The end of summer is winding down, and my family and I have had a great time this year utilizing the great wealth of outdoor activities that Thornton and Colorado has to offer. It is a privilege to live in this great state, and I believe strongly that access to parks, recreation, and open space is important to the physical and mental well-being of all citizens. We are fortunate that Thornton has such opportunities, and as your next mayor I plan to enhance them further as part of my Blueprint for Thornton.

It is critical that everyone has access to facilities. Unfortunately certain areas of the city do not have close access, particularly west of I-25 and the very northern end of Thornton. As a city councilmember I worked tirelessly to get an oil well removed from the center of a subdivision, and finally that area will become a park in North Creek Farms, a community that had no park within miles. Likewise I believe that it is critical that we preserve the few areas of parks and open space we do have west of I-25 and not hand them over to development interests.

Expanding recreational opportunities will require changing the way we do business. I've been working with Adams 12 officials to help bring an aquatics center to Thornton and combine that with a new rec center at 136 th and Holly. Such a partnership will reduce costs and increase efficiencies for both us and the school district, and we must reach out to public and private entities alike to build these kinds of facilities. In particular we must partner with the private sector to expand baseball, soccer, and football fields for our children.

We must upgrade our existing facilities. Recently I spoke with a woman about the need for permanent public restrooms in public parks. She said that she travels all over the area going to her grandson's baseball games and we are one of the few areas that use port o potties. We've all used these, but they are gross, and when we have visitors from outside the city coming to our baseball and soccer fields it reflects poorly on the city. I also would like to modernize our parks with new amenities like dog parks, skate parks and wireless Internet access.

We have great opportunities in the City of Thornton, and our health should be an important priority. As your next mayor I believe we should take advantage of the great outdoors in this state and Build Thornton Together. For more information about my campaign for mayor please visit our website at www.hansenforthornton.com.

Erik Hansen
Thornton City Councilmember
Candidate for Mayor