2011 Election Results

Election Results 2011

After carefully researching each candidate and where they stand on the issues relevant to their race such as:

The size and scope of city government

The budget surplus

The second amendment

Fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets

Sustainability

Public transportation

The accountability of elected and paid officials

Transparency

we’ve decided to release the following endorsements.

Mayor: Either Dan Bidstrup or Dave Chandler. Anybody is better than Marc Williams. I see his signs in my sleep.

City Council:

                At Large: Ed Tomlinson

                Ward 2: Cody McNutt

                Ward 4: Humpty Dumpty (you’ll have to write this one in…)

School Board:

                District 3: Preston Branaugh

                District 4: Jim Powers

Proposition 103: Not just no. Hell no.

Charter Amendments:

2A: Yes. For heaven’s sake clean up that charter text.

2B: No. Do we really want pipelines of information running between us and other cities in Jefferson county?

2C: No. Just the words “Emergency Ordinance” throw me into a tailspin. I want as many people as possible to agree that there is a need for an “Emergency Ordinance” before it is adopted.

2D: No. To manage the city you should actually live in the city and that’s potentially a year’s worth of travel expenses paid for by the Arvada taxpayer while the new city manager travels between Arvada and his home town of Sidney, Australia. Exaggeration, but still.

2E: Yes. It took a team of lawyers to understand exactly the purpose of this one, but we’ve all concluded that there must be some city employee who’s driven the council crazy and they want the ability to tell the city manager so. Maybe it’s sustainability coordinator. Yeah, that’s it.

Vote this October

These are all of the candidates for Arvada City Council 2011. 

The Arvada Report will endorse the best candidates in late September so check back often for updates!

Bob Dyer  District 4 - UNOPPOSSED

Cody McNutt
www.electcodymcnutt.com

Mark McGoff
www.markmcgoff.com

Dan Bidstrup

 www.danbudstrup.com

 David Chandler

www.davechandler.us

Marc Williams

www.marcwilliamsformayor.com

Ed Tomlinson

www.voteforedtomlinson.com

Bob Fifer

www.electbobfifer.com

McNutt Arvada City Council Candidate

ARVADA REPORT ENDORSES CODY MCNUTT

CODY MCNUTT ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR ARVADA CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 2

Concerned Citizen Runs for Council

ARVADA, Colo. (August 1, 2011) – Cody McNutt announced his candidacy for Arvada City Council this week. Cody McNutt has deep roots in Arvada. His ancestors homesteaded in Arvada over 100 years ago and McNutt says, “Arvada was such a great place we never left”. Cody McNutt is a 4th generation lifelong resident of Arvada and active participant in city affairs. He has attended city council meetings regularly for the past 6 years and is well aware of the issues facing Arvada. For three years Cody McNutt served as Executive Director of the Arvada Harvest Festival. He holds a bachelors degree in business administration from the University of Denver and works as a business consultant.  

If elected to council McNutt says he wants to represent hard working families. “I believe people in Arvada deserve better” McNutt said, in regards to the current representation. “There are many issues and people feel like elected officials aren’t listening to them”. He believes current issues, facing the city council such as the trash ordinance and plans to take out the community garden are bad policy. “We need to worry about more important issues facing families like the economy, jobs, and the fact that foreclosure rates are at 14% in Arvada. It is time to roll our sleeves up and get down to work”.

For more information, or to learn how to help go to
www.ElectCodyMcNutt.com, or send email to ElectMcNutt@gmail.com. Your support makes a difference.

If you need more information about this topic or to schedule an interview with Cody McNutt please call Christie Mariano at (303)-570-7997 

ARVADA REPORT ENDORSES CODY MCNUTT

Dot Miller Wright or wrong?

