Here they come.

Get ready for 14 statewide ballot questions. Yup, 14.

Oh, there’s more.

The Sentinel this year is working to bring you and everyone news and details about nearly 100 candidates running for more than 40 seats for county commissioner, governor, RTD board member, assessor, Congress, state representative, sheriff and a seemingly endless parade of judges and more in Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties, all asking for your vote soon.

The good news? No need to study candidates for dog catcher. In Aurora, they’re appointed.

I remind you about all this in the shadow of President Donald Trump’s latest tantrum in the White House, bleating and wailing that CNN, Politico and MS Now just keep reporting on all the wild and unbelievable stuff Trump says and does.

Rather than just repeat or record what Trump says, like news stations such as Fox News often do, reporters at the three outcast media have the unmitigated gall to continually fact check Trump and his administration. They repeatedly and immediately report context and offer viewers and readers comments from people who disagree with Trump, often real experts on the reported subjects.

I’m not saying that TV news, all of it, doesn’t come with built in dramatic effect. Mesmerizing b-roll, sound bites and zoom-ins of Trump nodding off are included to keep you watching.

What Trump doesn’t understand is that his problem actually isn’t with sound reporting about his White House, his problem is that the real news media continues to soundly report on his White House.

Trump is the problem, not the reporting.

This is easy to understand and test, even if you disagree with me. What has CNN, MS Now or Politico reported that was inaccurate or not sourced?

His poll numbers are in the toilet, and that’s a fact. Those polled say they don’t like the job Trump is doing because of his tariffs, his Iran war, and his repeated indifference to an economy that is killing un-rich people.

Voters aren’t pissed as all hell because of the reporting by CNN and Politico of those things. They’re livid because of what’s happening in real time in their real lives.

I can’t imagine a better modern metaphor for “shoot the messenger” than Trump’s disastrous presidency and the tantrums he just cannot control.

The critical part of this is that the Washington media, the Colorado media, including the Sentinel, can’t and won’t change course to appease political power, or any power.

That’s the point of what we do as journalists.

Now, back to Colorado and our giant-ass election.

The chances are pretty good that if you’ve read this far, you’re the kind of person who likes to have details and context about the candidates and issues you check boxes on in your ballot.

Would you trust just the social media posts, TV commercials and direct mail pieces from the candidates themselves or the organizations that spent millions of dollars to get about a dozen ballot initiatives in front of you in a couple of weeks?

Sure, consider the source for cues and clues about why someone is running for office or why voters should make decisions about land use or tax policy. But for accurate and tested information, context and vetted details, only the news media can shine a credible bright light on election matters at hand.

It’s no different than CNN, MS Now and Politico shining a white hot light on Trump and his follies, bringing you his very word, his very image, and the extreme reality he so frequently discounts, ignores and rejects every single day.

If you’re cheering for Trump in his recent illegal push against those news media and that immovable First Amendment that says, “oh no you can’t,” you’re the ones that P.T. Barnum was credited for talking about, pointing out there’s one born every minute. The real source was likely New York banker David Hannum, according to historians.

Whether you love or hate the reporting and editorials from the Sentinel, or the Denver Post or the Durango Herald or 9News with Kyle Clark, you can’t get away from the fact that what we all do is based on facts, not wishes or dreams or good or bad intentions.

Just the facts, man.

Just this week, Russian citizens went to polls and elected by a large margin the arm of the government there that perpetuates and controls the media propaganda machines, which are not in any way based on facts or what we know here as journalism.

We should feel deep sorrow and pity for Russian citizens this week, not envy.

We should all see that what Trump is seeking is exactly what Russia suffers from, a lack of the very media that Trump just threw out of the White House.

Here’s what you need to do. Tune in to our election coverage, and that of all the other real media in the state and region.

Then, make up your own mind about what and who deserves your “yes” vote, rather than allow Trump or any candidate or issue proponent make those decisions for you.

Then, get out your check book or credit card and subscribe or donate to the media you depend on to tell you what’s really going on in your community and your state, rather than allow Trump or your city councilperson or RTD director to tell you what’s real and what’s really not.

Click here to support the non-profit Sentinel Colorado, a 501(C)(3). Click here to go to the Colorado News Collaborative to find out how to support other favorite media. 

Most of all, understand that the United States is still here, mostly intact, because free and unfettered media keep it from sliding into becoming something else. And the media needs your help and support to keep that mission strong.

 Follow @EditorDavePerry on BlueSky, Threads, Mastodon, Twitter and Facebook or reach him at 303-750-7555 or [email protected]

Read more Aurora prep sports scoreboard, 9.21.26

Read more Colorado Prop 134 would ban the few transgender students who play school sports

Read more Aurora lawmakers lean toward public rebuke of tough-on-crime fentanyl Proposition 132