In yet another attack piece, Longmont's own incivility czar works hard to denigrate Kaye Fissinger (for at least the thousanth time) but somehow manages to omit the fact that our new mayor has a bit of a credibility gap - and it's not going away.
I begin to think the 'businessman' that Ms. Baum is protecting is none other than her husband... it would be so helpful if she'd simply come clean about this (y'know, that whole 'service before self thing') since the right has prevailed so well, what could it hurt?
Oh, but if it is Bryan... then that could be a bit sticky.
Just a tip - skeltons don't stay hidden forever and they tend to stink horrifically after a while.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
The end of the world
Some of the readers of this blog may find a welcome respite from the rather tawdry spectacle of local political war and general social collapse, in the news that the world is coming to an end on December 21, 2012. Not only is this a peculiarly specific date, but I have even seen one page time it with even more peculiar specificity to 11:11 GMT. It happens to be my 76th birthday, and I can’t think of a better birthday celebration than the end of the world—if I live that long. This peculiarly specific date has been derived from a Mayan calendar called the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, the first appearance of which dates back to 36 BCE. There are various scenarios for the end of the world, including a collision with some rogue planet called Nibiru (predicted by someone in psychic contact with extra-terrestrials), or an alignment between the Sun and the black hole at the center of the galaxy. Naturally there are the inevitable party-poopers who point out that the Mayan calendar actually doesn’t say anything about the end of the world on that date, but simply the end of one cyclical period and the beginning of another, and that if Nibiru were close enough to Earth to collide on that date, it would already be visible to the naked eye. But of course, true believers are never bothered by facts, as you can tell from two minutes’ conversation with any advocate of Intelligent Design.
I’ve long been fascinated by apocalyptic predictions. And by “apocalyptic,” I do not include predictions of such relatively minor events as the end of civilization as we know it. I’m rather of the opinion that the end of civilization as we know it would be a welcome relief, since civilization as we know it sucks. (Mahatma Gandhi is supposed to have said, when asked what he thought of Western civilization, “I think it would be a good idea.”) Even severe eco-catastrophe probably wouldn’t count as the end of the world, if it did nothing more than rid the planet of that pestilent killer ape species and maybe half the other species on earth. After all, the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event 65 million years ago simply got rid of dinosaurs (and an estimated 17% of all families) and paved the way for domesticated primates, and the present extinction event will get rid of them (all right, us) and clear the way for something else, maybe a civilization of dolphins. (Read Olaf Stapledon’s Last and first men [1930], one of the most profound science-fiction works ever written, of which Wikipedia says: “it describes the history of humanity from the present onwards across two billion years and eighteen distinct human species, of which our own is the first and most primitive.” This species, 100,000 years hence, reduces their population to 35 people by a global catastrophe that sounds eerily like a nuclear holocaust, written 15 years before such a thing was imaginable, and these 35 survivors are the progenitors of the Second Men. As visionary as Stapledon was, the idea of eco-catastrophe within a century could not have occurred to him at that time.)
No, the kind of apocalyptic predictions I’m thinking of are those that are characteristic of the various pseudo-Christian millennialist cults, and it is hardly surprising that such ideology is found in the present 2012 movement, although the secular and New Age elements in it may be stronger. Perhaps the basis of the movement in a pagan calendar helps explain the relative weakness of Christian apocalypticism in it. Christians are obviously not the only ones obsessed with the end of the world, but they have formulated what are probably the most elaborate and bizarre theories about it. Most of these doctrines are based on the Revelation of St John, to which have been attributed hundreds of ridiculously asinine ideas which never crossed John’s mind. In fact, the Book of Revelation is often called the Apocalypse of St John. The Book of Daniel also makes its contributions to eschatology because Daniel’s weird dreams were supposed to predict the end of the world.
