| When one exaggerates or flat out lies it's difficult for them to keep their story straight. This is the case for Montrose County commissioners Scott Mijares and Sean Pond. Trust and respect is earned, not merely given. The commissioners have earned neither and for one — Mijares -— it's landed him on the upcoming November ballot as a recall candidate. Mijares can't say he wasn't warned. You may even want to forgive him because he ain't from around these parts. Members of the Republican Central Committee had him convinced that Montrose County, with its 67% Republican voting record, was all extreme-right thinkers. Rather, most are pragmatic — especially when it comes to county politics — and use common sense over rhetoric when forming an opinion. They're acute political noses can smell manure when shoveled their way. Mijares and friends are struggling with how to defend him and his first six months on the BOCC. For example, the recall committee claims Mijares, along with Pond, forced the resignations of two top county officials, former County Manager Frank Rodriguez and attorney Marti Whitmore, but they want you to believe those two employees resigned on their own. Mijares at the July 16 BOCC went on a tirade about the recall effort and tried to refute each of the recall committee's reasons for recalling him. He recounted his version of how the resignations went down back in April. He described it as a casual conversation to the effect of "Hey, do you still want to resign?" To which both said sure and did so shortly after the ask, then Asst County Manager Emily Sanchez followed them out the door. It was a relief to the three of them if you chose to believe Mijares. The problem with that version of events is that it's not how it actually went down. Don't believe me? Pond describes the event as an accomplishment. When criticized on Facebook for not accomplishing much as a county commissioner, Pond has a copy and paste list of his 'so called' accomplishments including this one, "Worked to remove corrupt or ineffective county leadership to restore accountability." WOW! Corrupt or ineffective? Who was which? Doesn't sound like Rodriguez or Whitmore left voluntarily, sounds like they were forced out. Just for verification's sake, don't forget HR director Leslie Quon wrote in her resignation letter that she felt the work environment was hostile and she felt targeted, she named Mijares as the source of her discomfort. Mijares' supporters have tried to downplay his poor behavior with this weak defense: If it's so bad, why did she stay on as HR director? That's neither a serious question, nor a defense. Mijares and Pond have also taken their toxicity outside the realm of county employees. During their discussion concerning the GORP Act resolution that removed Montrose County from any discussions concerning the act itself, Mijares said that Rep. Jeff Hurd is no longer in direct communication with him or Pond. They are now to communicate through his aide. Mijares sounds offended that Hurd is tired of the attacks by Mijares and his running buddies, Pond and state Rep. Larry Don Sukla. Delta County and other counties in Hurd's district don't have this issue. Losing Hurd's connection is a major blow for Montrose County. This isn't on Hurd, it's on Mijares and Pond. They've alienated surrounding counties, state Sen. Marc Catlin, other state representatives, influential organizations such as Club 20 and businesses within the county. At this point we may need to tie a pork chop around their necks just to get the dogs to play with them. Mijares has also frustrated his own party with his decision to not step down so the Republican Central Committee could have selected someone to fill the seat. The central committee would like to spend their efforts on the upcoming school board election, but Mijares' ego stands in their way. Now they have to spend resources fighting the recall. Here's what Mijares' friend and supporter Michael Badagliacco wrote on his Colorado DOGE website about Mijares' decision: "This uncomfortable and frankly angering situation stems directly from Mijares himself. Mijares had a clear path to avert this chaos. He could have stepped down voluntarily, enabling the vacancy committee to appoint a successor. This move would have deflated the recall effort entirely, halting what amounts to a baseless witch hunt. No one claims Mijares is flawless by any stretch. Mijares is brash and condescending, and he would benefit from Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People". He might also draw lessons from Ronald Reagan's graceful handling of opponents. Emulating Donald Trump's personality traits is hardly a model to aspire to in local governance." During the week of the deadline in which Mijares could have stepped down or filed a protest he did neither. As of that Wednesday, the central committee believed he was stepping down. Mijares informed County Clerk and Recorder Tressa Guynes that he wasn't going to verbally. He caught the committee flat footed. Then, on that Friday he formally declared he wasn't stepping down in writing. The one talent Mijares has is alienating as many people as possible. Mijares' defense of himself has no substance. It's typical rhetoric of turning the county blue if the recall goes through and now after the protest period is over he's claiming -— without evidence — the petitions have duplicate signatures. He's sinking in quicksand and most of his supporters have thrown him both ends of the rope. He can figure his own way out of this mess he's in even though before the recall made it to the ballot they were his enablers. The most egregious action on Mijares' part and the small group that still supports him has been to post the petitions on his website. You know, the website he claimed he didn't have. He also claimed he wasn't on Facebook during his unethical rant back in July's BOCC meeting. He now has two pages. The petitions posted included the names and addresses of the signers. Mijares also added a call for people to look and see the names of the people who want to turn the county blue. He's since removed the addresses and his claim. Too late, the doxing of voters has already been accomplished. That's over 5000 names of diverse voters that will have a say come November. As far as the claim of turning the county blue? The less-than-two-year Republican is not a shining example of conservative ideologies. While it may be legal to post the petitions, it goes to his poor character and even worse his desperation accentuates his even worse judgment. For Mijares this recall campaign is off to a terrible start and the closer we get to the election and the more pressure he feels, the less likely he'll be able to control his anger. Time and time again he's shown his lack of control. We're less than two months from the election. It seems like almost every day these two commissioners do something to prove they're not fit for their seats. Buckle up! It's sure to be a wild ride to the finish. Dennis Anderson is publisher of the Montrose Daily Press and Delta County Independent. | 
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