I鈥檝e been thinking lately about a photograph. It鈥檚 the only photo on the desk in my office. It鈥檚 small, faded, and black and white. It鈥檚 a kid in his baseball uniform sitting dejectedly on first base, looking straight ahead across an empty ball field backed by flat cornfields as far as the eye can see. It鈥檚 a pretty depressing photo, actually, but perhaps I read more into it because I was the subject. We鈥檇 just lost our final game of an epic Little League season (or so I remember it) on an error I had committed, and my dad snapped the photo unknown to me.
What I remember from that day is him walking up to me and saying something to the effect of, 鈥淲in or lose, you鈥檝e got to get up 鈥� your ride is leaving.鈥� Pragmatism at work. He gave me the photo later with a note that said, 鈥淲in or lose, there鈥檚 still work to do.鈥�
I鈥檝e been thinking about that photo since the election. In the wake of any election, there鈥檚 a mix of vindication and dismay, depending on who you talk to. But as my dad said in his note, 鈥淲in or lose, there鈥檚 still work to do.鈥� So that鈥檚 where I want to focus in this space 鈥� on a group of people who are stepping up to do the work that needs doing.
While the world was focused on who will be running things in Washington for the next few years, we here in Colorado voted for 81 people who will take their seats in our state legislature come January. These aren鈥檛 career politicians. They鈥檙e our neighbors who have chosen to step up and represent our communities by helping to govern this state as part of the Colorado General Assembly. From January to May, they鈥檒l put much of their lives on hold to gather under the gold dome and focus on the needs of Colorado.
Among those who will take the oath of office in 2025, there鈥檚 a former Air Force intelligence officer, a longtime youth baseball coach, a social worker, and the owner of an early childhood education business. There are people who have served on town councils and school boards, and others who have never held elective office. They all have different life stories and different reasons for running. And I am absolutely confident that they won鈥檛 see eye to eye on every issue that comes their way. But they鈥檒l head home in May with a budget that balances and some accomplishments they鈥檒l be proud to talk about with their friends, neighbors, and constituents.
Most of all, they鈥檒l show up to do the work that needs doing, and that鈥檚 what matters. Because here in Colorado, like the rest of our country, we have serious work to do. All signs point to it being a difficult budget year, and yet we have schools and roads and problems that need our attention. We have opportunities we don鈥檛 want to lose. And we have tough choices to make.
Making those choices requires both the courage to engage, and the conviction that a group of Coloradans coming together in good faith to find workable solutions can generally help steer our state forward in positive ways.
Sure, if you look long enough into the shadows ahead, you can see a lot of things that make you jump at what might be around the next corner. But it鈥檚 often more productive to focus instead on that vast set of commonalities among us. People who believe like you 鈥� and people who believe the opposite from you 鈥� woke up this morning with identical hurdles: How do I pay that bill? Where do I find a job? How will I buy groceries? 听Will my kids be OK? Those concerns aren鈥檛 specific to any party or ideology, and they鈥檙e shared by rural and urban dwellers alike.
And over the decades that I鈥檝e watched the legislature in action, it鈥檚 struck me that those we elect to represent us 鈥� whether from Greeley, Alamosa, Delta, or Lamar 鈥� typically make the greatest strides when they seek that endangered species: middle ground.
So, in this season of giving thanks, I want to thank the new and returning members of the Colorado General Assembly for the work they鈥檙e undertaking. It鈥檚 hard and often thankless, but the debates, decisions, compromises, and trade-offs keep this state moving forward on the things we all care about: functioning infrastructure, educational excellence, healthy and thriving families, good jobs, and safe communities. Progress 鈥� like finding common ground 鈥� depends on our working for it. So let鈥檚 all roll up our sleeves.
Be well,
– tony
Tony Frank, Chancellor
麻豆社
This message was included in Chancellor Frank鈥檚 November newsletter. .