Of course 2012 is certainly not, by a long stretch, the first apocalyptic prediction in history; depending on how they’re defined, there have been dozens of others. Rather surprisingly, the year 2000 caused more concern about computers crashing than it did about apocalyptic millennialism, even though the date was by definition millennial (in the Christian calendar, at least). Perhaps one of the more famous examples is the event in the history of the Millerite movement (predecessor of the Seventh-Day Adventists) called the Great Disappointment, when William Miller, the founder of the movement, predicted that Jesus would return to earth on 22 October 1844, and convinced thousands of followers to sell all their possessions and wait to be taken up to Heaven. The theological somersaults that the leaders of the movement went through to try to explain why this didn’t happen are good for laughs. And there are other cults and denominations that believe in apocalypses and Second Comings without trying to date them precisely. Jehovah’s Witlesses (as I like to call them) evidently expect to see the Second Coming within the lifetime of any individual believer, even though generations of adherents have been disappointed.
Christian apocalyptic millennialism focuses on such ideas as Armageddon and Anti-Christs and the Second Coming, but it also serves, perhaps primarily for many people, as a quasi-religious explanation for all the shit happening in the world, which is all seen as leading up to the End Times. In general, a movement predicting a certain date for an apocalypse is simply a crystallization of the firm conviction of the social misfits of every generation that the world is so fucked up that it simply can’t, or shouldn’t, go on much longer; and, assuming that it can’t be made any better, the only solution is to wipe things clean and start over. At least there’s something to be said for expecting this to be brought about by more or less natural means or historical events, rather than trying to precipitate it yourself by armed warfare and revolution. But the fact that all past predictions of future dates have been proved wrong by the simple fact that we’re still here and still fucking up, does not stop idiots and fanatics from continuing to predict more future dates. So, stock up your survival supplies for December 2012. Don’t ask me how you’re supposed to survive the end of the world; ask the survivalists. And ask them why they want to. Christian millennialists, of course, don’t expect or want to survive here on Earth because they expect to be taken up to Heaven. Let’s not get into the Rapture, beyond noting the bumper-sticker popular a few years ago which said, “In case of Rapture, this vehicle will be unattended.” There are times when I’m so humiliated by the appalling stupidity—not to mention the sheer evil—of some people who call themselves Christians that I’m tempted to become a pagan.
It’s gonna be an exciting, fun-filled three years.
I’ve long been fascinated by apocalyptic predictions. And by “apocalyptic,” I do not include predictions of such relatively minor events as the end of civilization as we know it. I’m rather of the opinion that the end of civilization as we know it would be a welcome relief, since civilization as we know it sucks. (Mahatma Gandhi is supposed to have said, when asked what he thought of Western civilization, “I think it would be a good idea.”) Even severe eco-catastrophe probably wouldn’t count as the end of the world, if it did nothing more than rid the planet of that pestilent killer ape species and maybe half the other species on earth. After all, the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event 65 million years ago simply got rid of dinosaurs (and an estimated 17% of all families) and paved the way for domesticated primates, and the present extinction event will get rid of them (all right, us) and clear the way for something else, maybe a civilization of dolphins. (Read Olaf Stapledon’s Last and first men [1930], one of the most profound science-fiction works ever written, of which Wikipedia says: “it describes the history of humanity from the present onwards across two billion years and eighteen distinct human species, of which our own is the first and most primitive.” This species, 100,000 years hence, reduces their population to 35 people by a global catastrophe that sounds eerily like a nuclear holocaust, written 15 years before such a thing was imaginable, and these 35 survivors are the progenitors of the Second Men. As visionary as Stapledon was, the idea of eco-catastrophe within a century could not have occurred to him at that time.)
No, the kind of apocalyptic predictions I’m thinking of are those that are characteristic of the various pseudo-Christian millennialist cults, and it is hardly surprising that such ideology is found in the present 2012 movement, although the secular and New Age elements in it may be stronger. Perhaps the basis of the movement in a pagan calendar helps explain the relative weakness of Christian apocalypticism in it. Christians are obviously not the only ones obsessed with the end of the world, but they have formulated what are probably the most elaborate and bizarre theories about it. Most of these doctrines are based on the Revelation of St John, to which have been attributed hundreds of ridiculously asinine ideas which never crossed John’s mind. In fact, the Book of Revelation is often called the Apocalypse of St John. The Book of Daniel also makes its contributions to eschatology because Daniel’s weird dreams were supposed to predict the end of the world.
