oooops!

Forgot to put my name on my last post.
I take credit (or guff ) for:
BF mayor(s)? gotta say it....

By Chris

To Joan

Broomfield does not try to use loopholes to get want it wants. As I've noted before, at the statewide 1998 election, Broomfield voters voted 62% in favor of the city/county.
Broomfield residents, or anyone else, had the right and the opportunity to appear before the state senate and house committee hearings. There were stories in the Broomfield Enterprise, Boulder Daily Camera, Denver Post, and Rocky Mtn News regarding these hearings. All of these hearings were not held at the same time. If someone who was opposed to the city/county amendment or who had problems with the process leading up to the hearings read about the first hearing, it seems to me that person would make sure he or she knew when the next hearing was going to be held, would attend the subsequent hearings, and let his or her views be known. To say that Broomfield residents or any other interested parties were not aware of the fact that the general assembly was considering placing the city/county amendment on the statewide ballot is not true. You should also be aware that it takes a two thirds majority vote of both the senate and the house to place a matter on the statewide ballot.

By BBW

to BBW

When did Broomfield post that any hearings would be conducted at the local level to discuss the findings of the feasibility study? These people still think they are getting their own school district. The feasibility study itself is clearly a preliminary document, too many details are not answered and are still not answered. Anyone voting in favor of this issue would have been a fool. They are blind and now those people are going to pay for such foolishness if this thing goes through.

When did these papers post that hearings were open for public comment? Nothing was said, everything was rushed through. I recall a quote by a senator that sponsored your referendum. Gee, had we given these guys (senate and legislature) any longer time to analyze this we may have lost it! The senate and legislature should have waited, they made a foolish decision based upon inaccurate information and lies.

I may not be affected by the BF county issue, but I do take changing the Colorado State Constitution very seriously. The way this was presented and accepted was not what my father, grandfather, and great grandfather went to war for!

By Joan

Why so deceptive?

You continually restate that 62% of Broomfield voters chose to form the combined city and county of Broomfield. Thank you. There is little need to mention it again. In response, once again, we need to point out that few Broomfield residents, or any Colorado voters for that matter, knew the true consequences of the endeavor. We were told it would cost only $18 million. We were told the school districts would be consolidated. We were told taxes would be lowered. Basically, we were convinced that we would be doing a wonderful service for Broomfield. We were na?¯ve and too easily misled.

Even the most cynical among us could not have imagined the extent and severity of the hidden agendas involved in pushing this issue to the voters. You keep citing that citizens had ample notice of the process and were allowed to speak out against it at any time. Unfortunately, as in the case of most unethical operations, only the minimum effort as required by law was expended to make sure citizens were informed and able to participate. Had this truly been such a wonderful development for Broomfield, the city council would have had it routinely profiled on the evening news as a means of stacking their own political portfolios with profound accomplishments. You repeatedly make generalized statements of how ideally the process was conducted. Yet, you refuse to provide a single documented example of how any and all voters could have been FULLY informed and then allowed to oppose the process. This only shows the vague and deceptive approach that Broomfield officials take when dealing with residents. Doing just enough to be able to claim that they acted on their behalf is not good leadership.

You mention articles in the Broomfield Enterprise and other local publications regarding the hearings in the general assembly. Tell me, did those articles mention anything about the unconstitutional nature of the process? Did they outline the special interests of Interlocken or the land developers who would eventually fund 97% of the campaign? Did they mention the means by which the new APPOINTED assessor could save these corporations and land developers MILLIONS of dollars in the first year of being a new county? Did these articles mention that the true cost of forming the county would more than double in one year and continue to skyrocket with more than two years remaining before the county is even formed? Did these articles describe how Broomfield officials are horribly inflating the projected income from the new mall to offset the financial fears of the citizens? Did these articles tell of how Broomfield officials threw out the first feasibility study of forming the county because it specifically concluded that the county would not be good for Broomfield? Was it mentioned that this feasibility study stated that taxes would no doubt have to be significantly increased to cover the costs of forming and running what would be the smallest county in the continental United States? I am certain these articles said nothing of the true nature of forming the combined city and county.

You see, no one would show up at these hearings to oppose the process, even if they new about them, if they were misled to believe it was a wonderful development for their community. It is apparent that Broomfield officials went to great lengths to make sure residents were under such an unfortunate impression. So, please stop clinging to old and generalized arguments. Independent, critical thought is more appreciated and far more beneficial for everyone.


By Adrian