‘We need our roads fixed’: ‘Peltonia’ Sen. Byron Pelton opens 75th session with reminder for Gov. Polis

By / / Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice

Sen. Byron Pelton, R-Sterling, claims to have already been at work for his constituency as the 75th General Assembly opened Wednesday.

Luckily, for Pelton, he ran into Gov. Jared Polis, and offered a gentle nudge, as Pelton — who claims to be from a place called “Peltonia” — is apt to do.

“The governor was talking to his transportation team and I reminded him that, in rural Colorado, where most of the money is generated in this state — $47 billion of agriculture money — that we need our roads fixed, especially in Senate District 1,” Pelton said.

It should not be a foreign subject to the governor. Pelton’s predecessor in District 1, Jerry Sonnenberg, once famously said: “We have potholes so big you better be wearing your spurs to hang on.” Others have noted a ride on Interstate 76 is about as smooth as in a Conestoga wagon during Westward Expansion. And, in Fort Morgan, residents pay an extra 1% sales tax to fund pothole repair.

Pelton correctly notes he comes from a district leading the state in production agriculture. He represents Weld County, with a leading annual production of about $2.5 billion in agricultural commodities, and home to the annual Colorado Farm Show. Yuma County, home to former U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, has an estimated annual production of about $1 billion, and Morgan County completes the top three agricultural counties in the state with an estimated $766 million in annual value, according to the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

Pelton’s district includes six of the top 10 agricultural counties in the state, including his home county of Logan — which he claims is third. Peltonia, named so for the counties represented by Byron and his cousin Rod Pelton, includes two more counties in the top 10 — Kit Carson and Prowers. The only top 10 agriculture counties not located in Peltonia are No. 7 Larimer and No. 10 Saguache.

And as to his reasoning to toss the first jab at the governor: “I just wanted to remind him of that on the start of a good session.”