Article Contributed on: 1/9/2008 4:33:38 PM
I've never been a very political person. But when I woke up on November 11th and grabbed the
Times Call, the picture on the front page shocked me.
Karen Benker,
Brian Hansen and
Sean McCoy smiling and holding up 4 fingers. If you didn't see it, or don't know what I'm referring to, the 4 signifies a majority vote on the Longmont City Council.
Why was I shocked? Because our city council had taken on a new agenda. If the four raised fingers signified a line drawn between party lines then I guess I wouldn't be as surprised (except for the fact that the city council is supposed to be non-partisan).
But, the fact is, there are five Democrats on the city council, so what did the four represent? It represented a single-issue fringe group that ran as a voting bloc. A group that will decide the economic fate of our city for the next 2 years (at a minimum) and whose economic policy now, could affect the lives of my children as they grow up in Longmont.
The group is being led by Karen Benker, who was appointed to her seat in January of 2005 and who then won the seat in November of that year. She failed in her bid for Mayor this year, but that hasn't stopped her bloc from referring to her as "Mayor Benker."
They will hold a majority for the next 2 years, but what you decide to do in January will decide if they keep that majority until 2011. If you value a council that ostensibly has one voice (the voice of a radical minority, not the voice of Longmont at large) then vote for
Richard Juday to fill the seat vacated by
Roger Lange when he won the Mayoral election.
Or do as most registered voters in Longmont did this past November and don't even bother to send in your ballot. But if you value a council that will listen to BOTH sides of every issue, and who will be an accountable, responsible stewards of our tax dollars, then please vote for
Gabe Santos in January. Sitting back and doing nothing is as good as voting for Juday, and a vote for Juday is a vote to let extremists control our city for the next 4 years. Republicans AND Democrats alike should be frightened at that prospect.