Article Contributed on: 10/4/2009 4:41:35 PM
You would think Longmont Council member
Karen Benker was the Saint of All Things Clean when it comes to campaigning, that is if you were living under a rock. In a
Denver Post story (which apparently it's left arm the
Boulder Daily Camera re-posted) Ms. Benker,presumably with a straight face,said "
It's unfortunate that a few people are just so angry that they play dirty politics." She would know better than anyone.
Most of you probably missed the
Longmont Chamber of Commerce debate that was held last week. In a surprise twist at the end of the Ward 2 debate between
Karen Benker and
Katie Witt, the moderator opened up the questions to people in the crowd. An obvious Benker
plant asked a question right along the same lines as the Denver Post article about a push-poll. In his misleading question that was more an accusation than anything else he yammered on about this push-poll. Katie Witt made it pretty clear in her answer that
she had nothing to do with it and since she had no coordination with the people doing it, she couldn't stop it.
Why would I say this person (with a pushed pole planted) was a Benker plant? They virtually walked out of this event
hand in hand, I was almost expecting Ms. Benker to give him a pat on the back, along with a "
heckuva job" thrown in. It didn't surprise me one bit to then see this story in the Denver Post. A comment I found interesting (and no, I didn't post it or any of the others) about Ms. Benker and the large assortment of people who have come to loathe her over the years up and down the Front Range went like this:
"Katie Witt doesn't need to attack Karen Benker (and has stated publicly that she is not conducting this push poll). Karen Benker is under attack for
her own record of failures from multiple sources. LifeBridge is the one that just pushed people too far, for this large church is a well respected one that a lot of her own constituents and members in the community attend.
This article is a fine example of why local news should be covered by local news. It's not just about LifeBridge. Karen Benker has upset a lot of people, and not just locally. Which is why I'm not surprised that it's a possibility that someone outside Longmont is not pleased with her.
Ask Karen Benker about the other issues people are upset with her about and she skirts around them.
Google Karen Benker + any of these and you'll see why she needs to go:
LAEC,
LEN,
HOPE,
Thistle,
RTD,
DRCOG + Doves,
Jon Caldara,
Clover Basin Fire District,
GE,
Longmont Airport prairie dogs,
FAA,
Innovate Energy,
Richard Juday,
Longmont Civility Campaign Committee,
"Dying" Twin Peaks Mall,
FacetheState,
City Events, etc.
She's also not the only tool in the shed...funny how media outside Longmont is latching onto this story. She knows the people who live here know the real truth about her, luckily they are the ones who will be voting." (emphasis added, removed references to myself as you are obviously reading my blog and know who I am)
I couldn't have put it much better myself, so I didn't bother trying.
This whole push-poll thing and this
feigned outrage is starting to sound manufactured. Sort of like Ms. Benker's brochure and website listing any accomplishment from City Council, city staff, or dumb luck as if she did it all single-handedly. How did we ever get along without her? (Note: Longmont was once in the top places to live and All America City,
was).
It appears
The Benker Bungler's, er, campaign team's newest campaign tactic is to continue the mudslinging Ms. Benker started, and throwing out this accusation they know to be false, but do it anyway. I thought Ms. Benker was touting her signing that civility pledge? At least now we know what her version of civility is.
Maybe she can join this civility committee as a (former councilmember) citizen starting November 4th.
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©2009 Chris Rodriguez/Longmont Advocate LLC (Chris Rodriguez is a Longmont resident, and the publisher and broadcaster of Longmont Advocate, a community website and podcast that raises local issues to increase public awareness and interest)