A recent article in the local press states that an anonymous donor has stepped forward to pay the expenses incurred by the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office for security for the vice president of the United States while in the Roaring Fork Valley. Presumably this was the goal of the sheriff’s outburst in the press.
Rather than accept resolution of the matter gracefully, Mr. DiSalvo chose to further malign the hosts of the fundraiser — who he does not know — by invoking a vulgar expletive for them. Because Mr. DiSalvo is the chief law enforcement officer of our county, one has to wonder what kind of an example this sets for young people in our community. All of us are entitled to privacy and to engage in political activity. This includes the sheriff of Pitkin County who, for days, has been milking the vice president’s visit to our area for his own partisan political purposes.
In the future, if the sheriff and Pitkin County expect reimbursement of security expenses for a political event, contrary to standard procedure, they know where to contact local officials of the respective political parties and give them an opportunity to make the request known to the organizers of the event in advance rather than after the fact. I suggest that Pitkin County establish and announce a clear policy on this subject.
In the interests of full disclosure, I am the first vice chair of the Pitkin County Republicans, having previously served as chair until a serious health incident cut short my tenure. I am so proud of how my successor Anna Zane conducted herself during this episode.
Frieda Wallison
Old Snowmass