BY CHRISTINE WEAVER
Formerly of Los Alamos

As a former, long-time resident of Los Alamos, and neighbor and friend of Jason Chappel, I feel that I can give some of my perspective on his candidacy for the county council of Los Alamos.

I met Jason at Christmas of 2021 when he moved in next door ready to start a new position at Smiths. From the beginning he was personable and easy to talk to; someone I knew was going to be a great neighbor. Over time, I saw him from the aspect as a part of the Smiths’ team as well. There were many times he was called on his day off, or late at night, to handle an issue at the store. He always went with a can-do attitude, and took care of whatever needed doing. Looking back, this tells me that no matter what task he could be assigned as a council member or what issue needed to be dealt with, Jason would be one of the first people to do the necessary research and legwork.

As a Smiths manager, Jason is definitely customer/people oriented; always willing to listen to customers and do what he can to take their concerns seriously, whether they are positive or negative. He would do the same as a council member and I believe he’s demonstrated his openness with his efforts to be available at town events, with his hosted movie nights at SALA and his own Elect Jason Chappel Facebook page.

I know that he has been trying to find ways to help reduce waste at the Kroger store and in Los Alamos town-wide. I believe he will continue to explore more solutions that will benefit the town with as little cost to taxpayers as possible.

Jason is an open communicator and is always anxious to listen and speak about issues without judging other’s opinions. This would certainly be a welcome attribute for a county council member when it’s so necessary for residents to feel there is some transparency in their local
government. That has been needed for a long time and Jason is just the person to encourage this from the council as a whole.

On a personal note I know that Jason is fiscally responsible, an attribute he would carry over to the county council. He has always been a firm believer in the importance of good health care availability, and the idea of supporting local businesses in Los Alamos.

Suffice it to say that if I still lived in my hometown, I would not hesitate to vote for Jason and would be confident that my vote was a wise one. Unfortunately, I can’t cast a ballot there, but I hope I can encourage residents to vote for Jason Chappel in November.