Letter to the Editor “Dangerous Truth”

Letter to the Editor 12/10/2025

Last night, Kevin Bommer of CML revealed a dangerous truth: help is being leveraged—turned into a conditional tool of silence rather than a rightful support for communities.  Silence is being used as currency and aid has become a bargaining chip, not a right.

It was frustrating to listen to someone like Kevin Bommer – who openly touted his influence in shaping municipal policy.  I had a front row seat watching him use that power in an effort to silence residents and undermine the very purpose of policy that should be protecting communities and not shielding corruption.

I came away from that encounter realizing that the hard truth is that if Hartman residents are being told to stay silent – then every small town paying CML dues risks the same treatment.  Bommer talked about his influence in towns across the state and alluded to the fact that small towns have their own set of issues.  Of particular interest is his personal opinion of Hartman – he did not hold back as he described Hartman as a “shit show,” dismissing our governance crisis as chaos caused by residents rather than corruption by officials impersonating authority.

Bommer is trying to frame my insistence on accountability as an obstacle.  I feel that accountability should be the foundation for genuine repair, but he suggests that my persistence undermines his “efforts.”  He’s redefining repair as silence and continuity, not transparency and lawful governance.

How would you feel if your town was suffering under the control of individuals who have not been able to perform even the most menial tasks asked of a trustee?  Individuals who cannot produce certificates of lawful election appointment? Individuals who have been impersonating officials for the past two years—with the blessing of outside agencies more concerned with protecting their reputations than protecting your community?  Is silence the price you would be willing pay for “repair”?  In this case repair is really repression because it entails ignoring the neglect, mismanagement, uncertified elections, resignations, and financial misconduct.  Repair as Bommer defines it is not about fixing what’s broken; it’s about covering it up.  He wants to leave the past in the past and move on without accountability – without change.  To move on without accountability, without change, only invites corruption to continue. It tells those who abuse power that silence is acceptable, that misconduct will be overlooked, and that communities must pay the price. True repair cannot be built on repression. Accountability is the safeguard against corruption, and without it, the cycle repeats.

Would you sit silent and embrace the very people who have been at the helm as COVID funds were misappropriated because they were intermingled with general fund and therefore leaving them untraceable?  Would you be forgiving of clerks, trustees, their family members, or significant others who were involved in multiple accounts of check fraud because town finances were sitting at kitchen tables?  Would you be willing to ignore the fact that affidavits were signed at the bank to forgo investigation into these crimes?  How would you feel – if from the state on down – nobody was willing to hear about the corruption – let alone hold those responsible accountable?

This is not just Hartman’s struggle. It is a warning to every small town in Colorado. If outside organizations can bless illegitimate officials and condition aid on silence, then no community is safe from having its voice erased. Silence should not come as the price for state or federal aid.  Aid is meant to protect communities, not to erase their voices. When outside agencies condition help on silence, they are not repairing—they are repressing. True repair begins with accountability, not with the silencing of residents.  

Shawna Casey – Hartman resident