The past month has been a whirlwind for our country. Abrupt changes in the infrastructure of the federal government, the functions of government, and the future of government have been shaken to their core.
A quote from Dwight D. Eisenhower states, “You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics.”

Logistics are the primary determining factor of how initiatives and efforts succeed, and how they fail. Logistics include what is being done, how it’s being done, the price it’s being done for, why it’s being done, and what will happen when it stops being done.

All of these are criteria which government officials should consider when making decisions and changes in government. Changes should happen slowly, taking into consideration the above questions to ensure the outcome does not gravely cripple, break, or hurt the people the government exists to serve.

The room for margin of error is incredibly small in government, because the possible implications of errors could and likely will have grave consequences.

As editor of the Questa del Rio News, I have been transparent that I work full-time as a government communicator in my job with the city and county of Denver. I work as a communications manager, and I have been at the forefront of many decisions, changes, and initiatives for the constituency I serve. I travel to Questa biweekly, sometimes more often, and I also work remotely in Questa as needed, which affords me the opportunity to be in the community where we run this publication.

Because of my experience working in government in an executive leadership role that is frequently responsible for implementing strategy and change, I am highly concerned about the recent decisions and changes happening at the federal level for our country.

Termination notices have been sent to employees at the U.S. Forest Service, Department of Education, Small Business Administration, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, General Services Administration, and the USAid.
To take a closer look at what these agencies do for the American people, I did some research to find how eliminating these few select departments would impact the American people.

Let’s take the Department of Education, for example. The department was created in 1980 by then President Jimmy Carter. The president of the National Education Association, Becky Pringle, said, “If the department of education folds, it would steal resources for our most vulnerable students, explode class sizes, cut job training programs, make higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle class families, take away special education services for students with disabilities, and gut student civil rights protections.”

The Department of Education is a critical champion in enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination and ensuring every student has access to an education that will help them reach their full potential. Dismantling means defunding programs that feed, educate, and protect our most vulnerable and underserved students, and leaving many families fearful and anxious, with communities reeling.

Elon Musk was not confirmed as an appointee of an agency that has been dismantling many agencies which serve millions of Americans in our country, before even weighing the implications of these actions. He does not have public service experience and further, has major conflicts of interest as he has nearly 100 federal contracts benefiting his companies, totaling $3 billion per year (source USASpending.gov). As a government employee, I am not allowed to make money with the city and county of Denver in any other capacity than my full-time role, without disclosing it to avoid conflicts of interest. Why? Because it’s unethical and I would then be working for my personal interests—not the interests of the people.

At this point in time, it’s going to be crucial for all people to unite to have vital and difficult conversations about what is happening in our country. How you voted or why is not important at this point. Reach out to your local leaders to voice your support and disagreement with decisions happening at the federal level, decisions which will have real-world impacts on our local communities in northern New Mexico. This unity is going to be crucial to fight to maintain the founding principles America was founded on. This is not a partisan issue, it’s an American issue and that is what will make America great for generations to come.