Political Quotes

“I rise to commend a great public servant, John Swartout, for his dedicated service to the citizens of Colorado. After more than three decades of tireless service in the public policy arena, I congratulate John on the occasion of his retirement. John worked as an adviser to Colorado Governors Bill Owens and John Hickenlooper and U.S. Senator Wayne Allard on environmental, natural resource, energy, and public lands policy. John was instrumental in Federal land negotiations involving the Roan Plateau settlement, the closing of Rocky Flats, and the designation of Browns Canyon National Monument, James Peak Wilderness, Great Sand Dunes National Park, and the Spanish Peaks Wilderness Area. He also served as the head of policy for the State of Colorado on habitat protection efforts for the greater sage grouse and the Gunnison sage grouse. In these efforts, he showed an uncanny ability to balance habitat conservation goals with the private property rights of landowners. John grounded his work in integrity, trust, humor, and an innate ability to form coalitions and partnerships among even the most diverse groups. John himself would probably tell you his greatest accomplishment was helping people find common ground that then allowed them to work toward collaborative policy solutions that benefited their community and region.…”