Results as of 10:25 p.m. Tuesday night
Political newcomer J.J. Fletcher of Palisade won by a wide margin over longtime career politician Janet Rowland in the primary election for District 3 Mesa County Commissioner.
Rowland conceded the race this morning via a brief Facebook post.
JJ Fletcher
Rowland’s political career was marked by acts like illegally praying aloud in the name of Jesus at the start of taxpayer-funded public meetings, trying to hire her friends into high-paying county jobs despite their lack of qualifications, inappropriately using County agencies to advance her personal ideologies and political goals, plagiarizing columns she wrote in a local newspaper, making robocalls to help embezzler Steve King get elected state senator, placing herself on the Mesa County Board of Public Health even though she’s an outspoken enemy of public health and wasn’t supposed to interfere politically with the Board of Health, taking credit for the contributions of others and using the resources of the county to settle personal scores with people she didn’t like, like her attack on former 12 year Mesa County Public Health Department Director Jeff Kuhr, who successfully shepherded the County through the Coronavirus pandemic. It was arguably this last unyielding effort by Rowland to push Kuhr out that was the final straw for voters.
Post from Mesa County Republican Janet Rowland’s campaign Facebook page, August 14, 2020
A June 26, 2024 editorial in the Daily Sentinel said the results of the primary were a referendum on Rowland’s “czar-like approach to governance,” hinting at how she had misused her elected office.
Rowland lost by a decisive margin despite having gotten endorsements from Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein, County Sheriff Todd Rowell and former Commissioner Scott McInnis. The vote shows Mesa County has Rowland fatigue, and think it’s time for someone else to finally get a chance to serve as commissioner for District 3. And of course we have every hope that J.J. Fletcher won’t abuse the office the way Rowland has.
Janet Rowland’s Facebook post captured May 15, 2020, spreading misinformation and casting doubt on the CDC’s count of U.S. Coronavirus deaths, in accordance with an Alex Jones’ “Infowars” conspiracy theory. Hospitals don’t get paid more based on what is written on the death certificates of people who die there. Hospitals get paid for treating patients.
The news definitely made my week. As someone who has had the unpleasant opportunity to have to partner and work with JR, yea, she’s the worst. She gaslights and manipulates so much I don’t think even she knows what reality is.
The supposed “community center” in Clifton is purely an ego boosting money grab. Nobody can use it unless you pay the fair ground fees and that money is not going back into Clifton.
The board for the Clifton “community center” are all hand picked by JR and are mostly former mesa county employees. Of course, she did this in silence behind the real Clifton Community Center and Hall Board, which is made of actual Clifton lead volunteers and residents.
JR and her puppy at the fairgrounds have done everything they can to cause problems in the pursuit to support and better the Clifton community, an unincorporated municipality of Mesa County. Of course, once something actually goes forward, she is all for taking every ounce of credit, especially if there’s a photoshoot.
Maybe Janet Rowland and Joe Biden can set up a hot dog stand somewhere.
This is progress, if nothing else, the large population of Mesa County has finally realized that snake oil saleswomen don’t make the government work, in fact, they subvert the work of the government to feather there own nests while dumping on the ordinary citizens. I’m gratified to she her dumped and decisively, too.
Good riddance Janet Rowland! I’m sure she’s going to find a way to weasel her way back into public life so she can spew more misinformation. Maybe we’ll see her praying with Tina Peters and doing their Bible walks together before Tina’s daily court appearances.
So how do we get her off the Board of Public Health now?
On news last night. Covid is slipping back so be mindful is all one individual can do. Listen to your own body, intuition, gut, for answers.
It is still in it’s experimental stage with lots of notes resulting in new discoveries.. Bill Gates wanted population control. Since we have doubled in population since 1970, he has a good point. I recommend birth control, pro choice and working on making birth control for men.