer: "Your world frightens and confuses me." It's time for the two to pick up the pace and vote on knowledge and not paranoid fears from a handful of troglodytes. The "hey, I'm new here and someone slipped one by me, or I haven't had a chance to review the documents so let's hold up progress so I can get caught up" excuse is getting tiresome. Especially when the real reason is that when a decision has been made, someone sends an email stating the decision made is a catastrophe or "Good lord, man! Don't you know the Chinese are coming over the hill, we can't build the North Campus!" I'm exaggerating, of course; this disclaimer is provided for those who can't keep up or actually believe the Chinese are coming over the hill, so let's live in fear. The commissioners' work session on Monday morning was a cacophony of excuses, back tracking and fear mongering. On Feb 25, after the special board meeting, the BOCC voted 3-0 to employ Dr. Mirza Mashur Ahmed as the county's public health director. It's a great hire. Dr. Ahmed is actually over qualified, but as per usual there was push back from a vocal minority. Dr. Ahmed 's resume reads like a who's WHO of public health experience. The word WHO, or in this case the acronym, has the leaders of the local chapter of Paranoids Anonymous stressing over what could be, but won't be. Dr. Ahmed — who has worked globally with the World Health Organization and UNICEF in places like Bangladesh, Nigeria, Pakistan, India and Somalia — apparently isn't qualified to handle the complex public health needs of Montrose County. By golly, he's a globalist! Warning: I'm going to use that acronym again. Dr. Amhed worked for WHO for five years, with part of that time during COVID. Remember those fun days, every time the Montrose Daily Press or other news organizations called it a pandemic you would have thought we (the press) were from Wuhan. Now, because Dr. Ahmed worked for WHO — don't be scared, this acronym doesn't bite — the small group of voices have labeled him a globalist, who will bring the WHO's organizational response to the pandemic -— there's that word again, don't melt — to Montrose County. Over 8,400 people work for the WHO, I'm sure not all believe they handled COVID correctly. Dr. Ahmed stated as much in an email to the commissioners, explaining that he didn't agree with the WHO's policies during the pandemic, specifically pointing to mask mandates and rushed vaccines. But, the individual feelings of Dr. Ahmed aren't all that important — after all, it appears he's also an immigrant. Yes, Dr. Ahmed is an immigrant. An immigrant who is legally in this country. An immigrant who qualifies to work in this country. An immigrant who, if you go by Elon Musk's rationale, should be welcomed in this country. Dr. Ahmed is more than qualified to handle what Montrose County health needs throw at him. What the opposition to Ahmed's hiring says disqualifies him is that he potentially doesn't line up with Montrose County's values. That sounds like code for something. It sounds like a line of logic from our friend, the Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. Yes, the paranoids keep hearing a WHO. By the way, at this meeting those in support of Dr Ahmed out numbered those opposed. Yet, Mijares was more concerned about the two negative voices. Mijares asked County Attorney Martha Whitmore — a popular name in my last few columns — if Montrose County has a policy against hiring immigrants. Once again, she was gracious with her answer, which was no. She should have said, "Sure we do, and we also have a policy to recommend a good employment lawyer for them just to make it even easier to sue us." Colorado law prohibits discrimination based on legal immigration status, including for government entities. This whole conversation smacks of discrimination. He worked internationally, so by goodness he's a globalist! Right now, other than the WHO background, which is a bogus reason, there's no cause to rescind the hiring. Do you think Dr. Ahmed might have a case? Then there was the whole issue of addressing Ahmed by his professional title — doctor — in conversation. Dr. Ahmed received a medical degree in Bangladesh. While it's not applicable in the United States, he can be addressed as a doctor out of respect. But, respect was about to be thrown out the window. Mijares publicly stated he refuses to call Ahmed doctor because he's not accredited in this country. Well, slap my fanny and call me Captain America. I wonder if the King of England came to Montrose, would Mijares address him as Chuck. After all, he wasn't named king in this country. The negative bunch has a problem with Ahmed not being officially a medical doctor, never mind that's not a requirement of the job, never mind that the previous person who held the position wasn't a doctor either. Mijares told the audience that the fact that Dr. Ahmed worked for the WHO by definition made him a globalist. He may want to double check that assertion. A member of the audience claimed that her objection to Dr. Ahmed wasn't politically driven, but was rather based on her belief that the doctor brings a bias to the position — but I ask you, who's really bringing a bias? It is very clear, it's not Dr. Ahmed. The process to hire Dr. Ahmed was legit. A search was conducted, a committee was convened for the interview process and the board of health signed off on the selection. Two weeks prior to this meeting the commissioners voted 3-0 to hire Dr. Ahmed. There were smiles all around and the general sense was that Montrose was lucky to have landed such a qualified candidate. Then a press release was posted to social media and the public comments began to flow. Never mind the positive comments, those don't seem to matter, it's the negatives that get the air to breathe. And again, this sentiment was in the minority at the meeting, but Mijares kept placating them. County manager Frank Rodriguez owned his decision to hire Dr. Ahmed. He did his duty and asserted that the board may have to make a decision regarding his employment. And as an audience member stated, it's looking like the new commissioners are wanting to micro manage staff and second guess decisions, despite being communicated with throughout the process. All Rodriguez can do is put the opportunity in front of the commissioners to be a part of the process, he can't manage their schedules. Mijares stated he was sworn in on Jan. 14 and the Dr. Ahmed meet-and-greet was on Jan. 23. Mijares claims he wasn't sent an invitation, but he was. Again, with the "I'm new" excuse. Bottom line: this is not what functional governing looks like. What are the commissioners going to do, backtrack on every decision someone has an after-the-fact issue with? That doesn't sound effective or efficient. After the meeting all I heard via in-person comments, texts and emails was what people viewed as they watched the live stream was antics and that they're upset by them. It's not a lack of confidence in Rodriguez that has the constituents fired up. It's the performance of the new commissioners that is giving them heartburn. Maybe, the paranoid crowds' complaints just line up with the new commissioners' way of thinking and it emboldens them to seemingly head down the track of poor decisions. Discrimination is an ugly thing and it doesn't always have to be about race. The conversation I witnessed yesterday had nothing to do with Dr. Ahmed's qualifications. It was tribalism at its best. The argument that Dr Ahmed doesn't line up with the county's values is camouflage for some grossly biased views. Mijares stated that he counted how many times Rodriguez called Dr. Ahmed doctor during the introductory meeting on Feb. 25 and he felt deceived. Never mind that he praised Rodriguez for putting together a team that brought Dr. Amhed to the table. You'll have to forgive Mijares, after all he's new. I referred to Ahmed as a doctor over twenty times in this editorial, I hope Mijares' head doesn't explode. Someone call a doctor! The next Montrose County Commissioners meeting is at 9:30am on Wednesday at the county public works building on Lasalle Rd.
If you can't make it to the meeting, let your opinion be known by sending an email to all three commissioners and the county manager.
Here's their emails;
frodriguez@montrosecounty.net
spond@montrosecounty.net
smijares@montrosecounty.net
shansen@montrosecounty.net
Dennis Anderson is publisher of the Montrose Daily Press and Delta County Independent.
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