Eye On Englewood

Link: http://www.EyeOnEnglewood.com

A Halloween yard decoration witch crackles at my knees. “It only takes a few little beggars to spoil the stew!"… I am meeting up with Matt Crabtree on his early morning campaign rounds in Englewood.

“So Matt, with only seven percent of the vote in at Nancy Doty’s office, I thought I’d track you through the leaves and see what good you might offer for the people of Englewood.”

Matthew Crabtree’s open face begins to shine in the chilly open morning sun.

“I hope I can bring some.” He nods and smiles.

“What have people been saying to you on the campaign trail?”

“Well, it’s definitely been interesting,” he admits. “I put my contact number on my door hangers during the very first weekend, I got some hate calls where people would say to me, ‘I know you’re a right-wing conspiracy nut and I hope you lose!’ Then, they would hang up anonymously without even given me a chance to respond. That was unnerving.”

“Are you a right-wing… whatever nut?” I ask.

“No.” He says emphatically. “Actually, if you look at the political parties, I align with my opponent, Woodward, but political parties should not be the issue in a municipal election. Non-partisanship input should be heard on the issues.”

“Okay, let’s start with the only issue Englewood put on the ballot this election. Term issues. Isn’t City Council hoping for a third term? If you get in, wouldn’t that issue also work to your advantage?”

“I was sitting in the audience the night the City voted to add that to the ballot. I almost laughed when I saw the Council vote yes on it. Personally, I believe that adding another four years to their terms is just a third-world prank of dictators.”

“Wow. Third world? Why?”

“Well, it doesn’t help any political geography when there is no change over. Our country’s presidents don’t even get any more than two terms in office. It only reflects our Council’s small-minded attempt to maintain control. So no, even for my benefit. I just don’t believe a third term is a good idea.”

“You’ve done well for being the underdog, Matt. I certainly see a lot of your signs all over, Matt, and I saw your bio in the Englewood Citizen. It looked authentic and focused. Good for you. Anything you wish to add to that?”

“Well, I think all three of us, Rick Gillit, Doug Cohn, and myself are running on similar issues. And we need to get all three of us into Council to make the change over.

“Accessible government, will re-instill trust. A cut in budget spending in the right areas will bring about true value for taxes. I want to bring in more businesses to Englewood and work with people to achieve a better community.”

“Right now the Council has sat on their hands too long. They put requests from residents and businesses into a holding pattern.

“None of them have received any training from the City on the code, or how their roles interact with Colorado law. They have no idea how to research their own code or come up with creative and timely direction, so everyone suffers.

“It’s one thing not to require legal knowledge when you get elected. It’s just not acceptable to continue in that ignorance year after year. They have a job to do. It’s not just a social board. We can’t afford to have them remain ignorant year after year.”

“Hey, must be trick-or-treat in Englewood!” I laugh.

Matt clears his throat. “I’ve watched people actually cry in front of Council, begging for relief, and Council sits there enjoying the power they hold over them. That’s their response. The Mayor did not even know his own job description two months ago when a resident was asking for relief. The City Attorney had to cut into the Mayor’s response, and correct him… ouch!”

I agree. A Mayor should know his City code and his own job description. But, my feet are beginning to hurt and Matt still has ground to cover, so I ask, “Anything else?”

“Well, I think it’s backwards for Englewood to cut out the people’s parades, theater events, social items like fireworks, festivals and concerts as a means to cutting the budget.

“Those kinds of events create community. Great signage creates an interesting community. Community creates tax revenues. I want to be pro-active, not a small-minded micro-manager of someone else’s business.

I say, “Oh, did you hear that Mayor Woodward has some flyer out there telling people to call him before they vote for Matthew Crabtree?”

“Ha-ha, Yes I did. Someone I know in District One took him up on that offer, and called. ‘You know what Jim said?… He said the Appellate Court had overstepped its authority in Englewood and that is why Englewood lost the signage war on Broadway!”

“You gotta be kidding.”

“No. I’m not. City Council, in my way of thinking, should be servants of the law. Not the other way around. The present Council thinks they can do anything they want just because they are “Home Rule".

“I actually believe the Constitution is still alive, that Colorado statutes regulate Home Rule and that Englewood’s City Charter holds the limits for our code. If our codes come up against those laws, then they are wrong, and I hope to lighten up the load legally on our businesses and residents when I’m on council.

“Well, I hear you are making friends on the campaign trail. Keep going to those neighborhood parties and just enjoy the process buddy. I gotta go to work.”

Matt shakes my hand firmly. “Me too.” And shouts at my back, “Have a happy Halloween, Bill!”

