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April 22, 2021
ADAMS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
Northglenn-ThorntonSentinel.com
VOLUME 57 | ISSUE 37
Thornton residents rally for shopping center cleanup Though remediation has started at Thornton Shopping Center, neighbors want it done quicker BY LIAM ADAMS LADAMS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A rally at the Thornton Shopping Center showed the site continues to be a social and political lightning rod in south Thornton. The owner of the rundown site began cleaning up structural, aesthetic and chemical deficiencies after years of neglect. Some neighbors remain upset about the pace of cleanup and a seeming lack of accountability for property owner Jay Brown. Signs at the April 3 rally read, “Hold slum lords accountable,”
“No chemicals in our community,” “Clean it up now,” “Clean up our home” and “Environmental justice now.” The event was organized by two local activist groups, the West Adams County Collective and Unify Thornton. Their list of grievances included accountability for owner Jay Brown – who escaped having to pay fines in January at a sentencing hearing for 76 city code violations — and the cleanup of asbestos and perchloroethylene (PERC), a drycleaning chemical. Brown didn’t begin PERC remediation until after the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) sued him in Adams County district court, leading the judge to issue an injunction against him in December. The PERC seeped into the groundwater of areas surrounding the property, SEE RALLY, P4
Neighbors of the Thornton Shopping Center at an April 3 rally, protesting the pace of PHOTO BY LIAM ADAMS the cleanup of the site.
Adams County judge sides with Westminster recall group City clerk has until April 28 to issue new decision on recall petitions BY LIAM ADAMS LADAMS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
An Adams County district court judge ruled in favor of the Westminster recall group, the Westminster Water Warriors, in its lawsuit against the city and ordered Westminster City Clerk Michelle Parker to re-review petitions she previously rejected. The decision follows a contentious, months-long effort to recall Mayor Herb Atchison, Mayor Pro Tem Anita Seitz and City Councilors Kathryn Skulley and Jon Voelz for supporting water rate increases.
The Water Warriors said in an email it believes the city clerk’s forthcoming review will yield a certification of petitions and trigger a recall election, though the city’s regular election is months away. “The wait is over – We won this battle!!!!!” said the Water Warriors, whose attorney in the case was former Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler. As of April 17, the city was not immediately available to provide a response. Judge Kyle Seedorf sided with the Water Warriors’ argument that Parker used overly stringent methods to disqualify 80 petition sections. The Water Warriors, the city and Seedorf agreed that many petitions didn’t comply with city code, but “the extent of noncompliance with state or municipal law is minimal,” Seedorf wrote in his April 16 order.
INSIDE: CALENDAR: PAGE 9 | VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | SPORTS: PAGE 14
The main dispute was about coversheets on the petitions that circulators removed when they were collecting signatures. In 66 petition sections, there was evidence circulators removed the cover sheets, or unstapled them from the rest of the packet. Circulators later re-stapled the cover sheets for those petitions. Parker disqualified fourteen other petition sections that were submitted without the cover sheet on the front that were inserted elsewhere in the petition packet submission, Seedorf’s order said. The city argued the cover page is a safeguard against circulators misleading signatories to believe that a recall election would immediately reduce water rates. However, Seedorf said that argument had “no credible evidence.” Seedorf added, “This result best recognizes the fundamental right
of recall, the obligation to liberally construe the statutes to support that right, and to strictly construe any limitations on the power of recall.” Parker also cited an insufficient number of valid signatures as another reason for not certifying recall petitions. The Water Warriors submitted its first batch of petitions on October 30, 2020 and received a certificate of insufficiency. Then, the group withdrew its petitions to cure and obtain more signatures. They submitted an amended version on Nov. 30, 2020. The group claimed its resubmittal contained enough valid signatures, only to find Parker issue a final certificate of insufficiency, partly due to the cover sheet issue. Parker has until April 28 to issue a new decision on the recall petitions.
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