Gilpin Friends,

Sometimes, the best reason to vote has nothing to do with politics. 

We moved to Gilpin County in 2021, we didn’t know a soul. We were starting a new retirement chapter, never thinking about local politics. We wanted to build a life here in this beautiful place and eventually find our place in the community. What we found was something extremely meaningful.

Along the way, we met people who were kind when they had no reason to be and made us feel that we belonged. They became genuine friends, people whose integrity, thoughtfulness, and generosity we came to know through the way they live their lives.  

Our friend, Brady Fowler (Gilpin County Commissioner, District 2 [candidate]) is a retired Army veteran who has dedicated a significant part of his life to serving others. Our friend, Corey Marshall (State Senate, District 8) is a former executive and a local business owner who has built an admirable life and business here. Most importantly, we have seen firsthand the integrity and benevolence of Brady and Corey, and their wives Christy and Debbie. 

Something we never expected when we moved here was how personal politics could become. Imagine our shock when we periodically hear negative things said about people we know to be good, thoughtful and honorable. As far as we could tell, these comments seemed based on the fact that they belong to an opposing political party.  We worry, do people think of us this way? It seems so shortsighted, and we can’t pretend it doesn’t hurt.  We have witnessed someone’s kindness, felt their friendship, and seen their goodness; it is difficult to hear them reduced to a political affiliation or defined by someone’s assumptions. It made us contemplate whether this is something we are culpable of!  And, is this something you are guilty of?   

People disagree on issues that matter deeply, this is part of living in a free society, but we can’t lose sight of the fact that there are real people behind everything politics.  

We love and support these men.  Our respect for them is deep, it is rooted in who they are as people and we know that they both care deeply about our beloved Gilpin County and our beautiful state of Colorado.

It is tempting to tune out the noise.  It is easy to assume that one vote doesn’t matter, or politics has become too divisive to bother with. Look beyond the signs, what you have heard, and party affiliation. Consider fundamentals: The character of the people asking for our trust in making decisions for our community and state. 

We arrived in 2021 as strangers.  The kindness of people in Gilpin changed that.

You don’t have to know someone personally to vote for them.  But when you do know the kind of person someone is, it can give you a powerful reason to take a closer look.

Please participate in this election, your opinion is valuable.

In friendship,

Kim and Frank Perhats

Gilpin County