This week, the Cibola Citizen printed the full text of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. That decision was not made lightly, nor was it made for nostalgia. These documents are more than ink and parchment; they are our country's moral spine. They remind us who we are— and who we are supposed to be.
We print our nation’s founding documents not only in celebration of Independence Day, but in a moment of serious reflection. A moment where the connection between the national government and state/local government has never been more important and in question.
For generations, Americans have drawn strength from the promises written in our national founding documents. And while their reach is global, their purpose is deeply local. The Declaration of Independence was not addressed to kings alone—it was meant for people. People who believed they could govern themselves. People in places like the City of Grants.
The idea of self-governance was a radical idea. Blood has been shed for it. The idea that the people control their government must be renewed with every generation.
This week, we also shared the story of Mother Lucy Jane Whiteside— the woman who brought over 450 children into the world here in Cibola County, fought fires on Mount Sedgwick, and served as the town's midwife, caregiver, and friend. But I want to tell you about another important woman to the fabric of Cibola County, one whose name may be more familiar but whose story is often left behind: Dolley Madison.
In 1814, as the British army advanced on Washington D.C. during the War of 1812, First Lady Dolley Madison refused to flee the White House until she had rescued the most important symbols of our young nation: the original Declaration of Independence and Gilbert Stuart's full-length portrait of George Washington. She packed them carefully and escaped just hours before the British torched the city. Her actions preserved pieces of our founding history that we still cherish today. Her bravery was not with a musket or a saber, but with a belief that some things are too important to leave behind.
Dolley Madison was more than the wife of a president. She was a visionary hostess, a political force in her own right, and the woman who created the very role of 'First Lady.' She knew that the republic her husband James helped design would need more than laws and armies—it would need culture, connection, and courage. She gave it all three.
Dolley was given the term “First Lady” by US President Zachary Taylor on July 18, 1849, during her eulogy. This was the same year Mount Taylor received its English name, after the president. Taylor himself was ill and only served one year and four months in office.
From Dolley Madison saving the founding documents to Mother Whiteside saving the lives of generations of New Mexicans, these women remind us that democracy isn’t just preserved in marble buildings. It’s protected by people who care enough to act.
That brings us to the present.
As we honor the Declaration and Constitution, we must also look honestly at how we uphold our own local founding document: the City Charter of Grants. Without looking too deeply, we can see there is a problem.
The preamble to the charter reads: “We, the citizens of the City of Grants, pursuant to the Constitution and laws of the State of New Mexico, in order to secure the advantages of local selfgovernment, do hereby enact this Charter for the City of Grants, New Mexico.”
Yet in recent years, this Charter has not been treated with the respect it deserves. Term limits were removed without voter approval. Provisions have been ignored or misapplied. In 2023, a Charter Committee was formed to address these concerns, but no final report was ever submitted. No public presentation. No accountability.
The Grants City Charter is not a suggestion. It is the governing document of this city. And when the government fails to follow it, willingly or otherwise, it is not just a bureaucratic error—it is a breach of public trust.
And what a shame it would be, to print the Declaration and Constitution in these pages while ignoring the violations against the charter of the largest city in Cibola County.
We cannot call ourselves defenders of democracy if we are unwilling to defend it here, in our own community.
This column is not written in anger, but in reverence. Reverence for the brave souls who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to build a republic. Reverence for Dolley Madison, who saved the legacy of our founders. Reverence for Mother Whiteside, who gave her life to serve her neighbors. Reverence for the generations of citizens in Grants who believed in local self-government, and voted to enact a Charter that would protect it.
Now, the burden is on us.
You see, the Grants City Charter is more than just a local policy document — it is the constitutional framework for how the City of Grants governs itself. Under both the New Mexico Constitution (Article X, Section 6) and the Municipal Charter Act, any amendment to the charter must be approved by a majority of voters in a public election. This process ensures that the people — not just the city council — retain final authority over the fundamental rules that shape their government. When the City Council amends the charter by ordinance or resolution without voter approval, it bypasses this democratic safeguard and violates the charter’s own rules. (Seriously, amendments to this charter were so important to the people who wrote it, that they left a detailed explanation of how to amend the charter in the preamble.)
The danger in allowing such amendments without a vote is not just legal — it’s civic. If the Council can change term limits, powers, duties, or election rules by itself, then the Charter becomes whatever the council of the day wants it to be — not what the people agreed to. This undermines trust in local government and opens the door to future overreach, even if current intentions are benign. In the 2016 term limit case, for example, the City may have been justified in removing a provision ruled unconstitutional, but the proper process was still to bring the revised charter to the voters. Failing to do so set a precedent that the city’s foundational document can be rewritten without public consent — a slippery slope for any government that claims to serve the people.
We owe it to the people of Cibola County to treat our founding documents— national and local—with the seriousness they deserve. We owe it to our children to model civic responsibility. And we owe it to ourselves to be better stewards of the freedoms we celebrate each July 4.
I am proud to be an American. I know the newspaper is proud to be in Cibola County. And I am proud to print the Constitution in this edition.
If we want to keep calling ourselves a free people, we must ensure that every level of our government, from the halls of Congress to the streets of Grants, is guided not by convenience, but by principle.
Let this Independence Day be more than a celebration. Let it be a recommitment— to the documents that define us, the stories that inspire us, and the vigilance that freedom demands.
A republic, if we can keep it. And here in Ci-