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Show approach to Goodtimes. "It’s become a warrior clan whose effectiveness is limited," he says. "Every tribe needs its warriors, but their anger wasn’t always targeted very well. And (direct action), that’s dangerous and scary. You have to believe totally in this if you’re going to put your life on the line. T had a family, and was in a different space." Goodtimes started working within the system. "People here said to me, ‘You always come down here and tell us we can’t do things, but our economy is the shits. What are you going to do to help us?" he says. His chance to do that came when he heard about an unpopular proposal to build a dump for uranium mine waste near a school in Naturita. "I jumped on that like a rabid dog," he says. Goodtimes helped bring the community’s opposition to the attention of federal agencies, and the dump was eventually moved to Uravan. "I’d found an issue I could work with them on," he says. "I realized that it’s possible to make allies with people Norma Nunn (W) 259-5021 H) 259-7275 E ® UALITY REALTY you aren’t allies with, as long as you find the right issue.” With the encouragement of friends in Telluride, Goodtimes decided to try to take his activism to the county commissioners’ office. He ran on the Democratic ticket against a fourth-generation rancher from Norwood, who he describes as "the utmost in polite." He got barely a quarter of Norwood’s votes, but he won overwhelmingly in Telluride, and 505 N. Main St. 259-5021 FAX: (435) 259-8387 joined the county’s three-person commission in 1996. It hasn’t been easy. Goodtimes recently supported a gravel pit--an unlikely position for a former Earth Firster!--because it had the backing of most people on the western side of the county. Although stands like this aren’t always comfortable for him, he says, they’re usually the exception. "I find I’m the ally of a lot of people on the Western Slope. I’m opposed to trans-basin (water) diversions, and I’m a supporter of local control. There are, more of these issues than those like the wilderness bill (for Bureau of Land Management lands in Colorado), where I know I'm in the minority. "I get along with people, I’m not mean. I respect them," he says. "I try to give them the same kind of respect I got from most people when I was a long-haired hippie outsider." His approach seems to have worked; at least, he hasn’t felt the need to get a haircut yet. He’s on the state public lands steering committee for the Colorado counties’ association, and he’s also a. member of the National Association of Counties’ public lands steering committee. "People take you seriously even though you look weird," he says, sounding a little surprised. "It really is an opportunity to speak out and make a difference." At the wilderness hearing in Grand Junction last June, when Sens. Larry Craig, Wayne Allard, and Rep. Scott McInnis gathered to hear public testimony on BLM wilderness issues, Goodtimes’ speech in support of wilderness got cheers and loud applause. “I realized I had a constituency statewide, a clear majority that was well-disposed toward environmental issues," he says. "They care about the environment, they live in it. Politicians haven’t quite caught up to that issue--the environment isn’t their top priority. If I have any activism left, it’s to move people in the political realm toward whatI think the electorate supports, and that’s environmental health." As we arrive at the ranch in Unaweap Canyon, Goodtimes is putting in a plug for the Green Party, which he joined partway through his term. "I met Gary (Snyder) at a philosophy conference in Estes Park a while back, and I said ‘What are we going to do?’ He said ’Greens,’ and I said ‘Oh, OK.’ I really respect Gary’s vision. So now, not only am I a weirdo long-haired hippie, but I’m a Green!" LOG & FRAME SOUTHWEST STYLE HOME, 2014 sq.ft. 4 Bed, 3 bath. New master bedroom suite has 2 walk-in closets and spacious bath w/ jacuzzi. Vaulted ceilings in master suite and living room. Hot tub in garden patio with great views of the La Sal Mtns. Beautiful saltillo tile in kitchen and baths. Huge SW fireplace. Outbuildings and carport on 5 acres. $349,000. LOG BUILDING WITH WRAP-AROUND DECKS, magnificent stone fireplace, mezzanine and partial basement. Almost 6000 sq. feet concrete parking and low maintenance landscaping. Heart of Downtown Moab. Great visibility. C-3 commercial zoning. $589,000. (015) RED ROCK SPIRES ON THIS 12.41 ACRE PARCEL overlooking Arches National Park. Adjoind BLM and State lands with frontage on US 191. Panoramic views of the La Sal Mtns. Terrific value at $150,000. (019) It might not be the best strategy for reelection. But Goodtimes seems to be willing to listen to nearly anybody--anybody who gives a damn, that is--and he’s gutsy enough to break ranks with his past when he hears a good argument. Not to say that he’s forgotten, or abandoned, his past lives as a seminary student, a radical activist or a journalist. All the parts of his crazy-quilt background come into play in his current career, even, he says, his seminary training in Aristotelian logic. "I like trying to convince people of my position,” he says. In the process, this "little guy with a big mouth" is making sure that county politics in Western Colorado are nothing if not interesting. And he’s not going to stop adding careers anytime soon. Maybe, he says, he’ll teach Latin at a private school in Telluride in the fall when he’s not at the county commissioners’ office. "I’m not the greatest Latin teacher in the world,” he says, "but I know something of it? Why am I not surprised? 559 Main Street 970.241.7187 Mon-Sat 6:30am to 5:30pm Sunday 7:30am to 3:30pm Michelle Nijhuis lives in Paonia, Colorado, and is staff reporter for High Country News. She still hasn't gotten her steering fixed. Chris SIDE-DU-SIDE ON Muhr's COLORADO aYENUC ALL METALS WELDING & FABRICATION CO. 1707 I-70 Business Loop Grand Junction, CO 81501 970.243.6310 FX: 241.5917 Where's Dorothy? 970.256.7446 owner Specializing in fine co & gourmet teas. Also ffee, €spresso drinks Serving fresh-bake Pastries, break d fast & lunch sandwiches, fresh-squeezed juice. S & fruit smoothies REVEALING x ~~... As COLORADO Java 502 Colorado Avenue Cat Coughran, \ Si! 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