| Montrose County Commissioner Sean Pond's new mantra is "drawing a line in the sand." I wouldn't have guessed he could reach the ground from his high horse. Pond has been writing some doozies lately, telling pragmatic conservatives and reasonable conservative unaffiliated voters they're the problem in Colorado. Unaffiliated voters are the largest voting block in Montrose County. Pond, who announced his candidacy for 2026, isn't making friends. The line of candidates who are looking to challenge him is already starting to grow. Maybe they're the problem, too. After all, anyone who dents his fragile ego is deemed an enemy. If you don't agree with his rhetoric or publicly voice your opinion, then you're part of the conspiracy that lives between his ears. In a whiny diatribe published in the May 12 edition of the Montrose Mirror, Pond unleashed a barrage of theories involving people with the same brand of coffee cups or seen having dinner together as conspiring against him. He bashed fellow county Commissioner Sue Hansen for making the first motion for additional funding for the West End Basin Clinic, seemingly stealing his spotlight. He claims that she hasn't led the new commissioners and, if she did, things would be much quieter. From my seat, and I've been to almost every meeting, it seems like that's all she's been doing is trying to lead — and then gets promptly dismissed. Perhaps, Pond should have thought about that before he and his fellow newbie commissioner fell over themselves to remove her as chair. Anyone who goes to the podium to offer support for Hansen is disregarded as a setup by Hansen. Maybe we could say the same for Pond's supporters if they ever show up. But for Pond this behavior is nothing new. Ask the folks on the West End who helped with stopping the Dolores Monument designation. Stepping in front of Pond led to public attacks. When they questioned how the Halt the Dolores funding should have been reported, they were deemed an ungrateful lot. How dare they question him, after all he did for the cause and them. Some asked for a public accounting of the Halt the Dolores funds. According to Pond, there wasn't much there. Okay, so opening the books to the public should have been easy. It was a political activist organization subject to reporting with the Secretary of State. The public should have been able to access reports online via Tracer. But when local business owners questioned the non-reporting practice or how the organization should designate itself, Pond responded with a video claiming these people were attacking him and he wouldn't be spending his hard-earned money at their businesses. He also claimed that he was feeling resistance from county employees when he first arrived. He couldn't understand why. By golly, it had to be Hansen and county management. He can't remove Hansen, but sure can attack her character. He did, however, conspire with his partner Scott Mijares, who takes regular breaks from shining Pond's shoes to vote for his resolutions, to get rid of the top three people in management positions. Pond suffers from attention deficit disorder, but not the traditional type — if someone else receives attention he feels belongs to him he acts out, trying to tear down the character of his perceived spotlight stealer. Meanwhile, they're wondering what gives, all they were doing is trying to get work done. Now, Pond seems to be turning his attention to Rep. Jeff Hurd, neighboring counties, the city of Montrose and certain local nonprofits. Hurd introduced the GORP act and Pond sprung into action getting the Halt the Dolores band back together, but since he's alienated the others who were instrumental in halting the monument it's now a one-man band. Pond says Hurd is a good conservative and a friend, so he was able to convince him that other commissioners from neighboring counties had led him astray. First of all, Pond wouldn't know a good conservative if Ronald Reagan himself rose from the grave and gave him a noogie. Pond, who seems to have gotten involved in politics as part of a midlife crisis, is not one who should declare who is a conservative and who is not. Hurd is not one to put forth a bill or take any action without careful consideration and study. Hurd is a true conservative, Pond is a fear-mongering demagogue. Whether one is in favor of the GORP Act or not, the stakeholders including county commissioners from the counties directly involved have worked on GORP for more than a dozen years and are put out by the attention-seeking actions of Pond. Pond tells us he's the only one willing to stand up and speak out. A resolution against the GORP act is coming forward at the next BOCC regular meeting. He's dragging the county into his look-at-me escapades. He's the knight in shining armor no one asked for, but Pond can't hear the boos through his own self-cheers. Let's do a head count on who Pond has alienated so far: pragmatic conservatives, unaffiliated voters, fellow Commissioner Sue Hansen, members of the effort to stop the Dolores monument, neighboring county commissioners, Hurd, the Colorado senators, anyone willing to speak their minds during public comment, unless they support him, which are few and far between — but wait, there's more. Pond in his self-imposed feud with Aimee Tooker, who was as important to the Halt the Dolores efforts as Pond, decided to attack Club 20 for selecting Tooker as a voting member. Pond questioned the judgment of an organization that has fought for rural Colorado since the 1950s. Pond has no idea who he's drawing the line in the sand against on this one. Tooker, who is one of three who represents Montrose County on the Club 20 board, was recently honored as newcomer of the year. Cindy Dozier, who also represents Montrose County on the Club 20 board, came before the BOCC and gave an overview of the organization. Their work is an incredible asset for the Western Slope. Their judgment shouldn't be questioned, but for Pond everything seems personal. For Monday's BOCC work session, Pond has placed the following on the agenda for county discussion: "County Revenue Risk from Nonprofit Acquisitions and City Redevelopment Strategies, Sean Pond, County Commissioner - District 3." Oh boy, is the City of Montrose and nonprofits next on his list? The transparency-loving commissioners have removed public comment from the work session agenda for the third meeting in a row, with no explanation — and this, following public comment demanding Pond to apologize to Hansen, Tooker and others he attacked in his Mirror piece. Pond's line in the sand is in danger because it is starting to downpour on his parade. Speaking of parades, perhaps next time he's named grand marshal of one, like he was for Naturita Water Days, instead of propping him up in the back of a vehicle, parade organizers should tie lead ropes to his wrists and ankles and let the hot air he's full of carry him so he can float above the crowd. Hang on everyone, naming a county manager, lifting (maybe) the power generation moratorium are yet to come and I'm guessing more alienation from Pond, who has already delayed the decision on the moratorium because he only has five minutes in his day to study. I believe it's only four pages that are being updated. He also wants more input from the public, even though there's been plenty. Did I tell you that he's new to the board and wasn't made aware of the moratorium prior? It's coming up on three years; where's he been? Dennis Anderson is publisher of the Montrose Daily Press and Delta County Independent. | 
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