Weekly Email 6/22/26

CO Nat'l Monument

Dear Restore the Balance Community,

If you're a typical Western Colorado citizen, it's a good bet you like having freedom and choices. Freedom to do your own thing, whether it's river rafting or target shooting, and choices between a nice upscale eatery or just hot dogs and beer around a campfire.

It's also likely that if you vote, you like having the freedom to either send in your ballot or drop it off. And you probably wouldn't mind having a few more options to choose from besides the far right and the far left. We often end up with the loudest voices at either end of the spectrum, constraining our choices.

Topic of the Week: Democracy Is Delicious

Our partner organization, Courageous Colorado, has put together a new campaign called Democracy Is Delicious. It highlights how our party's primary process helps limit our choices and tends to produce candidates labeled as extreme right or extreme left. It leaves the largest voting bloc in Colorado, unaffiliated voters, on the sidelines when choosing primary election candidates for the two major parties. The Courageous Colorado campaign poses a simple question: if Coloradans can expect real choices when ordering ice cream, shouldn’t they expect real choices when it comes to their elections?

Watch the flagship video and see if you agree with one of the possible remedies here.

Courageous Colorado also put together a graphic illustrating "The Problem"; worth a look if you want to see the paradox laid out visually.

But Right Now, You CAN Help Determine Your Choices

At least for those who will run in the general election, vote in the primaries! This is the moment when your voice actually shapes who appears on the November ballot.

Don't know who to vote for?

Check out this excellent voter guide put together by Colorado Public Radio here. 

And of course, you can consult RTB's own candidate scorecard here.

A Note on Election Security: Misinformation Is a Threat Too

We've spent the last few weeks talking about why trust in our elections matters. A new PBS report adds another piece to that puzzle: misinformation itself is one of the biggest threats to election security, not because our systems are insecure, but because false narratives erode public confidence even when the process works exactly as it should. Read more here. 

For those who want to go deeper, the National Democratic Institute has published an excellent overview on disinformation and electoral integrity, examining how false narratives spread and what protects democracies against them: NDI Report — Disinformation and Electoral Integrity

Member Recommendations

🎵 Music: "The Other Side" from Trolls World Tour, a fun reminder that sometimes the other side has something worth listening to.

🎥 Movie: Pressure — two thumbs up from one of our members!

Thank you to everyone who joined us at this week's Social Hour at The Ale House!

A special shoutout to Bob Chew and Kristina Schulz for showing up and diving right into the conversation. We had a great time, and many thoughtful perspectives were shared on David French's keynote and on where we go from here.

Upcoming Events

June 23 & June 26 — Mesa County Election Tours. See the election process firsthand before the June 30 primary. Sign up here.

June 30 — Colorado Primary Election. Check your registration and ballot here.

⚠️ Unaffiliated voters: you will receive two ballots in the mail. Return only ONE!! Returning both will disqualify your vote.

November 3 — Colorado General Election

On the Radar: Local Government Meetings

• Board of County Commissioners: Tuesdays @ 9am

• Grand Junction City Council: 1st & 3rd Wednesdays @ 5:30pm

• Town of Palisade Board of Trustees Meeting: 2nd & 4th Tuesdays @ 6pm

• Fruita City Council: 1st & 3rd Tuesdays @ 7pm

• D51 School Board: 1st & 3rd Tuesdays @ 5pm (public comments accepted on 3rd Tuesdays only)

• Mesa County Library Board: Last Thursdays @ 5:30pm

• Public Health Board: Monthly Tuesdays @ 3pm

Thank you to all who have submitted photos, podcasts, and video recommendations. We will publish a recommendation in each category every week. Please keep them coming!

Want to Contribute to Our Weekly Newsletter?

Our best recommendations come from you! Have you read a thought-provoking book? Listened to an insightful podcast? Found an article worth sharing? Captured a beautiful photo of Western Colorado? We want to feature your discoveries and perspectives in our Monday Update.

You can share resources, suggest topics you'd like RTB to address, or submit photos from around our community. All submissions can be anonymous or attributed to you; it's your choice.

Submit your recommendations here

Let's learn from each other and build a more informed community together.

Don't forget to vote in 2026: June primaries, November general.