Of course 2012 is certainly not, by a long stretch, the first apocalyptic prediction in history; depending on how they’re defined, there have been dozens of others. Rather surprisingly, the year 2000 caused more concern about computers crashing than it did about apocalyptic millennialism, even though the date was by definition millennial (in the Christian calendar, at least). Perhaps one of the more famous examples is the event in the history of the Millerite movement (predecessor of the Seventh-Day Adventists) called the Great Disappointment, when William Miller, the founder of the movement, predicted that Jesus would return to earth on 22 October 1844, and convinced thousands of followers to sell all their possessions and wait to be taken up to Heaven. The theological somersaults that the leaders of the movement went through to try to explain why this didn’t happen are good for laughs. And there are other cults and denominations that believe in apocalypses and Second Comings without trying to date them precisely. Jehovah’s Witlesses (as I like to call them) evidently expect to see the Second Coming within the lifetime of any individual believer, even though generations of adherents have been disappointed.
Christian apocalyptic millennialism focuses on such ideas as Armageddon and Anti-Christs and the Second Coming, but it also serves, perhaps primarily for many people, as a quasi-religious explanation for all the shit happening in the world, which is all seen as leading up to the End Times. In general, a movement predicting a certain date for an apocalypse is simply a crystallization of the firm conviction of the social misfits of every generation that the world is so fucked up that it simply can’t, or shouldn’t, go on much longer; and, assuming that it can’t be made any better, the only solution is to wipe things clean and start over. At least there’s something to be said for expecting this to be brought about by more or less natural means or historical events, rather than trying to precipitate it yourself by armed warfare and revolution. But the fact that all past predictions of future dates have been proved wrong by the simple fact that we’re still here and still fucking up, does not stop idiots and fanatics from continuing to predict more future dates. So, stock up your survival supplies for December 2012. Don’t ask me how you’re supposed to survive the end of the world; ask the survivalists. And ask them why they want to. Christian millennialists, of course, don’t expect or want to survive here on Earth because they expect to be taken up to Heaven. Let’s not get into the Rapture, beyond noting the bumper-sticker popular a few years ago which said, “In case of Rapture, this vehicle will be unattended.” There are times when I’m so humiliated by the appalling stupidity—not to mention the sheer evil—of some people who call themselves Christians that I’m tempted to become a pagan.
It’s gonna be an exciting, fun-filled three years.
Friday, November 6, 2009
More Violence
Two years ago I predicted there would be more and more of this kind of madness as people lost everything and snapped.
From AmericaBlog:
Friday, November 06, 2009
UPDATED: Another mass shooting leaves 1 dead, 5 wounded
by Joe Sudbay (DC) on 11/06/2009 01:49:00 PM
UPDATE: CNN reports the alleged gunman has been apprehended. And, The Orlando Sentinel has updated its earlier report:
One person is dead and 5 are confirmed shot in the incident, which took place about 11:50 a.m. at Legions Place, an office building near Interstate 4 and Ivanhoe Boulevard. A handgun was used in the attack, police said.
This one is in Orlando and is also a workplace shooting:
A former employee of a business located in a downtown Orlando building where a deadly mass shooting took place today is suspected in the attack.
Two people are dead and at least 17 were shot in the incident, which took place about noon today.
The suspect, Jason Rodriguez, 40, is believed to be driving a silver, 2002 Nissan SUV with tag number D11UXR, Orlando Police spokeswoman Sgt. Barbara Jones.
Police think he is armed and still in the area.
Rodriguez was an employee of Reynolds, Smith & Hill, a transportation consulting firm.
From AmericaBlog:
Friday, November 06, 2009
UPDATED: Another mass shooting leaves 1 dead, 5 wounded
by Joe Sudbay (DC) on 11/06/2009 01:49:00 PM
UPDATE: CNN reports the alleged gunman has been apprehended. And, The Orlando Sentinel has updated its earlier report:
One person is dead and 5 are confirmed shot in the incident, which took place about 11:50 a.m. at Legions Place, an office building near Interstate 4 and Ivanhoe Boulevard. A handgun was used in the attack, police said.