Link: http://www.EyeOnEnglewood

I caught Rick Gillit between Real Estate appointments, and found the man able to close a deal.

"Okay, Rick," I say, "Let's cut to the chase. Your bio in the Englewood Citizen doesn't offer up much about you beyond your private life. Why?"

"Well, there's a lot of negativity going on in Englewood right now and I kind of wanted to separate myself from that."

"Meaning, what? The City's intrusion into private business practices or the debacle on Pearl Street?"

"Aw, come on, now." He says. "I think that thing over on Pearl is an anomaly. The Bartnicks have some nasty people for neighbors. That doesn't mean the rest of the City is like that. Englewood is better than that, and I want to focus on the positive."

"But you agree that diversity should be allowed in Englewood, including boarding houses?"

"Funny thing. I think Mr. and Mrs. Bartnick believe it's about mixed races living together, and that is certainly the way the City Council prosecuted them, but I think the whole thing was more about small egos who were jealous of that house they built. It's a very nice new house."

"One of the things I read about that issue and you was over a year ago. You appeared at City Council on the side of the boarding houses. Why?"

"Bill, again, I felt those students were harmless. They weren't a frat house. They lived with the Bartnicks. They hadn't done anything wrong, and there is the humanitarian aspect that my wife and I believe in, so we supported. But, just last week, I had some lady who sits on the Code Enforcement committee chase me to my car taking pictures of me and my car saying, "I know who you are! I don't want your election crap!" Frankly, the woman's venom frightened me. City council really handled this thing poorly."

I test him. "Gillit, you gotta know it was a single family neighborhood. Concerns are raised..."

"Look. I'm in the real estate business, and so is Mayor Woodward. He knows and I know that single family housing means a house built in a structural style that allows for a family to live there. It doesn't mean someone with a four bedroom house can't rent out the empty rooms to three seminary students. It just doesn't. The City overstepped."

"Then there's that issue like the sign code thing that showed the present City Council was on the wrong side of the law. You're a proponent of free speech. Why don't you capitalize on that?"

"Yeah, exactly." Says, Rick. "But you gotta be sensitive to parents too. It's a touchy issue when pot smoking Alice in Wonderland murals are allowed within the meaning of free speech. You can see why the idea of heavy regulation and government controls appeal to some who don't know how to discuss these things with their kids."

"That pot smoking thing. It's another hot topic for Englewood with medical marijuana pharmacies isn't it?"

Rick grimaces and rolls his eyes. "Yeah, my district 4, at the south end of Broadway is being called, "Broaderdam. That's what I'm hearing as I walk the district."

"What can you offer on that one?" I ask.

"My thing with that is that it's already legal. I'm not gonna argue with the law in Colorado. What I want to do is help protect the property owners who might have their buildings confiscated by the FBI if the pharmacies overstep the law. We don't want to see more empty storefronts all over Broadway."

"Do you have any plans along that line?"

"Sure," says Rick. "And, I think that they shouldn't be zoned in with the pawn shops. They should be zoned like other pharmacies in Englewood...or like liquor stores."

"So, tell me about the dog issues Rick. Seems Englewood continues to argue about dogs year after year. Can you pull the City off of that hill?"

"Absolutely." Rick crosses his arms. "I have dogs. I know they need to run. But we can't have them scaring the elderly or the children, or people with disabilities. They need their own park."

"You're gonna make that happen?"

"2009? Why not? The Council seems to think it's the vote of the majority that counts. The one with the biggest stick. I think the City Council is afraid to step on each other's toes. Wayne Oakley has said outright, I think twice on Monday nights, that he won't vote against Jill or Woodward. I can vote my conscience."

Link: http://www.EyeOnEnglewood.com

What's the difference in a candidate for City Council who attends a crucial City budget meeting, grading a stack of papers throughout, and a child who doodles during Mass?

It's the difference it takes in mental acuity to concentrate on the subject matter at hand. A postman understands this. A pilot understands it. Anyone who works with his hands knows it is possible to process other data, but it is not possible to divide one's analytical attention and process two sets of data at once. Candidate for City Council, Linda Olson, hopes she can downplay the difference by her presence at City Council on Monday night.

How does Olson analyze and grade papers while absorbing critical budget allocations taking place?

Is this how she intends to do business for the people of Englewood if elected?

Doug Cohn and I met up outside the Cohn law offices.

I ask Doug Cohn what his plans are for Council compared to the Ms. Olson's stated intent. He answers,"I want a full service city because that is what we are already paying for."

