{"id":22510,"date":"2025-04-24T00:34:39","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T00:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/in-brief-visit-rep-jeff-hurd-meets-commissioners-protesters-in-durango\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T04:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:14:12","slug":"in-brief-visit-rep-jeff-hurd-meets-commissioners-protesters-in-durango","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/in-brief-visit-rep-jeff-hurd-meets-commissioners-protesters-in-durango\/","title":{"rendered":"In brief visit, Rep. Jeff Hurd meets commissioners, protesters in Durango"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"U.S.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, a Grand Junction Republican, met with the La Plata County Board of County Commissioners on Wednesday. (Reuben M. Schafir\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

As he entered the La Plata County Board Room on Wednesday morning, U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd stopped to greet constituents wearing matching yellow T-shirts in the front row.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have shook hands,\u201d he said as he greeted one. \u201cWe have not,\u201d he said, turning to another.<\/p>\n

The Board of County Commissioners hosted the freshman Republican from Colorado\u2019s 3rd Congressional District at a 7:30 a.m. work session. While no public comment was taken, more than 40 people showed up in person and 17 joined online. Many wore neon shirts urging the lawmaker to protect federally managed public lands.<\/p>\n

Hurd addressed the attendees directly as the meeting began.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see the yellow shirts. \u2026 I\u2019m glad you\u2019re here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The lawmaker has yet to hold an in-person town hall since taking office.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not unintentional.<\/p>\n

\"Outside
Outside the La Plata County Board Room, U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd was confronted by protesters holding signs on Wednesday. To the chagrin of his staff, he stopped to talk. (Reuben M. Schafir\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Around the country, Republicans have faced intense criticism at public forums, as constituents confront them over their role \u2013 or lack thereof \u2013 in challenging the administration of President Donald Trump, who has increasingly tried to expand the reach of his executive office. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, was jeered at a town hall<\/a> last week, the same day police used Tasers on<\/a> two people who interrupted Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene at a town hall north of Atlanta.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope to have a town hall before long,\u201d Hurd said in an interview with The Durango Herald<\/em>. \u201cI think we just need to make sure that it\u2019s the right time and place and that it\u2019s going to be something that allows for a dialogue and back-and-forth, rather than just shouting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, Hurd is filling his schedule with meetings with county commissioners and other smaller groups during his time away from Washington. He met with the state\u2019s agriculture commissioner and other experts in the field at James Ranch on Tuesday night, and headed north to meet with Ouray County commissioners after the Durango meeting.<\/p>\n

A staff member said the congressman has routinely taken questions from the public at dozens of meetings across the district and is not shying away from difficult questions.<\/p>\n

\"As
As he entered the La Plata County Board Room on Wednesday morning, U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd stopped to greet constituents clad in matching yellow T-shirts. (Reuben M. Schafir\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Hurd is quick and affable with constituents, and anxious to engage. He remembers names and where individuals stand on key issues. A staff member had to try several times to pry him away from an exchange with one upset attendee \u2013 an interaction he insisted on ending by asking her name.<\/p>\n

Still, Hurd is no pushover. He chided a group of constituents on their criticism of Colorado natural resource extraction by asking how much of their clothing, car or bicycle was made with hydrocarbons.<\/p>\n

The crowd on Wednesday remained mostly quiet throughout the meeting, although the blunt thrust of their position was not lost on the congressman.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I probably don\u2019t have that many votes here from people, and may not in the future,\u201d Hurd told the crowd. \u201cBut I will tell you that does not matter when it comes to representing you in Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a conversation after the formal work session, Hurd assured Commissioner Marsha Porter-Norton that it was OK for her to criticize him if needed \u2013 \u201cI don\u2019t take it personally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"U.S.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd meets Wednesday with La Plata County commissioners. (Reuben M. Schafir\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Although his predecessor, Rep. Lauren Boebert, often found herself embroiled in controversy \u2013 sometimes intentionally, other times not \u2013 Hurd has made it clear during his four months in Congress that he does not seek the spotlight.<\/p>\n

Still, he has not remained quiet on certain issues.<\/p>\n

After hearing from many in his district, where 31% of residents rely on Medicaid for health care, he signed a letter to Republican congressional leaders<\/a> urging them to preserve coverage for vulnerable populations. He has also backed legislation that would reinstate probationary federal employees who were fired as part of indiscriminate downsizing of the federal workforce, with their seniority status restored. He has also signed on to a bill to rein in the president\u2019s tariff authority. <\/a><\/p>\n

These were among the topics raised by commissioners during the meeting, and reflected concerns previously discussed during a virtual meeting with him on Aug. <\/a>1.<\/p>\n

Hurd, an attorney, is hesitant to take firm positions on controversial issues that he says he doesn\u2019t know enough about.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongress has done a bad job of giving away all its authority to the executive branch,\u201d he told county staff members.<\/p>\n

When pressed in an interview about his stance on the president\u2019s lack of compliance with a Supreme Court order to facilitate the return of a mistakenly deported Maryland man to El Salvador, Hurd was unwilling to take a position or even analyze the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we need to see how this process works out, what the Supreme Court does, how this process works,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019d wait and see what the facts are. I think I\u2019m going to reserve judgment until we have a chance to see exactly how this works out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many in attendance expressed concerns about a possible sell-off of public lands to cover the cost of extending 2017 tax cuts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m generally skeptical of a wholesale sell-off of public lands; I don\u2019t think that would be a good thing,\u201d Hurd said, but did not rule out limited land sales depending on the circumstances.<\/p>\n

\"Letters
Letters and unpassed legislation are nice gestures, one protester warned U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, but constituents will be watching to see how he votes. (Reuben M. Schafir\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Outside the county board room after the meeting, Hurd was confronted by a group of at least 20 protesters holding signs. To the chagrin of his staff, he stopped to talk.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Jeff,\u201d he said, shaking hands and reading their signs aloud.<\/p>\n

One protester warned Hurd that letters and unpassed legislation are nice gestures, but that constituents would be watching how he votes.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom what I heard today and have seen in the Congressman\u2019s weekly newsletter, I have little confidence that he is hearing and understanding his constituency and then acting in Congress on their behalf,\u201d Jimbo Buickerood, a public lands advocate, wrote in an email to The Durango Herald<\/em> after the meeting. \u201cThe list of issues that he needs to actively \u2018pushback\u2019 on related to the economic, health\/wellness and confidence-in-government of his constituency is very long and so far he\u2019s only \u2018showed up\u2019 to take a public stance on a couple issues that run counter to the chaos being sown in our lives by his political party.\u201d<\/p>\n

rschafir@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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