SAGUACHE COUNTY — Lisa Rosen, a 2018 candidate for Saguache County Commissioner District 3, is appealing to Saguache County voters to become better informed about their candidate options for the Nov. 6 election. All voters in Saguache County have an opportunity to vote in local, state and national elections this fall.  
According to Rosen, “Indivisible,” the group that hosted the candidate forums in advance of the primaries, does not have the bandwidth to do additional town halls/debates/forums in advance of the general election. In the interests of civic engagement and an informed electorate, she suggests the four schools consider hosting a candidate event as part of their student government or social studies programs, preferably in September 2018.
“Anyone who will be 18 on Nov. 6 is eligible to vote in this election,” Rosen said. “Surely there are young voters in the schools who would benefit from an opportunity to meet and question the candidates face to face.” The opportunity to define venue formats, questions, and event parameters is an ideal opportunity to get young voters engaged in local government, she observed.
There are three contested county-wide elections— clerk (two candidates), sheriff (two candidates) and commissioner (four candidates). With four schools engaged, there are a multitude of potential ways to learn about the candidates, become educated voters, and ask questions of importance to future leaders and community members, Rosen said.
She requests that all candidates for office “accept my challenge for a series of voter education events, and for our educational leaders to provide a venue and format to maximize voter education and community engagement. An event at each school, webcast for ease of access, can engage voters from all over the county and drive voter turnout among voters of all ages and political stripes.”
She invited the other three Saguache County Commissioner candidates — Ellen Cox, Tim Lovato and Terry Gillette — to respond to her challenge publicly or by contacting her at [email protected].
She urged principals and educators interested in her proposal to hold these events prior to Oct. 15, the last day to register to vote in 2018, extending her availability to each of them for a solo town hall/meet and greet in their community.