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Week of June 9, 2022
ADAMS & JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
WestminsterWindow.com
VOLUME 77 | ISSUE 33
THORNTONFEST 2022
Some Congress candidates don’t live in districts At least three hopefuls in Colorado primaries reside in other places BY SANDRA FISH AND JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN
The bungie-trampoline at the 2022 Thorntonfest got a lot of use June 4 at the city’s Carpenter Park, but the high-flying attraction was just one of the reasons to be there. Other attractions included a skateboard competition, a canine frisbee PHOTO BY BELEN WARD catching competition, live music, food and plenty to do. For more photos, turn to page 8.
Petitions out for Thornton campaign finance reform BY LUKE ZARZECKI LZARZECKI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A group of Thornton residents submitted a campaign ballot initiative to the city May 23, declaring they will begin the process of collecting signatures to put campaign finance reform on an upcoming election ballot. Residents have 21 days to collect 8,565 signatures, representing 10 percent of eligible voters at the 2021 municipal election, according to Todd Barnes, a spokesperson for the city.
If the group does collect the required signatures, then the city will put the initiative on the ballot after 60 days of the submitted signees but before 150 days. Barnes said a special election would cost about $200,000. The city would prefer to include it in the November 2022 election. The sponsors of the petition are Ward 2 resident Roberta Ayala and Ward 1 resident Justin Martinez. They are backed by a group of about 200 residents, Ayala said. She said the group’s membership increased 300% after Marvin an-
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | CALENDAR: PAGE 15 | SPORTS: PAGE 16
nounced at a March 8 City Council planning session meeting that 50 residents are organizing around the issue. Collecting at city events Ayala said the decision to start the countdown on June 4 was strategic — it’s the weekend of Thorntonfest. “They say they expect about 30,000 people there,” she said. The group also plans to collect signatures at other city events in SEE FINANCE, P2
At least three candidates running in Colorado’s congressional primaries this year live outside the districts they’re seeking to represent, a rare but legal move that leaves them vulnerable to political scrutiny. Several other congressional candidates in the state are relative newcomers to their political parties. The Colorado Sun analyzed voter registration and voting history records for 25 congressional and statewide candidates running this year in competitive primaries to learn where they live and more about their relationship with their political parties. In an election year shaped by redistricting, candidates have been jumping between races and changing their affiliations to find the race that’s right — or maybe most opportune — for them. Federal law doesn’t require congressional candidates to live in their districts. They just have to live in the state in which they’re seeking office. The three candidates running to represent districts they don’t live in are: SEE ELECTION, P23
DEVASTATION TO DELIGHT Artists forge wonderful works from wildfire’s remains P12