"The city council makes all its budget decisions without seeing the whole budget," says Cohn. "How can intelligent decisions be made about spending forty million dollars if we do not have all the information? Matt Crabtree just requested a copy of the budget on disc, and the Clerk's answer was that the City doesn't have it computerized. None of us feel that's acceptable."

"Why do you feel the need to access the budget directly rather than delegating to City staff?" I ask.

"I see City Council members as the overseers, the policy makers in the City. We have to know what the line items are before we can study and delegate management of the budget to Gary Sears. There are debits, credits and transfers... I have questions about where millions of dollars have gone, grant funds, brownsfield chemical clean up money, and other strange happenings with taxes."

I say that I saw in the Englewood Citizen, Linda Olson's bio which reads like a professional marketing piece, while borrowing phrases from you, (Cohn), such as "transparency of government."

My observation is that Linda, in less than a month before elections, still fails to find time to concentrate on issues facing Englewood. She may be a nice person, but will she really listen when you have an issue? Will she read her council packet before voting? Or, will she bring papers to grade behind her council chair?

I say to Doug, "Olson states that she stands for your voice and your access to city management, yet her own interest in government shows exactly how much she values the access. Where has she been these last few years on Monday evenings?"

"Hummm... good question..."

..."While your concerns over Englewood foreclosures,forced paving of your driveways, grandfathering issues, property rights, dog rights and sewer fees were being debated in Council, when did she ever show up to listen, weigh in with a perspective?"

"Well, Linda is a very nice person, but she's busy with other things."

"While you seem to be running on some lofty Constitutional issues," I say. "What would you say is the most important Constitutional issue to you?"

"I believe that power follows property rights. Those rights are even more important than free speech. If you gut a guy's financial power to assets, or free choice in how to use that property, what is the purpose of owning property?"

"I've heard there's been an ongoing debate about off-leash dog parks over the years. Do you mind saying anything on that?"

Doug says, "Rick Gillit and I agree on that one. Let's find more spaces around town that can be used as off leash places. Not Jason Park. Dogs will never be given a higher priority than children when we are elected. There is a financial liability there for Englewood, and we have enough irons in the courtroom fires already. Humans must be protected. Government's role is to protect the most vulnerable. Not, special interests."

I agree. Olson lacks interest. How can she be a leader? Maybe she wants some Christmas cash. Even a pretty face can clearly betray a casual, "whatever" attitude because actions still speak louder than words.

Link: http://www.EyeOnEnglewood.com

New meaning has been given to this phrase during the election period in Englewood. One night last week, City Council challenger’s signs (Matt Crabtree and Rick Gillit) West of Broadway mysteriously disappeared off of their supporters’ front lawns.

When Rick Gillit found his signs posted all in one yard, he called the police for permission to remove them.

When the Englewood Police arrived on the scene, the local high school coach also drove up asking the police not to make out a report because it was just a cheerleader’s prank and was supervised by adults. The police explained that the so called “prank” was actually trespass and theft.

Police also explained to Mr. Gillit that only the persons whose signs were stolen could submit a formal Complaint. Yet, the signs continue to disappear all over town, including Doug Cohn’s in District 2.

A concerned citizen then requested the Englewood Herald to report the underhanded electioneering activities of the present City Council supervising and instigating the thefts and trespasses, then discounting them as “pranks”.

The reason this activity is much more than a “prank” is because challenging candidates are to be permitted equal access to obtaining office. Citizens are to be provided equal opportunity to the issues through advertising or the entire election may be overturned and the funds spent on this election wasted. Being impeded by Council members who have just voted to allow themselves a third term in office, is not just a prank. It goes to the heart of a republic (under law) and democracy (informed voting).

In 35 years, will these pretty young heads and buff wrestler bodies waste away into mirrors of their mentors?

Take another look at these “mentors.” They have just lost an important Constitutional battle against taking of private property. They have been accused of corruption and malfeasance of office.

Mayor Woodward and Bob McCaslin have been served with an Arapahoe County District Court conspiracy case, together with City Manager Sears and Attorney Brotzman and Judge Atencio. These charges do not depict “responsibility or commitment” but are very serious charges of mismanagement, violating the City Charter and ordinances, wasting taxpayer’s money to ruin individual’s lives whom they dislike or who may have recourse to unseat them, and laziness in training or implementing policies to protect Englewood residents and business owners.

Yesterday, the Denver Post published an article detailing the Constitution does still rule over Home Rule. The present City Council’s choices to take private business property rights was overruled by the Supreme Court. It’s time some shoulders were shaken and some legal advisers were fired. It’s time for a full turn-over of those who govern Englewood as a body.