CHRISTOPHER

residents are spread out in two counties and three school districts over 34 square miles. Change has been dramatic, but the method to elect city council members has remained the same for 65 years.

irdly, Westminster and Boulder are the only remaining municipalities with 30,000 population or higher in Colorado that elects its council members on an at-large basis. All the others either utilize an all-ward approach or a combination wards/ at-large approach. Northglenn and ornton are examples of all-wards while Aurora and Denver have wards and at-large council seats.

For any con guration used to represent the voters at any level of government, it is fundamental that good e ective communications are at play. While council members will say they represent ALL the voters in Westminster regardless of the geography of where voters reside in the city, such statements are questionable at best. With 116,000 people, how often do you hear from a particular council member? It just isn’t feasible to be an e ective communicator as well as respond in a timely fashion to everyone’s issues, inquiries, etc.

Plus, it is important for citizens to know who their council member is and for the council member to know their constituents. Over the years, as the city has grown and spread out, effective, timely communications have become harder and harder to achieve. Plus, having the idea of “my council member” simply has been a dream.

What should be the choices for council to put on the ballot?

ere are two plans as I mentioned above which would be a progressive step toward more e ective communications and citizens knowing who is representing them.

First, there is the all-ward approach. Using Westminster’s current six city council member con guration with a citizen-elected mayor, three wards could be established with two council members from each ward. ey would be required to live in the ward in which they represent. eir terms of o ce could be con gured so they overlap to assure continuity. Any ward con guration would require an equal population in each ward.

In my opinion, the city lends itself to two wards in the Adams County portion of the city. One ward north and one south would work well. e third ward would be the Je erson County portion of the city. ere might need to be some tweaking as far as the Jefferson County ward to assure equal population representation. is approach is compatible with how the three school districts cover Westminster - the southern part of the city is in Westminster Public Schools; the northern part is in Adams County District 12 Five Star Schools and the Je co side of the city would all be in the Je erson County R-1 District. Currently, each ward would consist of approximately 38,000 residents. Geography can cause di erent issues for di erent parts of the city. Each ward council member could champion the causes of their ward.

A wards/at-large approach is approach calls for one city council member from each of the same three wards. e other three council seats would be elected at large like they are currently. is plan provides more balance and assures a broader perspective in council decision-making.

Historically, a criticism of the ward system is that council members tend to be myopic in their thinking on citywide issues and focus on matters involving only their ward. e points made above for the three-ward con guration apply to this approach as well.

The favored approach I need to point out that in my opinion there is no need to expand the size of the city council. Including the mayor, a seven-member city council is ideal for functionality, potential diversity, operational considerations and creating a cooperative spirit. Either of the above options would serve Westminster citizens well.

Xcel Energy, Comanche’s primary owner, has agreed to pay taxes until 2040.

I believe either would improve the communications between citizens and the council members, especially representing the wards. Plus, residents would know who “their council member(s)” would be.

So, it gets down to nuances. Some may favor the idea of having two ward council members per ward with overlapping terms of o ce. Others may favor a single council person per ward with the over-arching citywide approach coming from three at-large council members.

I prefer the latter option. e two council members per ward approach have the potential for myopic policymaking given their representation of the 38,000 residents in a single ward. Plus, you have the potential of the two representatives being of di erent perspectives and persuasions which could cancel each other out. is would be truly detrimental to the residents in that ward. Improved communications and representation of residents in a ward certainly can be achieved by a single representative per ward. Having the three at-large representatives plus the at-large elected mayor provides more of an opportunity for a broader citywide perspective focusing on major issues. e starting point in this whole process is to have city council place one or both plans on the ballot in the November election. Let’s hope they will look past their own personal preferences which Atchison and Tripp failed to do.

Bill Christopher is a former Westminster city manager and RTD board member. His opinions are not necessarily those of Colorado Community Media. You can contact him at bcjayhawk68@gmail.com.ch

BESTComanche Generating Station.

CS Wind, now the owner of the Pueblo factory, this year began an expansion that will add 850 jobs. It cited In ation Reduction Act provisions that encourage wind production.

Je Shaw, president of the Pueblo Economic Development Corporation, said he expects announcement of other renewable-sector projects in the Pueblo area and probably throughout the state during the next 12 to 18 months. “A lot of it has to do with the In ation Reduction Act,” he said, and in particular the law’s buy-American provision.

Already, Pueblo County has been rapidly adding both solar and storage. But so far, the new tax base for Pueblo won’t balance that from Comanche.

Western Slope towns dependent on coal extraction and combustion are a harder sell. At Craig, there was hope on becoming a hydrogen hub, but Colorado has pinned its highest hope for federal funding on a project involving Rawhide, the coal but soon to become gas plant near Brush. Nuclear has its fans in Craig and beyond, and the Economist notes that the Biden administration is dangling billions in nancial incentives nationally. at same magazine also concludes that unresolved problems cloud the future of this technology.

As for new factories, Craig is 90 miles from the nearest interstate, at the end of a railroad and ve hours from DIA. It does have a workforce with skills, but so far, no new applications for those skills.

Brandon Davidson, a Distribution Operations Manager for Pearl Izumi/ Shimano and resident of ornton, CO, died unexpectedly on July 3, 2023, at the age of 44.

Brandon is survived by his mother, Cindie Davidson, his wife, Brittany Davidson, his only son, Carter (CJ), brother, Mike (Sister-in-law Rachel, nephews Seth, Cole and Jett), and grandmother, Joyce Davidson. He is predeceased by his father, Rick.

Brandon was born in Brush, CO on June 17, 1979, to Rick and Cindie Davidson. He graduated from Eureka High School, in Eureka MO. Brandon was an incredible hockey player and loved playing on the ice or in the roller arena. His employment taught him how to tackle di cult projects around the house and x them with ease. Brandon loved his 4-legged children over the years in Maxwell, Lola, and Lucy. Lucy is likely still barking for him to come home. Brandon’s closest friend was Chris Waldron (Dopey), and Chris is celebrated by our family for his devoted friendship. A lover of music, a very special lyric shared between Brandon and his brother Mike was “Weapon Out and Belly In” from the song Invincible, by TOOL. is lyric was shared between brothers just before Brandon passed and will be carried on by Mike.

He was a devoted father and considered Carter his best friend. He also was an avid sherman and taught the craft of catching monster trout to Carter. Brandon will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and all who knew him.

A celebration of life will occur in the future and be announced via social media channels. In lieu of owers, the family has set up a college fund for Carter (CJ) Davidson, and donations can be made in his name to https:// gofund.me/daf41d7d