The real loser of Dillon’s Recall election is not John Woods, Renee Imamura, or me, Dana Christiansen. It’s the Town of Dillon.

Slightly over half the voting citizens of Dillon (57%) bought into the steady stream of lies and misinformation coming from the recall committee. Recall committee members Laura Johnson and Barb Richards did an effective job of painting a grim picture of the future of an almost dystopian Dillon mired in metro district debt. Richards and Johnson continuously misinformed and outright lied about metro districts in general, our metro district service plan, the developer, and the possible adverse outcomes for Dillon.

Now the courts will get to sort out the relevant statements that Laura Johnson “continues to stand by,” with both Johnson and Richards receiving a cease-and-desist letter from the developer’s lawyer sent to the Summit County District Attorney urging an investigation into potential violations related to election laws. In light of these legal entanglements with developer Jake Porritt, will Barb Richards now have to recuse herself from all votes having to do with his developments and the metro district due to conflict-of-interest rules?

The entire situation boils down to choosing to see Dillon’s future from either a standpoint of fear or from a standpoint of possibilities. John, Renee, and I have always chosen to see the almost unlimited possibilities for Dillon’s future and have worked tirelessly to try to make Dillon the best it can be. The recall committee members have chosen to plant the seeds of fear among Dillon’s citizens with their deliberate campaign of lies and misinformation.

My hope is that Dillon’s citizens will learn to view the development and redevelopment of Dillon from the perspective of possibilities. It’s not healthy to live in fear of possible adverse outcomes that aren’t even really possibilities if we all stick to the truth.