This one is in Orlando and is also a workplace shooting:
A former employee of a business located in a downtown Orlando building where a deadly mass shooting took place today is suspected in the attack.
Two people are dead and at least 17 were shot in the incident, which took place about noon today.
The suspect, Jason Rodriguez, 40, is believed to be driving a silver, 2002 Nissan SUV with tag number D11UXR, Orlando Police spokeswoman Sgt. Barbara Jones.
Police think he is armed and still in the area.
Rodriguez was an employee of Reynolds, Smith & Hill, a transportation consulting firm.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Money can't buy love but it can buy an election
Well, as I feared, the hundreds of thousands of cleverly-disguised dollars did the trick.
Getting their mailboxes papered endlessly with streams of lies about Karen Benker, Kaye Fissinger and even Roger Lange (for pete's sake!) was enough to fool enough of the people - and that's all it took.
Now we get to see how the righties run a town - right into the ground I'm sure.
No doubt we'll see the Lifebridge cult city fast-tracked and the tax nightmare that entails.
Congratulations folks, you bought and paid for the council seats, hope you enjoy the rape and pillage.
Getting their mailboxes papered endlessly with streams of lies about Karen Benker, Kaye Fissinger and even Roger Lange (for pete's sake!) was enough to fool enough of the people - and that's all it took.
Now we get to see how the righties run a town - right into the ground I'm sure.
No doubt we'll see the Lifebridge cult city fast-tracked and the tax nightmare that entails.
Congratulations folks, you bought and paid for the council seats, hope you enjoy the rape and pillage.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Anonymous Cowards, Part 300 of an endless series
It's sad... people that howl and bark endlessly about 'transparency' posting anonymous hate all over the web.
For example, at this article on The Boulder Weekly about all the outside money being pumped into the campaign, the following comment was posted:
Now I have no idea who posted this comment since they didn't have enough of a pair to use their real name, but I'd like to say:
They just keep proving that they're cowards, liars and have no respect for the law or freedom of speech. They intend to intimidate their opponents into silence any way they can - but it's not working so I suspect they're starting to panic; especially since the election may very well go badly wrong for them.
Can't wait to see the results.
For example, at this article on The Boulder Weekly about all the outside money being pumped into the campaign, the following comment was posted:
Oh yawn, apparently Mr Wray is again attempting to distribute his pdf to the world. Guess Mayor Lange shutting him down at a council meeting when he tried to share it there too wasn't enough.
Mr Wray, no one cares what you think or say. But, for the laugh of it all I thought I'd again tell you that. How about sending more emails to your fab 4 on council telling them how certain bloggers who have made you look like an idiot need to get their a** kicked again.
People who disagree with you are not just "old guard" but apparently you are the one who keeps acting like an old guard, redistributing the same old information over and over and over. Kind of like a little dog who barks and barks out of loneliness hoping someone will notice.
Maybe you'd like to share with readers why you turned around an email that was in reference to your blogger and candidate Kaye Fissinger attacking a sitting councilmember to make it look as if someone was sounding the bugle horn to announce incoming attacks.
Go back to vandalizing LifeBridge's church sign. And hacking into computers. And talking about injury to the ears of the dog of your adversaries. You're old. And on guard. And irrelevant.
Now I have no idea who posted this comment since they didn't have enough of a pair to use their real name, but I'd like to say:
- I didn't vandalize the LifeBridge sign, I just posted the image of it after it happened and boy did that piss some folks off (apparently).
- The information (s)he's referring to is a presentation linking Gabe Santos to the smear campaign against Richard Juday during the last election.
- I've never 'hacked into' any computer, never been accused or charged, nothing. That's bullshit.
- If the blogger being referred to is who I think it is... well, Don Coulson covered him pretty well.
- As for being made to look like an 'idiot' by same blogger, I'm afraid (s)he's taken that title for him (her?) self with the obsessive and endless stream of made-up attacks on Karen Benker, Sean McCoy (and the entire McCoy family) not to mention anyone else that (s)he disagrees with. (personally I think it's a group since collectively they don't have the stones to post under their own names, so much for all that money and those boar hunts).
