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Candidate profile: Jon Heikka

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Contributed by: Jon Heikka on 10/8/2007

Jon Heikka is running for Thornton City Council, Ward 1

My name: Jon Heikka

Age: 46

My family: Wife: Viki, Director of Restoritive Care at an Alzheimer's Facility. I also have a daughter in the fourth grade who loves math, art, and plays as the goalkeeper for the NASA Blue Diamonds soccer team.

What I do: After serving approximately ten years with the United States Air Force, I continued on in law enforcement, serving with the State of Hawaii, the US Dept.of Defense, and since 1992, with the US Department of Veterans Affairs. I presently serve as the Chief of Police for the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System, and I am the senior law enforcement advisor for VA's VISN-19. VISN 19 spans six states and is the second largest VA Network by geographical area.

My favorite place in town to hang out: Nearby parks, the soccer fields and of course - our home. We are very active people and it's nice to just come home, tend to the house and yard an have friends stop in for visits.

What I like most about living here: Thornton is a wonderfully diverse community that's on the right track to becoming a showcase City as development spreads north out of Denver. We're right in the path of that development and I believe we'll see a lot over the next 10-15 years. I'm quite pleased with the energy being expended towards City beautification and neighbors helping neighbors programs.

My interests and hobbies: Personal interests include gardening, sharing plants with others in the neighborhood, artistic steel fabrication/welding, painting, bringing old cars/Jeeps back to life, playing live music and most importantly, being a good husband and father.

People who inspired me (and how): My mother is by far the most inspirational person in my life. Her deep sense of responsibility, generosity and constantly doing the right thing to help others was key in developing my own lifestyle. She (Beverly Velazquez) is and always will be my hero. I think there are a lot of Mom's out there that just don't get the credit they deserve.

How I have contributed to the community: My working life has been focused on service. First in the military and later with both the State and Federal governments. In the governmental roles, I've done a lot of work in outreach programs as they relate to the services we provide. My family and I are active in local soccer and support youth programs, we regularly sweep the neighborhoods and pathways to pick up trash and tackle the weeds; and, in the winter will be out assisting again with snow removal for those who have a difficult time with it.

What are the biggest issues facing your city now: As mentioned above, Thornton is directly in the path for major development over the next 10-15 years. We need to deal with this correctly, ensuring critical infrastructure is in place that will handle the residential and commercial growth that's coming our way. Redevelopment in some areas of the south are sorely needed as it's impacting both property values as well as the quality of life for many. The comprehensive plan needs to be continually assessed and adjusted to stay abreast of things changing within and outside our community.

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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

John Eisel

Denver , COLORADO

John Eisel has posted 2865 stories and 12 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. John Eisel's average story rating is 4.39.

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