I want to thank the 59th House District for the opportunity to represent them in Denver. It has been a great experience! I will forever be grateful.

But why would any decent and honest human being run for an elected office? Why would anyone put their reputation and the reputation of a good family on the line to compete to represent the people of their district, state or country? I knew that my reelection race would be tough. I knew that the Democrat party wanted the 59th House district more than anything. I knew that the Democrats had gerrymandered the 59th district by taking away Montezuma County to elect a Democrat. And I also knew that by stepping into the political arena, under the law, anyone can say anything about me or my family and there is not one thing that I can do about it.

But is that right? I think not! Is a person who ventures into politics somehow subhuman? I think not! It is not right for anyone or any group to be able to knowingly lie about any person, including any politician, with the express purpose of ruining their reputation. To continue down this road will result in the ruination of our country. The law must be changed to protect the truth.

I will continue to fight for Colorado and America. The future of this great country and the future of my children and grandchildren and yours is too important to quit. I will continue to be involved at whatever level that I can.

We must continue to fight for individual property rights. Central regulation of the use of private property by government at any level does not work. We must also continue to fight for the right to own guns to protect ourselves from the tyranny of government or from the invasion by another country.

Our nation and state are in trouble. It is estimated that Obamacare will cost the state of Colorado $1 billion. That is $1 billion out of a $7 billion budget. Where will we get the money? We must either go to the people for a tax increase, which is unlikely, or we must take it out of the current budget, and since over 50 percent of the budget goes to K-12 that is where most of the cuts will be made.

President Obama has not suggested any spending cuts and in fact is proposing spending increases in a budget that borrows 40 percent of its total. This is not sustainable!

It makes me wonder if our president wants things to get so bad that the federal government can come to the rescue, the country will become even more dependent, free enterprise will be the villain, and socialism will triumph. I'll still be fighting for freedom.

J. Paul Brown has represented House District 59 in Colorado's General Assembly. The district formerly included parts of Montezuma County.

Beginning Jan. 1, all of Montezuma County will be in House District 58. State Rep. Don Coram, of Montrose, won re-election to that district. He can be contacted by emailing don@doncoram.com or phoning (303) 866-2955.