Sticking to my guns

There are some people in this town who have compared me to Ed Grothus and to be honest I am honored. Though I'm sure your intent was to say that I'm a nut job.

One thing about Ed is that he has stuck to his guns through all the things he's been through and he has been true to himself and never produced a false front as far as I know. That is a quality you rarely find in people these days and I admire it. I admire people who march to the beat of their own drum and are independent thinkers who are not being herded around like sheep or cows following along with the status quo because if not they'll get kicked, prodded or taken to slaughter. Though in the long run most sheep and cattle do end up that way.

The Point I'm really trying to make is I am me with my own opinions about everything that I encounter. Whether they are agreeable with the status quo or not is of no real importance to me. I am not going to change who I am and what I believe to fit in or to get elected. I have seen too many people pander and fall in line in order to get elected and then when they get into office they become someone other that who they presented themselves to be during the election. So love me or hate me what you see is what you will get on your County Council.

As for my stance on Youth I need people to understand that unlike previous people in this town I am not using the youth for my own personal gain nor am I using them to make me look good. In fact what I am trying to do is get the youth to use me and by youth I don't just mean children I mean young adults and young families or families with children. I have worked with youth as a church youth leader and butted heads with many pastors because they thought they knew what was best for the youth without taking the opinions of feelings of the youth into consideration. I see that happen here quite a bit. I on the other hand believe that a program for youth is doomed to failure if it does not have direction from the youth and strong input from the youth. The same thing is to be said for programs for families and for community and economic development. There are those in this community who live by what would be called the old school rules. "We know what's best for you and you'll take your medicine and like it" Those days are long gone and if we want to keep living that way we can just sit there and let them waste our tax dollars on various projects that truly will not benefit the community or us as individuals.

So I ask you to support yourselves in this and every election by speaking your voice at the polls and voting for the candidtate that you feel would best represent you. Whether that is me or someone else. I also ask you to use your voices and your pens if need be to create petitions to change things in order to better benefit your community and the way your tax dollars are spent.

Win or lose in this election I am going to continue to be an activist for the rights of the citizens of Los Alamos that have been pused out on the fringe because they don't make enough money or becuase they don't have the right credentials or enought letters after their last name.

Manny