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10 Centennial Citizen
August 2, 2013
New citizens swear ‘faith and allegiance’ Littleton Center hosts naturalization ceremony for 38 jsmith@ourcoloradonews.com
By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com Colorado state Sen. Ted Harvey has been named the honorary chairman for a national super PAC that went public this past week and has its sights set on stopping a run to the White House for potential Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. “Hillary will be the nominee,” Harvey said, when asked about targeting her more than three years before the 2016 election. “I don’t have any doubt that will be the case. “The Republican Party has always waited until the last minute to try to define themselves and their opponents and you
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Thirty-eight people became new Americans during a ceremony at the Littleton Center July 25. Photo by Jennifer Smith that everyone in the room, not just the honorees, originated from elsewhere. “They’ve all added their distinct cultures to the montage that is the United States,” he said. The 38 honored that night represented 21 different countries. There were 18 from Mexico, two from Cameroon and one each from countries as diverse as the Netherlands, Poland, Bosnia and Ethiopia. Mayor Debbie Brinkman encouraged
them all to actively engage in their new country. “As you embrace your rights and responsibilities of being American, I hope you will take advantage of all our country both offers and expects,” she said. To that end, representatives from Mi Familia Vota were on hand to register the new citizens to vote before they even left the building, and business was brisk. Romaine Pacheo, the director of Gov. John Hickenlooper’s office of boards and
commissions, counted voting as a top benefit of citizenship, along with wider job opportunities, the chance to sit on a jury and freedom of expression. “It’s the best place to raise kids and the best place to lead safe and comfortable lives,” she said. Even President Obama paid a visit to the council chambers, albeit via prerecorded video. “Always remember that in America, no dream is impossible,” he said.
Douglas County legislator behind anti-Clinton super PAC Republican politician sure that former secretary of state will become 2016 nominee
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By Jennifer Smith
Native Englishman Jack Durston welcomed fresh Prince George Alexander Louis to the world on July 22, then promptly renounced his allegiance to him three days later. “I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen,” he said along with 37 other newly minted Americans July 25 during their naturalization ceremony at the Littleton Center. Durston came to America in 1985, sponsored by his stepmother. Times had been rough in his touristy, seaside hometown of Folkestone, and jobs were scarce. “I was so young, and there was so much turmoil,” he said. He became a drive-train mechanic in California, where he met his wife, Holly. She and her native land of Littleton convinced Durston he was here to stay. The city has gained national attention for the Littleton Immigrant Resource Center, housed at Bemis Library and supported by the Littleton Immigration Integration Initiative. U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet has touted its work with the “Gang of Eight” on immigration policy, and in April it won a $145,000 grant from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services — which just lured away Alejandra Harguth, LIRC’s longtime director. “Weve taken really a national lead in welcoming people from around the world to our community,” said Susan Thornton, an LI3 founder. Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Stahlman noted
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have seen the results of that over the last several election cycles. We wanted to make sure that was not going to be the case when it comes to Hillary Clinton. We wanted to start early.” The Highlands Ranch Republican said that Clinton is making all the moves typical of a national candidate, and that PACs are sprouting up in support of a Clinton campaign already. The only other candidates that he and fellow Republicans working on the Stop Harvey Hillary PAC are concerned with, Harvey said, are those she endorses. “Any candidate that she endorses, we will be there to tell the voters who that person is and counteract anything that Hillary Clinton and her campaign do across this
country,” he said. “Wherever she is, we will be. “We are going to continue to remind the citizens of the United States who Hillary Clinton is and what her background is; her whole history of misleading the American public, whether it was her personal or public behavior, her efforts with the Rose Law Firm, whether it was Whitewater or whether it was Benghazi.” The organization, “Stop Hillary PAC,” officially filed with the Federal Election Commission in May, but has kept things quiet until now. According to Harvey, the PAC had a very good week of fundraising in its first week of going public with appearances on Fox News, CNN and a story in the Washington Times. The group launched its first anti-Clinton YouTube video July 24 on its website, www. stophillarypac.org, reaching more than
100,000 people by email, Harvey said. The video had topped 31,000 views by Colorado Community Media’s July 26 deadline. Commercials and radio spots are not expected for a while from the group, as Harvey said they plan to keep their efforts focused on social media. When asked about whom he saw running against Clinton in 2016 if she indeed is the nominee for the Democratic Party, he said he was focused solely on stopping Clinton. “I am confident that the Republican Party will put up a great nominee in 2016 and will be able to be very competitive against Hillary Clinton, because of the efforts of organizations like the Stop Hillary PAC,” he said. Calls for comment to Mike Jones, Douglas County Democratic Party Chairman, as well as Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet were not returned prior to deadline.