Beware attempts by small groups to take over county

In your July 2 Guest Opinion by John Garvin, "Growth committee endorses three candidates," Mr. Garvin expresses the support of the Sustainable Growth Committee, SGC, for Dave Nelson, Stuart Posselt and Doug Johnson. Apart from clarifying why Mr. Nelson moved into District 1, this strategy, if successful will elect three SGC surrogates, which will give control of the Board of County Commissioners to the SGC.

We now see clearly the lengths to which fringe groups such as SGC, the Good Government Committee, and others will go to force their own narrow agenda on the citizens of Douglas County. This agenda does not consider the long term health and wellbeing of our county as a whole. The leaders of these groups desperately want control of the decision-making process and backing these three candidates is their way of attaining that goal. They sanctimoniously intone that contributions from SGC to their chosen surrogates are somehow clean and pure, certainly without the taint of contributions to their opponents from business groups promoting their own interests, as the electoral process allows. Mr. Garvin, in his self serving guest opinion, mentions that his candidates are strongly committed to open and transparent government; that they were moving forces behind the new building permit allocation; and, they feel that development agreements previously entered into have not been adequately enforced. All of this implies that the opposition is somehow opposed to the ideals of open government, or they were absent from the table in drafting the permit allocation ordinance, or they desire that our public agreements not be enforced. This is pure lunacy and nothing could be further from the truth.

Voters of Douglas County, do not be fooled by this smokescreen. None of these candidates have the county's best interests at heart. With previous rhetoric about their desire of wanting our Carson Valley to be a retirement community supported by tourism, they are obviously not concerned with the economic health of the county, to say nothing of their disdain for private property rights.

As an example, look at SGC's vicious demands that each and every commercial or residential development project requesting an extension of time be denied, and that the approvals for that project be forfeited. This, in times for the building industry more difficult than any since the Depression.

The fallout of these potential forfeitures will negatively impact virtually every business in the county, to say nothing of the degradation of the value of existing properties, which affects every county property owner.

A more callous and selfish disregard for the blood, sweat, and dreams of the hardworking people like you and I who undertake these difficult endeavors are hard to imagine. That a one-issue interest group like SGC would actively seek the financial ruin of their fellow citizens, pursuing legitimate business interests, is worse than shameful. It is class warfare at its ugliest and insults the intelligence of Douglas County voters.

I hope that all self-respecting Republicans will not only get out to vote in the primary on Aug. 12, but will vote for genuine Republican candidates who seek to bring long term benefit and prosperity to our community, not to tear down what we have all worked so long and hard to achieve.

- Larry Walsh is a Gardnerville resident.