In our Republic, the People reserve the stronghold of direct Democracy as the final safeguard for their liberty. To secure Arvada's liberty, our City's founders gave to the citizens the right to recall any councilmember of the City of Arvada [1] and the right to initiate new ordinances and change old ordinances [2].

Due to the diligence, virtue and foresight of previous City Councils, the People have rarely needed to exercise their right to democracy. But now the need for direct democracy has never been greater.

Now the City Council daily threatens the rights of Arvadans gradually cutting them off from the one recourse allowed them under law. What Arvadan - save the self employed and the wealthy - can afford the time and expense of petitioning their government or exercising their right to direct representation?

How long will we tolerate our homes and businesses leveled into rubble, our air and water to be poisoned, unfair subsidization and taxation, the impoverishment of our fellow citizens and ourselves? How long can we afford to tolerate the growing inability of Arvadans to be financially independent and able to come out to the polls? How long can the City afford to provide non-essential services with money it does not have, wasting the resources with which it has been endowed? The City stands unready to face the crises of the future. Our City hurtles towards disaster.

Disaster need not occur. There is still time to correct the errors of the past. If we do not take action now, there will be greater errors in the future. We must assess the cost of securing our liberty - and the greater cost of failing to safeguard the future of our City. We, the People of Arvada, must rally to our liberty if we are to survive the City Council's abuses and ignorant stumbling, if we are to secure our property and our lives we must defend our freedom now - or else lose it forever!

A citizen who cannot resort to direct democracy has lost their liberty: such a citizen is easily abused by those who are elected to represent their interests. Such a citizen requires re-emancipation and must cast off their chains through democracy.

Re-Emancipation in Two Days

We must re-empower ourselves to hold the City Council in check and strengthen our ability to undertake self-governance.

This can be accomplished in two days: two days every two years (in City election years) must be set aside by the citizens of Arvada for the undertaking of their government.

Day One

The first day will be 151 days before the next regular City election. On this day, citizens will be allowed and encouraged to develop initiatives. Initiatives are City ordinances, which are legislative in character. On this day in the morning, citizens would gather in Precincts (at parks, city buildings, schools, community centers, libraries, local restaurants, churches or other meeting places) and discuss whether they believe the City requires new ordinances or whether any of the City ordinances require changes. In the afternoon, representatives from the Precincts would gather to present their Precinct's initiatives to the rest of the City's Precincts. Similar ordinances would be organized into single ordinances, and then, in the evening, brought back to the individual Precincts: if 10% or more of the citizens agree upon an initiative [3], at the following City Election, the voters may pass the ordinance into law.

On this day, besides initiating ordinances, citizens will discuss whether they wish to recall any member of the City Council. If 25% of the citizens agree to remove a member of the City Council [4], at the following City Election the voters may recall that member of the Council.

On Day One, "independent" citizens (those who belong to no political party) may apply for financial assistance if they run for an elected position in City, County, State, National and other elections. This will improve Arvada's representation in County, State, National and other governments.

Citizens who attend the full day of debate and decision will, as Election Judges do, receive a stipend from the City to compensate them for wages they were not earning at work. Employers whose employees participated in the full day of debate and decision will receive compensation for lost productivity. It will be illegal for any employer to prevent or dissuade a citizen from attending the full day of debate and decision.

Day Two

Day Two, held on election day, will be for elections and further debate. On this day, the citizens will debate the ordinances on the ballot: some of these ordinances will have been proposed on Day One, others will have been proposed by the City Council. The citizens will also debate whether to recall any members of the City Council, or elect new members to the City Council. They will also have the chance to hear from and vote for their neighbors who have decided to run in County, State, National and other elections.

As on Day One, citizens who attend the full day of debate and decision will receive a stipend, and employers will be compensated for lost productivity.

The Cost of Liberty

The City has been waging a costly war against its citizens. The cost of empowering the citizens in the defense of their rights and liberty is much less than the cost of stripping them of their rights and freedom.

The cost of this program is not unreasonable. The City has found more than $45 million to strip the citizens of their rights and has squandered millions of dollars more on unnecessary City services and inefficiency. Who doubts that the City can find enough to secure the rights of their citizens? Many potential funding solutions exist, but cutting unessential City services (such public golf courses) and reallocating the resources is one of the most practical. Additional revenue gained by no longer allowing special tax districts will also help. It is also reasonable to presume higher tax revenues from the economic development I propose be undertaken by AURA in helping new businesses and new homeowners.

So long as the citizens of Arvada are empowered to recall members of the City Council and enact their own ordinances, they will have little to fear for their right to property, way of life and other freedoms. Through democracy, Arvada will experience greater prosperity than ever before in its history - a prosperity that does not come by way of the bulldozer at the expense of a child's home or a father's business.

Through democracy, Arvada will become a better place to live: two days every two years is a very small price to pay for liberty.