Mike Samson

Happy coincidence or strategic tipping of his campaign hand? That’s what Garfield County Democrats must be wondering after the “surprise” appearance of Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Scott McInnis at the local GOP’s Lincoln Day Dinner Saturday night in Glenwood Springs.
McInnis, a former six-term U.S. congressman born and raised in Glenwood, showed up among a bevy of [...]

The Garfield County commissioners continue to take potshots at the state over perceived lapses in oil and gas drilling enforcement for water contamination, deciding Monday to demand more answers in the now-infamous West Divide Creek benzene and methane leak of 2004.
According to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, county consultant Dr. Geoffrey Thyne insists the seep [...]

A grass-roots citizen’s group troubled by air and water pollution from natural gas drilling in Garfield County expressed “extreme disappointment” Monday when the county commissioners voted 2-1 to oppose more federal oversight of the industry.

The Garfield County commissioners Monday did decide to fire off a strongly-worded resolution condemning contamination of drinking water by the natural-gas industry. It just wasn’t the resolution some people expected.
Despite some speculation the commissioners might vote Monday on a resolution of support for the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act, a measure introduced [...]

GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Everyone was a film critic Monday at a somewhat tense screening of the new anti-gas-drilling documentary “Split Estate” for the Garfield County commissioners. Most of the reviews — surprisingly, even from the industry — were glowing.

GLENWOOD SPRINGS — An expected showdown over support or rejection of the FRAC Act by one of Colorado’s most drilled counties fizzled a bit Monday when the Garfield County commissioners decided to delay any resolution on the federal hydraulic fracturing legislation until they see a movie on the topic and take more public input.

Gov. Bill Ritter may have triggered a party divide last week on the controversial hydraulic fracturing gas-drilling process, bucking fellow Democrat and U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette. But it’s a pure party line issue in natural gas-rich ground zero Garfield County.

Two Democrats who lost out in a nasty election for the Garfield County board of commissioners last year say the main reason they were targeted by the oil and gas industry was something that happened earlier in 2008 in neighboring Rio Blanco County.

One Garfield County commissioner is trying to make the others toe the party line behind majority opinions.

Two Democrats running for county commissioner in Garfield County have accused conservative front groups with energy-industry backing of reaching new lows with deceptive attack ads and mailers, including one made to look like a legitimate newspaper.