{"id":23384,"date":"2025-02-25T18:47:46","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T01:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/hundreds-gather-in-dolores-to-meet-with-rep-jeff-hurd-staffer\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:35:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:35:05","slug":"hundreds-gather-in-dolores-to-meet-with-rep-jeff-hurd-staffer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/hundreds-gather-in-dolores-to-meet-with-rep-jeff-hurd-staffer\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds gather in Dolores to meet with Rep. Jeff Hurd staffer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Hundreds
Hundreds of community members gathered at the Dolores Public Library Monday afternoon to speak with U.S. Congressman Jeff Hurd\u2019s Southwest Region director, Naomi Dobbs. She didn\u2019t show up. (Aaron Lewis\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

An estimated 250 community members gathered Monday at the Dolores Public Library, eager to express their concerns to U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd\u2019s regional director, Naomi Dobbs.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t show up.<\/p>\n

Hurd previously skipped an event at the Dolores Public Library while campaigning for the 3rd Congressional District seat, and on Saturday declined an invitation to attend a town hall meeting in Grand Junction<\/a>, his hometown. An estimated 400 people showed up.<\/p>\n

\"Naomi
Naomi Dobbs, regional director for U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The room in the library that the League of Women Voters of Montezuma County had set up for the event quickly filled to capacity of about 50 people. An estimated 200 people waited outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho knows, you know, she may have ran into some traffic issues,\u201d said League of Women Voters President Karen Sheek as the crowd laughed.<\/p>\n

Ten minutes passed, then 15.<\/p>\n

After it became clear that Dobbs wasn\u2019t coming, people stayed and spoke their minds.<\/p>\n

\"The
The room inside the Dolores Public Library quickly filled Monday for a meeting with the regional director for Rep. Jeff Hurd\u2019s office. In director Naomi Dobbs\u2019 absence, residences discussed current political affairs. (Aaron Lewis\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lori
Lori Mott of the League of Women Voters of Montezuma County speaks to a crowd outside the Dolores Public Library on Monday. (Aaron Lewis\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

While people took turns speaking inside, Lori Mott, with the local League of Women Voters, stood before the crowd outside.<\/p>\n

Mott first brought up the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act<\/a>, which would require all Americans to provide physical proof of their citizenship, in person, when registering to vote.<\/p>\n

According to the League of Women Voters\u2019 website<\/a>, it would create a barrier to voting, in part because when \u201ccompared to white U.S. citizens, citizens of color are three times more likely to lack (those) documents.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVote no!\u201d the crowd yelled.<\/p>\n

Mott read from a letter that the League of Women Voters of the United States sent to the U.S. Senate and House on Feb. 14. It urges Congress to act, \u201cto exercise your authority to protect the rule of law, defend the Constitution, and end the overreach by the executive branch of government.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe outcry by Americans who are speaking out against the impact of the executive orders, including those who voted for President Donald Trump, should be all that is needed for Congress to stand in its authority \u2026 and restore stability to the country,\u201d it reads.<\/p>\n

The letter cites the Appropriations Clause, which vests the power to allocating money to Congress, not the president.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump has issued numerous executive orders that are not rooted in any presidential power granted by Congress and violate both the U.S. Constitution and federal law,\u201d Mott read.<\/p>\n

Although Mott did not specify which orders were illegal, hundreds of hands shot up when Mott asked the crowd if they\u2019d like Hurd to challenge the executive orders.<\/p>\n

\u201cChecks and balances are not working,\u201d she said. \u201cA lot is going on, but the root of the problem is not fulfilling the oath to the Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local funding cuts<\/div>\n

Tami Graham, the executive director of KSUT public radio, said that last week, the station received a \u201cnotice of pause\u201d for a $537,000 federal grant it was awarded. In the meantime, it was advised not to spend any money.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s half a million dollars, up in the air,\u201d Graham said Monday at the event.<\/p>\n

A locally awarded $1.68 million WaterSMART grant from the Bureau of Reclamation is in limbo, too.<\/p>\n

The award was two years and a lot of paperwork in the making, and the Lower Wilson Ditch Association recently secured it to make ditches more water efficient, said its president, Chuck Greaves.<\/p>\n

Without that money, the \u201cproject doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The termination notice the Mancos Conservation District received on Feb. 14 from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

On Feb. 14, the Mancos Conservation District received a termination notice from the Natural Resources Conservation Service that its joint project \u201cto reach underserved producers and provide a higher level of equity in access to conservation\u201d will no longer be.<\/p>\n

