Article Contributed on: 9/17/2008 8:35:50 PM
After State Senate candidate
Linda Newell introduced herself to the standing-room only crowd that filled The Santa Fe room at Buck Recreation Center in Littleton Sept. 16, she said, "I'm not a professional politician."
She introduced daughter
Katie, who is one of two daughters who has attended Littleton High School.
Newell is a business consultant who specializes in human resources and was at the rec center with State Rep.
Joe Rice, HD 38, to talk about issues affecting seniors.
A single mom since 2000, she admitted being a recovering Californian after going there to be with her mother who was under hospice care.
Newall said she was running for a state senate seat in District 26 because, after having been asked several times, she had run out of excuses.
After Rice and Newell acknowledged their philosophical alignments, Newell said their emphasis as legislators was to look out for children and the elderly.
Newell reminded the audience that legislators meet from January to May in the legislature and the rest of the time "We're regular citizens," she said.
Her next reminder was about the length of the ballot this year.
"Since 1912, it has not been as long. We recommend mail-in, because it will take a lot of thought," she said.
Rice enumerated some of the highlights of the legislative session that affected seniors, such as the senior homestead tax exemption that provides tax relief to qualifying seniors if older than 65 and they have owned their property for 10 years.
"You should be getting this,"Rice said to a predominantly senior audience.
HD 38 candidate
Dave Kerber was invited to the forum but could not attend. He said in an e-mail, "Whatever we can do to help seniors stay in their homes, if that is their desire, is better for them as well as the health care system."
The vital services bill Rice said, helps older Coloradans get vital services such as home health care and part time assistance, another way of enabling people to stay in their homes. Rice said in the year in which funding was increased and distributed by the State Office on Aging, visits or stays in nursing homes had been reduced.
Another highlight he mentioned was the high energy cost assistance bill to help low income families pay their utility bills.
"If you know anyone who has trouble paying their bills, they should look into this program for assistance," he said.
Other bills he discussed were the Alzheimer's plan and the Safe Home Care bill.
The Alzheimer's plan created a coordinating council to assess current and future impacts of Alzheimer's disease and come up with a state plan to address the effects of the disease.
According to Rice, in 2000 nearly 49,000 Coloradans suffered from Alzheimer's disease and the number is expected to rise to 72,000 by 2010.
Rice said the Safe Home Care bill was a way of protecting consumers from home health care agency employees by standardizing state licensure by implementing background checks.
"People who have worked hard all their lives, should be able to say in their homes," he said.
During a question-and-answer period, people asked about property tax reevaluations, auto registration fees, gas taxes, transportation improvements and services, (Newall said there were 126 bridges in the state that need repair) and the status of state employees in departments where turnover is high, which was linked to less efficiency and more waste of the taxpayer dollar.
A retired Arapahoe County employee said she'd worked in county government for 27 years and saw elected officials who made $80k a year, but didn't show up at their offices.
"The taxpayers don't know this," she said. Then, she jokingly suggested Rice and Newall become county commissioners because they could make more money.
Rice said, "The health of our economy is built on the health of the middle class."
Rice's campaign manager
Nicki Van Veen said Newell's opponent
Lauri Clapp was invited to attend the meeting. E-mailsl to Clapp did not receive a response. Future town hall meetings are planned.
Kerber said, "As to the concept of townhall meetings, I believe it is more effective and fair to go door to door to meet the voters of House District 38 rather than require them to leave their homes and use their gas to hear me speak."
upnext:
The next town hall meeting will be on children's issues at 6 p.m. Oct. 2, Powell Middle School, 8000 S. Corona Way, Littleton. An open forum is scheduled from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Oct. 10 at Cool River Cafe, 8000 e. Belleview Ave., Greenwood Village.