Jacob's Golden Update: October 4, 2017

1) City Council Elections Are Just Around the Corner
2) If You Aren’t Registered to Vote at Your Current Golden Address … You Still Can!
3) City Council Candidate Forum: Thursday October 5 at 6:30pm
4) November 2017 Elections: My Endorsements
5) Update on the Federal Government Grant Funding Issue
6) Other Upcoming Events

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1. City Council Elections Are Just Around the Corner
Golden’s Council elections take place in odd-numbered years, which means they are coming up quickly: November 7. Voters in each of Golden’s four wards will select their ward representative. In one of the seats (Ward 4, where I happen to live) the current City Council member is running for reelection, and in the other three seats there is no incumbent.

City Council makes a bunch of decisions that impact everyone in Golden (which you probably already know or you wouldn’t be on this email list). It’s pretty easy to learn about the candidates running in your ward - you can check out their web pages and the Informer profiles, attend the Candidate Forum tomorrow night, and call or email them with questions. Here is the list of candidates:

Ward 1
• Robert W. Reed
• Micah Allen

Ward 2
   • Deborah Ann Deal
   • Paul Haseman
   • Daniel Sung
   • Josh Thompson

Ward 3
• Jim Dale

Ward 4
• Mikey Sheridan
• Laura Weinberg

If you aren’t sure what ward you live in, here’s the map (.pdf download). Here is some background info on the election. And this month’s issue of the Informer has candidate profiles. It’s an all-mail ballot election, and ballots are expected to go out the week of October 16.

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2. If You Aren’t Registered to Vote at Your Current Golden Address … You Still Can!

If you are new to Golden, or changed addresses in Golden, or weren’t registered to vote in the last election, you have to register in order to vote. The deadline to register to vote through the mail, Jefferson County Election Department or the Golden City Clerk’s office, the DMV driver’s license examination facility, or online is Monday, October 30.

If you want to make sure you are registered at your current address, that’s easy to do as well.

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3. City Council Candidate Forum: Thursday October 5 at 6:30pm)

Leadership Golden is hosting a Candidate Forum tomorrow evening (Thursday, October 5 at 6:30pm) at City Hall. This is a great way to meet candidates and see them side by side as they talk about who they are and what their vision for Golden is. It will also be broadcast live through the city’s website and on Comcast Channel 8.

4. November 2017 Elections: My Endorsements

Golden City Council Ward 4: Laura Weinberg
I happen to live in Ward 4 and am endorsing Laura Weinberg, our current Ward 4 representative, for a second four-year term. Laura is super smart, thoughtful, and takes her role on the Council seriously. In my experience she tries to find sensible solutions to some of our thornier challenges and she’s willing to hear people out and think through ideas she hadn’t thought of. And she’s willing to respectfully and professionally push back against city staff and other members of the Council when she sees things differently or thinks some concerns aren’t getting the attention they deserve. It’s really helpful to have a City Council that works well together, but it’s also important to have individual Councilors who have the self-confidence and gumption to ask hard questions.

I’m not endorsing anyone in the other wards, but I will say that I’ve known Jim Dale (the only Ward 3 candidate) for a long time. I respect him for his intelligence, his experience, and commitment to Golden, and I think he’ll work hard and do a good job as a City Councilor. I will also add that Rob Reed (running in Ward 2) reached out, and over coffee it seemed like he could bring a good mix of experience and thoughtfulness to the Council. While I've met some the Ward 1 and Ward 2 candidates I don't really know any of them. And I can’t encourage everyone strongly enough … take a little bit of time to research the candidates in your ward, email or call them with questions or just to hear about why they’re running, go to the candidate forum tomorrow night or watch it on Channel 8, and then vote.

City of Golden Ballot Measure Allowing Solar at Rooney Road Sports Complex: Support
This one is pretty straightforward. If this ballot measure passes, Golden (in conjunction with Jeffco) will be able to set up a community solar garden on some of the land at the Rooney Road Sports Complex that’s not currently being used for sports fields. There is no downside that I can see and plenty of upside. There is a bit more information on the city's website.

Jefferson County School Board: Brad Rupert, Susan Harmon, and Ron Mitchell
After a tough stretch, the Jeffco School Board is looking really strong. They hired a competent and widely respected superintendent and they’ve managed to guide Jeffco schools into a period of relative stability and progress. These three folks - all up for reelection - get a lot of the credit. This is a solid group of school board members and I’m supporting all three.

5. Update on the Federal Government Grant Funding Issue

You may recall that I wrote about how the Jeffco County Commissioners were considering rejecting some federal block grant money over the summer. These dollars (part of the HOME and Community Development Block Grant programs) help cover the cost of down payment assistance for 1st time homebuyers, improving sidewalks, affordable housing, home rehabilitation for seniors, health services, economic development activities, and more.

Well, a whole bunch of folks sent letters to the commissioners and a bunch of others actually attended the County Commission meeting to testify on behalf of these grant programs. The result: the county accepted the federal grant money. Thank you to everyone who made your voice heard!

These dollars come out of the tax revenue we’ve all already paid to the federal government and enable Golden and other Jeffco communities to voluntarily implement some good projects that otherwise would not happen.

6. Other Upcoming Events

Tuesday 10/17: Candidate Forum for Jeffco School Board
   • 7:00-9:00 pm
   • Jefferson Unitarian Church (14350 West 32nd Avenue, Golden, CO 80401)
   • Sponsored by the Jefferson County League of Women Voters

Tuesday 10/17: Jeffco Commissioners Telephone Town Hall
   • 6:30-7:30pm
   • Topics include county’s budget process & responding to questions from residents on the call
   • Jeffco is planning to robocall county residents right before it begins to invite residents to join
   • Or you can pre-register by texting JEFFCO to 828282 or online
   • For more info visit the Telephone Town Hall web page

6:30-7:30pm
Topics include the county’s budget process as well as responding to questions from county residents on the call
Jeffco is planning to do a robocall to county residents right before the town hall begins to invite residents to join, or you can pre-register by texting JEFFCO to 828282 or online
For more info visit the Telephone Town Hall web page