Interview and summary by Genneca Houser
It was a very enjoyable and enlightening conversation with Senator John Cooke
of Weld County, Colorado. Recently, this area has been getting national
attention for a growing desire to secede from Colorado and join what we
all know as the state of Wyoming. Will it happen? Odds are not in their
favor. But, Senator Cooke took time to talk about how it might work,
why this movement is gaining traction, and where we may see the movement
go from here.
First, the process to go through in order for Weld County to become a
part of Wyoming is no easy journey. Sen. Cooke talks about the growing
amount of support, not only in Weld County but also in Wyoming. This
action would take approval from both state legislatures, as well as an
approval from Congress. Once that is done, there may even be another
step in gaining the popular vote from the people in Colorado. So even
though there has been talk of seeing the issue on the coming November
state ballot, it is not likely that the process will be there at that
point.
This is not the first time Weld County has been a part of a movement
to leave Colorado, though. In 2013, a similar idea was gaining
popularity that included 11 counties in total attempting to secede from
Colorado and create a 51st state; it was called “The 51st State Initiative.” Obviously
this wasn’t a successful endeavor, but Senator Cooke suggested that
this may have been what gave rise to the idea of seceding into Wyoming
this time.
“Because a lot of people were saying at that time, ‘well,
hey it doesn’t make sense to become the 51st state we oughta just be
annexed into Wyoming.” And I think that was… said in a way that made
people say, ‘yeah, that makes a lotta’ sense.” – Senator John Cooke
So, what happened to create so much unrest? A lack of consideration
for the rural part of Colorado, according to Sen. Cooke. The shut down
of small businesses, the devastating hits that the energy industry in CO
has taken, and now the attacks on the agriculture in rural Colorado
have made it clear to many people that the state of Colorado doesn’t
seem to be on the same page when it comes to how to take care of
business or how to look after their best interests.
“We’ve been talking about for years, the war on rural
Colorado down here… the Denver Democrats always kinda would say, ‘No,
there’s no war on rural Colorado.’ But no, I think they finally realize
that there is and they don’t really care.” -Senator John Cooke
Unfortunately, the real issue doesn’t seem to be rooted in a lack of
understanding for how to allow rural Colorado to thrive; the feeling
from Senator Cooke is that those who are wielding the power simply don’t
care about Weld County or rural Colorado.
“They just turned their back on Weld County and I hafta’
be honest with you, I think they hate Weld County. And so, I think they
hate our oil and gas, they hate our conservative stance on the freedom
of the second amendment, you know, gun rights, they don’t like the fact
that we produce a lot of agriculture in this state.” – Senator John
Cooke
Not everyone seems to see a problem, though. According to Colorado
Governor Polis,
