When I vote for a person to represent me on Lakewood’s City Council, I am actually hiring a person to speak for me on city matters. I look for someone I can trust to follow basic rules of good behavior: To tell the truth, to keep her word, and to listen to citizen concerns. In addition, I expect my candidate will have the good sense to look at what is best for the city as a whole rather than vote according to narrow partisan interests. I expect my representative to be willing to study issues fully and vote intelligently.
Luckily, Ward 3 has a great candidate for Lakewood City Council who meets all of these expectations: Her name is Shakti. I am proud to support her and help in a small way with her campaign.
Shakti has an unusual name — not a name she chose, but a name given by her mother at birth. It is the only name she has ever had and she uses it proudly. Shakti is young and energetic. She is working hard to win your vote. She has already been walking in Ward 3 and has knocked on over 3,000 doors to meet citizens and listen to their concerns. Has she been at your door yet? If not, no doubt you will see her soon. I hope you will take the time to learn more about her. You can check her website at www.shaktiforlakewood.org. Once you know her, I’m sure she will have your vote.
Lorna Fox
Lakewood
A good question for voters
Last Tuesday, the Jeffco Board of County Commissioners held a briefing to determine whether the Jeffco 5 Grassroots group would have the opportunity at a public hearing to present a proposal that asks voters to increase the board of commissioners from three to five members on the 2014 ballot.
At present, three commissioners are voted in by the entire county. Jeffco 5 is asking that we increase the number of commissioners to five, and elect them only from the districts they represent. This will lower their constituencies to above 100,000, make campaigning affordable, and make for more responsive service.
One commissioner, Casey Tighe has demonstrated support for having this proposal heard. The other two, Faye Griffin and Don Rosier have not. Commissioner Tighe asked that the Jeffco 5 proposal be scheduled for a public hearing. This was rejected. A telephone “Town Hall” was proposed, allowing those who support or oppose the effort to call in. This too was rejected. Finally, a phone Town Hall this fall, where the county will call random voters, was approved. This was not what Jeffco 5 had hoped for.
Since the increase in number of commissioners directly affects those on the current board (dilutes their power), they should recuse themselves from this decision and send it directly to the voters on the 2014 ballot. If no such action is taken, Jeffco 5 will begin a petition drive to do so. The actions of two members of this board do not reflect a tone of responsiveness to its citizens. Their refusal to even allow Jeffco 5 to be heard is highly disappointing.
Collecting 25,000 signatures on petitions may be a more difficult task than having a cooperative BCC put the proposal on the ballot, but it is not one that Jeffco 5 will shy from. Stay tuned for future activities regarding this sensible proposal: Let the voters decide!
Ray Goodhart
Golden