Dear Editor:
If I said that I was a police officer for several years and I learned my values, including honesty, from my father who was a farmer and a Marine, would this influence your opinion of me in a positive way? This is how the Republican nominee for District Attorney, Linda Stanley, describes herself repeatedly. The problem is that it includes two untrue statements; one a partial lie, and one subterfuge.
Ms. Stanley and I are siblings. I know the facts. One outright lie is that our father was a farmer. He was not. He was an accountant who later worked in IT. He never owned a farm nor made his living as a farmer. It is true that he was a Marine. He served for two years, stateside, in peacetime.
The subterfuge comes in that she implies consistently that his service played a role in his life and personality. It did not, in his life or hers. He hated his service and did not consider it any part of his identity. While Ms. Stanley was a police officer, it was for only about three years, not “several”. This is a misleading partial untruth. Her experience on duty was very limited at one small agency and later she failed her field training at another.
Although she mentions being an officer twice on her website, she fails to include details in her resume since it misrepresents her actual experience. It is clear the other outright falsehood that she is honest. Honesty does not include lies and partial truths to suit a narrative.
Having a DA with integrity is vital. Ms. Stanley was sanctioned by the Colorado Bar Association as recently as 2019 for making repeated, obvious errors; errors no qualified attorney should be making. (Please, see 18PDJ058, People v. Linda Stanley.) I believe she also lacks the relevant experience necessary to lead the DA’s office. While she does list ten years in the legal field on her site, every job description appears to be a copy-paste from the job ad. There is nothing about any innovations, cases of merit, positions on actual issues, leadership skills, or recommendations from anyone who has worked with her. Nothing. Not a single thing that would make her eligible for this position.
I spent 21 years in police forensics. I spent countless hours working with officers and the DA’s office. The political party of the elected DA has little bearing on the ability to do the job effectively. Honesty and integrity, however, absolutely do. Our law enforcement, court personnel, and citizens deserve better.
Many of you are voting a straight ticket this year. I implore you to not make this choice when it comes to the DA. “Prosecution should never be political” is one of Ms. Stanley’s taglines. In this one instance, we agree. Show her the door. The citizens of the 11th Judicial District deserve better.
Sincerely,
Sandra Fisher
Salida
I really appreciate this letter, and facts that are easy to confirm if someone wants to check them out. Unfortunately, Republican leadership here chooses NOT to disseminate background facts about any of their candidates and, much like their lord in the White House, ignore facts about Ms. Stanley’s official censure and lack of transparency. They like the “look” of a candidate (posing with guns a LOT) and the fact that it is their Party and choose to vote for all candidates down the ticket. I have attended a Republican meeting where Ms. Hannah and her brother presented and answered questions (many about his for-profit company and less about Hannah’s platform), and attended two forums where all Commissioner candidates answered the same questions. I am wondering if (m)any straight-ticket Republicans have bothered to do the same — listening to and meeting ALL of the various candidates for public office here. I approach candidates openly to talk about things on my mind (both Bonnie Davis and Hannah would confirm they have talked with me several different times). To simply dismiss disconcerting facts about candidates as “fake news,” or “it doesn’t matter,” when other candidates for the same position do NOT have those kinds of issues is really choosing to simply vote the Party Line with ZERO concern for the actual ability to make fair, well-informed decisions regarding governance for this County and its residents. Could this author/contributor be mad at or dislike her sibling, just like several siblings of Donald Trump who publish distasteful information about him? Sure, but the facts stated here — again — can be checked out and confirmed by anyone; same with information published by relatives of Trump’s. Voters — please make careful and thoughtful decisions in your voting. Simply flying a flag and saying you love America and want to protect your rights does not make you an informed voter.