Dot Miller (Wright) President of the Arvada Chamber of Commerce. Before becoming president of the Chamber she attended college in upstate New York, ran her own business for short while, was an event planner, and worked at Oppenheimer Fund. Since taking her position of President of the Arvada Chamber of Commerce in 2008 Dot Miller has worked hard to increase membership and make the Chamber viable and by most accounts financially strong. The Chamber claims to have 629 members representing 29,469 full-time employees. Or so they say, how many of those "members" are actually businesses? That we may never know, but based on the intensity of recent recruitment efforts by the Chamber at local service clubs, many of the memberships are probably not businesses at all. Dot Miller Wright should not only be associated with the Chamber of Commerce however, her talents are much deeper than that; she is also an Arvada Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth, involved with Arvada Colts,  Ralston House Board of Directors, HOTA (Historic Olde Town Arvada) Board of Directors, Jefferson County Business Resource Center Board of Directors, Jefferson Economic Council Ex-Officio Board Member, Foothills Animal Foundation Board of Directors, Dot Miller Wright was also the Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel Chair for the Fire Departments latest tax increase with Ken Fellman who tried to steal land from the Catholic Church. These are just a few of Mrs. Wright's many activities. Clearly, she is very busy. 

Now let us take a look at the Chamber of Commerce. I have a very dear friend who called the Arvada Chamber of Commerce the Chamber of Communism. That seemed like a bit of a stretch at the time, and quite frankly it still does. The question should be raised however, what does the Chamber of Commerce actually do to promote commerce. Not much it appears. Sure they spent $60,000 publishing, printing, and mailing, a business directory which should get to your house in the next week or so depending on how affluent your zip code is. I challenge anyone to actually try contacting some of the people in the directory. One will quickly discover that it is utterly useless. The phone numbers get you nowhere and half of the time the people listed as contacts are no longer at the companies or won't return phone calls. This publication unfortunately, like so many things we do here at the City is complete trash. It is a publicity stunt to make the Chamber and the City appear as though they care about business in Arvada; they don't. So back to the original question, what does the Chamber of Commerce actually do for comerce, other than organize a lot of golf tournaments to make money, and charge membership to make money, or have luncheons to make money? Hmmm, starting to sound almost like a business. In fact the Chamber of Commerce in Arvada has historically done so little for business that the City of Arvada deemed it necessary to perform the tasks that should have been done by the chamber. This ladies and gentlemen is how Arvada Economic Development Association. 

Ereka O'Hara and Bob Dyer

Let us go a bit deeper into this cesspool, last year the president of the Chamber was none other than Ereka O' Hara. Who is Ereka O' Hara? She happens to be Councilman Bob Dyer's Wife, furthermore she was previously appointed by the Mr. Dyer to the Arvada Arts Council for the Arts and Humanities. Yes if you are on City Council you can appoint your spouse to all sorts of powerful positions. And now of course Ereka has been selected as woman of the year. Do you know what she did while she was Chairman of the Chamber she re-established the Government Affairs Committee, Community Affairs Committee, and Community Development Committee. What any of these committees have to do with commerce is far beyond comprehension, but at least if Ereka sits on the Government Affairs Committee she can have lunch with her husband from time to time on the taxpayers dime. Does that Rhyme? How quaint.   My problem is not with these people individually, Ereka, Bob, and Dot Miller have done a great deal for our community, and we should all thank them for their commitment. But that doesn't mean we need to agree with what they do. 
Last year the Chamber of Commerce supported (financially and otherwise) opposition to amendments 60, 61, and 101. Which would be fine if they weren't the chamber of commerce. Many entities and people were opposed to these atrocious amendments. But unlike the Chamber and City, we didn't spend tax payer dollars opposing citizen ballot initiatives. The City of Arvada lost a lawsuit regarding tax money being spent on ballot issues. That is illegal for those of you who don't know. And the front page of the Arvada Report print version cost money to print, tax money. Is it really appropriate for the Chamber of Commerce to oppose tax cuts? Tax cuts that would have benefited most businesses? Really? Regardless of whether or not the amendments were wrong for Colorado this action by the Chamber was reprehensibly inappropriate. Perhaps the Chamber of Communism is appropriate.