- On guard? Hell yes, especially with the kind of sociopaths at work in our community.
- Irrelevant? Maybe, but I mean enough to this person for them to stalk me all over the web and post childish attacks like this everywhere they see me.
- Old? LOL! Time will wound that heel.
They just keep proving that they're cowards, liars and have no respect for the law or freedom of speech. They intend to intimidate their opponents into silence any way they can - but it's not working so I suspect they're starting to panic; especially since the election may very well go badly wrong for them.
Can't wait to see the results.
Gang of 4C
This letter at BoulderWeekly.com is classic.
Gang of 4C
(Re: “The gloves come off,” cover story, Oct. 1.) It seems that everyone keeps missing the point about Project LifeBridge, the Gang of 4C developers, and Councilwoman [Karen] Benker. By writing this letter, I am sure that I will be accused of being anti-Christian. That would not be true. It is untrue when it is said about Ms. Benker. She is a life-long Christian and someone who gives generously of her time to do good works in this community. Thankfully, Benker stood up to the royal elite of this town: the developers, the Longmont Times-Call and the “old money,” when very few others would. In her lone vote against the LifeBridge annexation, she clearly expressed her view that this would not be good for the city. I believe this was based on a fiscal analysis of the various costs to the city, vis-à-vis the overblown projections of the actual benefits from the Gang of 4C. In spite of her objections, The Project LifeBridge steamroller passed our rubber stampin’ City Council by a vote of 6-1.
Here is where the most important part of all this gets left out. I would say this is intentional by the alleged journalists in the Longmont paper. The citizens of Longmont stood up! More than 6,000 registered voters signed a petition and overturned the Longmont City Council for the first time in its history. This was a great moment for the democratic process and should never be forgotten or dismissed.
The propaganda machine would have us believe that this was a gathering of all the Christian haters in town. That would be a lie. The statistics show that in our country, a large majority of people identify themselves as being Christian. Most of the petitioners undoubtedly would share this identification. The alleged activist bloggers in our town would have us believe this is a secret attempt by “Reds” from Boulder to take over our fair city. This is also a lie that gets mindlessly repeated over and over. Most of the recent waves of peoples moving here don’t come from Boulder. They could never afford to live there in the first place. One of the many outlandish and hateful lies coming from Chris Rodriguez is that Karen Benker wears a nightgown with the words Kill All Christians on it.
[Stephanie] Baum’s blog is full of misplaced vitriol as well, and the chicken guy should be taken to task for mistaking William Wallace for the cartoon “braveheart.” The real Wallace would surely have taken the other side, with heads of the monarchy on the chopping block.
When the citizens of Longmont rose up against their council, they did the truly democratic (small d) thing. They asked for the annexation question to be put on the ballot. The Gang of 4C went along. What a better way to prove, once and for all, that they did belong in Longmont? However, they chickened out. The Gang of 4C withdrew from the ballot. Then comes the biggest lie of all. The Gang of 4C couldn’t work with the current City Council and were taking their ball and going home. But the City Council was already out of the way. This was between the developers and the people. It is as wrong to blame the City Council for the Gang of 4C running away, as it is wrong to blame them for the world economic collapse. Yet it seems that some people do.
I believe that religious freedom and free speech are the cornerstones of our republic. It is just sad to see them abused so consistently, and so obviously.
Daniel Organ/Longmont
Gang of 4C
(Re: “The gloves come off,” cover story, Oct. 1.) It seems that everyone keeps missing the point about Project LifeBridge, the Gang of 4C developers, and Councilwoman [Karen] Benker. By writing this letter, I am sure that I will be accused of being anti-Christian. That would not be true. It is untrue when it is said about Ms. Benker. She is a life-long Christian and someone who gives generously of her time to do good works in this community. Thankfully, Benker stood up to the royal elite of this town: the developers, the Longmont Times-Call and the “old money,” when very few others would. In her lone vote against the LifeBridge annexation, she clearly expressed her view that this would not be good for the city. I believe this was based on a fiscal analysis of the various costs to the city, vis-à-vis the overblown projections of the actual benefits from the Gang of 4C. In spite of her objections, The Project LifeBridge steamroller passed our rubber stampin’ City Council by a vote of 6-1.