What community members are saying<\/div>\n

\u201cThe danger of withholding this money is that even if programs are restored, the damage is already done,\u201d said Rick Cobbs of Durango, who attended the event.<\/p>\n

Cobbs said he came out to \u201cstop the indiscriminate holding of funds.\u201d He also hoped to encourage Hurd and Congress to use its \u201clegislative oversight\u201d and push back against Trump and the \u201cnon-elected\u201d Elon Musk. He referred to their actions as a coup.<\/p>\n

Cobbs expressed his frustration with the congressman touring the Aspen Airport and the new Amazon facility in Loveland, instead of meeting with constituents. \u201cHe\u2019s out doing things, just nothing with regular people,\u201d said Cobbs.<\/p>\n

\"U.S.
U.S. Rep.. Jeff Hurd (middle) tours the Aspen Airport on Feb. 20, two days before missing a town hall in Grand Junction where 400 constituents waited to hear from him. (Screenshot from Rep. Jeff Hurd\u2019s Instagram)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Ryan Schroeder, a recently hired and newly fired rangeland management specialist for the Bureau of Land Management, took his termination letter to the library.<\/p>\n

He said that his role was to administer roughly 110 grazing permits, in addition to environmental reviews, reseeding efforts, working with ranchers and other partners to maintain Wild Horse Management Areas.<\/p>\n

He had the position for fewer than 60 days.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 18, the day he was let go, he had a conversation with two ranchers about \u201cfinally being able to get stuff done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ryan
Ryan Schroeder recently landed his \u201cdream job as a rangeland management specialist with the Bureau of Land Management.\u201d He was fired Feb. 18. On Monday, he took his termination letter to the Dolores Public Library. (Aaron Lewis\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI was fired an hour later,\u201d said Schroeder.<\/p>\n

That leaves two workers to cover 110 permits and \u201ceverything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

In December he finished his Ph. D., and he has 11 years of related work experience.<\/p>\n

Yet his termination letter reads \u201cyou have failed to demonstrate fitness or qualifications for continued employment because your subject matter knowledge, skills, and abilities do not meet the Department\u2019s current needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I am not \u2018fit or qualified\u2019 for the needs of the Department, then it appears to me that the mission of the Department has fundamentally changed without the knowledge of the public and those who have been with the agency more than a year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

TJ Holmes, a fertility control darter in the Spring Creek Basin Wild Horse Management Area who often works with BLM, said, \u201cWe need guys like Ryan (Schroeder) to help keep the good conditions of the basin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"People
People gather outside the Dolores Public Library after the meeting room was filled to capacity. (Aaron Lewis\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
The discussion inside the library<\/div>\n

Back inside, people shared their thoughts.<\/p>\n

A community member recorded it all, and will share the video with Hurd\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy have prices not gone down?\u201d one woman asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are they continuing to go up, when Trump promised they\u2019d go down?\u201d She also disputed that federal workers were being fired because they were not qualified for their jobs.<\/p>\n

Another speaker expressed concern about Medicaid cuts, and what that would do in the 3rd Congressional District, where rural health clinics \u201cdepend on Medicaid money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another community member pleaded: \u201cPlease represent us in Congress and stand up to the president. \u2026 If you cut jobs, you erode our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

An hour and a half into the event, Montezuma County League President Karen Sheek concluded the scheduled speaker series and admitted they were \u201cwoefully unprepared\u201d for the turnout.<\/p>\n

Sheek apologized on behalf of Dobbs and for any time wasted, but someone intervened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it was wasted,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

Sheek told The Journal<\/em> that she agreed, and felt the event was a successful demonstration and showed that people want to participate and be heard.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour voice does matter,\u201d she said. \u201cCall your representatives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Volume does count: Where congressional offices were once getting 40 calls a minute, they\u2019re now receiving 1,600 calls a minute, Sheek said.<\/p>\n

5calls.org<\/a> is a \u201cquick and easy way\u201d to contact legislators online, she said. To get in the loop about future League of Women Voters events, reach out to lwvmzc@gmail.com<\/a> and ask to be added to the email list.<\/p>\n

Sheek said the League will try to reschedule this event at a bigger venue. As of 12 p.m. Tuesday, it was it is still unclear why Dobbs didn\u2019t show.<\/p>\n

\"President
President of the League of Women Voters of Montezuma County Karen Sheek admitted they were \u201cwoefully unprepared\u201d for the turnout on Feb. 24 at the Dolores Public Library. (Aaron Lewis\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Republican\u2019s regional director never showed up <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[44,28,60,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-23384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-dolores","tag-headlines","tag-montezuma-county","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23384"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78093,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23384\/revisions\/78093"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23384"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=23384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}