Last night, June 22 I gave a speech to the Lakewood City Council about an ordinance they were passing regarding campaign finance. While I knew the oridnance did not change anything, I wanted to make sure it was clear to the citizens of Lakewood the financial issues related to their respective city council races, and for the councilors to make it clear our duties and abilities to know where our council member's money is coming from. The following is my speech. It can also be seen at Lakewood.org

"My name is Thomas Randle. I live at 13849 W. Dakota Pl. Lakewood. I am here with concern for: ORDINANCE O-2009-21 - AMENDING CHAPTER 2.53 OF THE LAKEWOOD MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO CAMPAIGN FINANCE. My particular concern lies with Section 1, letter B which reads: There shall be no limitations of either the amount or the source of campaign contributions to a candidate in a municipal election in the City of Lakewood.

I am a recent college graduate in engineering, but my interest lies in politics and I have followed state and national elections for some time now. I am an active member in the Colorado Republican party, including being elected as a county and state delegate to the Republican Conventions in 2008. I have since gained more interest in local races due to the different aspects that local politics present, including the non partisan democracy involved. One advantage citizens of a city can appreciate is that in a non partisan election, elected officials are not required to support needs of a particular political party, and their vote is not subjected to party based restrictions and are therefore free to support the needs of their constituents. This could be compared to the role of lobbyists' involvement in campaigns, which may require a candidate to support special interests of particular groups that may not share the same needs and desires as the community a council member is representing. I look to an election in my own Ward 4 for an example of my concern.

I received an invitation to a fundraising event for a candidate named Amy Attwood who is running for election for city council in ward 4. I was interested because of my vote for Amy at the republican convention, as she was attempting to run in a partisan state senate race against my current democratic state senator. I noticed the fundraising event involved some prominent republican politicians who were past or present office holders in the legislative branch of Colorado as well as representatives involved with some of Denver's lobbying services groups. Though my support for Amy in a future run for a partisan state legislative office will not change, I worry about the implications this type of fundraising has at a city level.

My primary worry is that the passage of this ordinance could lead to city council campaigns relying on support from partisan groups, lobbyists, and groups not within Lakewood."

Less than an hour after I left City Council I had already recieved a message from a republican politician in a section of ward 4 that is a minority area within the district warning me of my future as a republican being jeporadized for standing up for what I thought was right. I was accused of falisfying information and was toldthat my comments in general were innappropriate. I knew before this that politics can be a rough game. Luckily, since I am not a career politician, it isn't something I will have to worry about shaking up my career.

What do the citizens of Lakewood and ward 4 in particular think about this message?