Here is where the most important part of all this gets left out. I would say this is intentional by the alleged journalists in the Longmont paper. The citizens of Longmont stood up! More than 6,000 registered voters signed a petition and overturned the Longmont City Council for the first time in its history. This was a great moment for the democratic process and should never be forgotten or dismissed.
The propaganda machine would have us believe that this was a gathering of all the Christian haters in town. That would be a lie. The statistics show that in our country, a large majority of people identify themselves as being Christian. Most of the petitioners undoubtedly would share this identification. The alleged activist bloggers in our town would have us believe this is a secret attempt by “Reds” from Boulder to take over our fair city. This is also a lie that gets mindlessly repeated over and over. Most of the recent waves of peoples moving here don’t come from Boulder. They could never afford to live there in the first place. One of the many outlandish and hateful lies coming from Chris Rodriguez is that Karen Benker wears a nightgown with the words Kill All Christians on it.
[Stephanie] Baum’s blog is full of misplaced vitriol as well, and the chicken guy should be taken to task for mistaking William Wallace for the cartoon “braveheart.” The real Wallace would surely have taken the other side, with heads of the monarchy on the chopping block.
When the citizens of Longmont rose up against their council, they did the truly democratic (small d) thing. They asked for the annexation question to be put on the ballot. The Gang of 4C went along. What a better way to prove, once and for all, that they did belong in Longmont? However, they chickened out. The Gang of 4C withdrew from the ballot. Then comes the biggest lie of all. The Gang of 4C couldn’t work with the current City Council and were taking their ball and going home. But the City Council was already out of the way. This was between the developers and the people. It is as wrong to blame the City Council for the Gang of 4C running away, as it is wrong to blame them for the world economic collapse. Yet it seems that some people do.
I believe that religious freedom and free speech are the cornerstones of our republic. It is just sad to see them abused so consistently, and so obviously.
Daniel Organ/Longmont
Candidate Opinion-Editorial: Kaye Fissinger
I have a vision for Longmont. It is a forward-looking vision that recognizes the challenges ahead, not just for our community but for our state, nation and world. The road ahead will not be easy. But I firmly believe that this wonderful community has the ability to meet the challenges ahead and prevail.
I began my campaign during the Boulder County Fair Parade saying, “We have the heart. We have the soul. We have the talent and the intelligence to make Longmont be the best that it can be.” As election day nears, I am still confident that this is true.
The decisions that you make now will have a major impact on your community for the next twenty years. We may be turning our clocks back this Sunday evening, but we must not turn our focus towards the past. We can learn from it, but we can’t repeat it. If we do, we will without question invite failure.
We’ve had our successes, such as the Civic Center, the Library, the Safety and Justice Center, the Recreation Center and the Museum. But we’ve had run-away development that has left parts of our town sorely wanting.
We have an assortment of Master Plans and a Comprehensive Plan, but we have no overriding vision for the nature and character of Longmont. We have elements of a vision but not a whole vision.
A vision of that nature cannot be accomplished solely by the profit motives of individual developers. It can’t be accomplished by hobbling together the business models and visual preferences of a collection of businesses with insular objectives.
That’s where we as a citizenry and we as a government representing all of us comes in. Ant that is why as ask for your vote if you have not already done so.
Moving ahead towards a sustainable future – both economically and environmentally – will take the best in all of us. There is much work to be done and it cannot be accomplished by those who think only of today’s dollar and next quarter’s profit. It cannot be accomplished by those who would sacrifice our natural resources especially around Union Reservoir to accomplish a suspect objective that divides us. Longmont has no alternative but to prevail in protecting our borders and defining for ourselves the nature of our community
On the west is a gateway to and from Boulder. The triangle now defined as the Twin Peaks urban renewal area has the potential to describe Longmont as a 21st century community. We can and should work with Panattoni or others who see opportunity in this area. But we must partner in a way that protects Longmont’s resources and guarantees that we have the revenue to sustain the services that our community requires.
I have been described as “suspicious” of business and I perceive this as a compliment, not as a criticism. As your representative I have a fiduciary and ethical responsibility to dig deep into the information presented, whether from sources within the community, outside of it, or even from city staff itself. I have the obligation to be sure that what is presented to us is correct, complete and honest. Making decisions on your behalf is a heady responsibility. It is not one that presumes that “what’s good for General Motors is good for America”. That was true in the beginning, but we all have seen what blind faith and rigid thinking have wrought.
We have the ingredients to complete a wonderful vision. We have the probability (if we work towards it) to bring FasTracks to Longmont with not just one stop, but two. We have envisioned the Mall area as having an overpass from a secondary station that serves a future mixed use development and the current Front Range Community College area. We have a major station planned at the flour mill location whether or not the mill can or should be preserved.
We have plans to revitalize our downtown and have hopes to be able to work cooperatively with local and regional businesses to make downtown an urban area with a “small town” twist. We have work to do moving northwards and this requires much more creativity, research and strategic planning than has so far been accomplished.
I am excited about the opportunity to offer my community my perceptions, knowledge and strategic capabilities to realize a vision that serves us all well into the future. Thank you for this opportunity.
I began my campaign during the Boulder County Fair Parade saying, “We have the heart. We have the soul. We have the talent and the intelligence to make Longmont be the best that it can be.” As election day nears, I am still confident that this is true.
The decisions that you make now will have a major impact on your community for the next twenty years. We may be turning our clocks back this Sunday evening, but we must not turn our focus towards the past. We can learn from it, but we can’t repeat it. If we do, we will without question invite failure.
We’ve had our successes, such as the Civic Center, the Library, the Safety and Justice Center, the Recreation Center and the Museum. But we’ve had run-away development that has left parts of our town sorely wanting.
We have an assortment of Master Plans and a Comprehensive Plan, but we have no overriding vision for the nature and character of Longmont. We have elements of a vision but not a whole vision.
A vision of that nature cannot be accomplished solely by the profit motives of individual developers. It can’t be accomplished by hobbling together the business models and visual preferences of a collection of businesses with insular objectives.
That’s where we as a citizenry and we as a government representing all of us comes in. Ant that is why as ask for your vote if you have not already done so.
Moving ahead towards a sustainable future – both economically and environmentally – will take the best in all of us. There is much work to be done and it cannot be accomplished by those who think only of today’s dollar and next quarter’s profit. It cannot be accomplished by those who would sacrifice our natural resources especially around Union Reservoir to accomplish a suspect objective that divides us. Longmont has no alternative but to prevail in protecting our borders and defining for ourselves the nature of our community
On the west is a gateway to and from Boulder. The triangle now defined as the Twin Peaks urban renewal area has the potential to describe Longmont as a 21st century community. We can and should work with Panattoni or others who see opportunity in this area. But we must partner in a way that protects Longmont’s resources and guarantees that we have the revenue to sustain the services that our community requires.
I have been described as “suspicious” of business and I perceive this as a compliment, not as a criticism. As your representative I have a fiduciary and ethical responsibility to dig deep into the information presented, whether from sources within the community, outside of it, or even from city staff itself. I have the obligation to be sure that what is presented to us is correct, complete and honest. Making decisions on your behalf is a heady responsibility. It is not one that presumes that “what’s good for General Motors is good for America”. That was true in the beginning, but we all have seen what blind faith and rigid thinking have wrought.
We have the ingredients to complete a wonderful vision. We have the probability (if we work towards it) to bring FasTracks to Longmont with not just one stop, but two. We have envisioned the Mall area as having an overpass from a secondary station that serves a future mixed use development and the current Front Range Community College area. We have a major station planned at the flour mill location whether or not the mill can or should be preserved.
We have plans to revitalize our downtown and have hopes to be able to work cooperatively with local and regional businesses to make downtown an urban area with a “small town” twist. We have work to do moving northwards and this requires much more creativity, research and strategic planning than has so far been accomplished.
I am excited about the opportunity to offer my community my perceptions, knowledge and strategic capabilities to realize a vision that serves us all well into the future. Thank you for this opportunity.
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