The Citizens for Golden Committee:

• Casey and Gina Brown
• Matt Burde
• Saoirse Charis-Graves
• Carl and Pamela Gould
• Dan and Ann O'Neill
• Josh and Leslie Pollock

Comments:

Members of the community who are opposed to the recall (names used with permission): Add my name to this list. David Adzema Webb Aldrich Mike Ambrose Tom Atkins Margaret Auld-Louie Philip Baker Sam Bauman Tom Beckwith Jim Behrens Julie Behrens Maggie Bengston Brenda Berg Erik Berg Diane Bergeron Dick Bergeron Mary Block Elliot Brown Monica and Bart Buhlig Janice Burke Barbara Burnell Julie Butters Jayne Byl Meredith Campbell Traci Case Mary Ceynowa Tyler Clark Marcia Claxton Mona Collins Mitchell Melissa Connell Ginny Cowles Lorna Crawford Jim Dale George deCurnou Judy Denison Emmy Dimitroff David Driggs Hans Ecke Leigh Ecke Barbara Fall Kathy Fisher Brian Fletcher Marty Forman Edith T. Gail Jean Garrabrant Sal Glesser Steve Goldman Ray Goodhart Sarah Gorecki Pete Gotseff Peter Grant Alyssa Graves Jessica Graves Gwyn Green Uwe Greife Wendy Hanophy John Hicks Jerry Higgins Patty Higgins Ture Hoefner Greg Holden Gerald Hooper Jane Hoyt Carol Hruby Paul Imse Kelley Jackson-Condon Anita Johnson Paul C. Jones Alice Kalivas Jim Kalivas Marvin Kay Dave Ketchum Brian LaFlamme Lee Landkamer Hal Leith Helen Leith Betsy Leoff Frieda Leonard Ron Lillich Suzie Lucken Leslie Markovchick Pat Martinek Julie McClanahan Michael McGuire Sean McVay Heather Miller Ron Miller Sandy Miller Janice Mulford Marc A. Mulford Jerry and Jodie Muller Kris Nelson Chris O’Neill Nick Oreskovich Patricia Oreskovich Kelly Osmun Mark Osmun Don Parker Timothy L. Pasquarelli Scott Patton Bill Pazar Marilyn Peacher Susan Peacock Larry Pennel Kelli Polychronis Brenda Porter David Quintana Kristin Reed Robert Reed Julie Rekart Bill Robie Dianne Robie Lev Ropes Joseph Schultz Terri Schwering Julie Sexton Steve Shaefer Bob and Charline Shearer Steve Sheesley Bob Short Dave Shuey Erica Siemers Chris Smith Jim Smith Karen P. Smith Kerry Sproles Alyson Stanfield Roger Tapia Steven Taylor Win Taylor Dixie Termin Henry Tiberi John Tracy Ken and Marsha Trout Shelley Trujillo Jane Turk Meg Van Ness Noelle Vance Jane Vernig Vic Viola Paula Wagner Vicki Wagner Phyllis Walsh Beverly Walter Jacob Waples Lynda Wentworth Sharon Wheatley Phyllis Williams Terry Wolfrum Kristen Wrona Jarett Zuboy Add my name to this list.

"I have been very impressed with the performance and accomplishments of Mayor Jacob Smith, my councilor Bill Fisher, my district councilor and Mayor Pro-Tem Karen Oxman, as well as Councilors Diane Chesbro and Marjorie Sloan. To initiate a recall petition against them is insulting to their dedicated service, civility and sound policy decisions. I realize that we will not all agree with every decision Council makes, but on the whole I think most people would agree they have done an OUTSTANDING job. They deserve our appreciation, not this scorched earth policy of a recall by a minority who seem to be on a vendetta. The recall petition is ill-advised and flies in the face of the facts. I urge Golden citizens to NOT sign the recall petitions. If you are concerned about anything, contact your Councilor! Thank you, Gwyn Green"

State Representative Gwyn Green

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"The public comment period of the Jan. 8 city council meeting took nearly two hours as 18 citizens voiced their support for the six council members threatened with a recall.

"Don't fall for the recall," said Saoirse Charis-Graves, who has started a group, Citizens for Golden, to help fight the recall.

Elliot Brown, a longtime Golden resident and business owner was worried that the democratic process in Golden could be "hijacked" by the nine individuals who submitted petitions to recall all city council members except Councilwoman Mary Weaver.

"I think we should be outraged that a few people would disenfranchise us all," Brown said."

Excerpted from Golden Transcript article "Council addresses recall claims: Citizens speak out against effort to recall six City Council members" By Meredith Knight, January 15, 2009 Read full article

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"I have lived in Golden for 28 years and have seen our community be transformed from a 'keep it the way it was' town to the vibrant community it is today - in good part because of the actions of the City Council over the past several years. We currently have an excellent and quite progressive City Council who, except for one or two, are quite responsive to the citizens to whom they represent. A recall of the seven listed councilors is certainly unwaranted - both from the standpoint of their actions on behalf of the city and the cost of such an election. It is quite unfortunate a small group of negative folks in our community presist in causing our city so much trouble and expense - a group of folks who always 'don't like' what is going on but offer no positive suggestions or alternatives. I encourage all voters of Golden not to sign the current recall petition being circulated."

Paul C. Jones

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"It is time for the divisive movement in Golden to cease and desist.

Currently, a small group of eternally disgruntled citizens is embarking on an ill-advised and harmful effort to recall the majority of the Golden City Council. Citing the vague complaints of fiscal irresponsibility, lack of civility and failure to adhere to the oath of office, this group thinks council, with the exception of Mary Weaver, should be recalled.

Our response: Hooey.

The current council has been responsible, responsive and proactive. It has generally worked together in a positive atmosphere, with a common goal of serving and preserving the City of Golden."

MileHighNews.com editorial, Jan. 15, 2009 Recall of Golden officials is off base Read full article

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"Recalls were not invented to redo elections. They are a last resort mechanism to remove an elected official that has behaved so egregiously or incompetently to justify overturning the electoral will of the people. In contrast, our mayor and five councilors are impressively hard-working, thoughtful, and ethical, and hardly deserve to be subjected to baseless attacks by a handful of malcontents who seem incapable of constructively engaging in civic debate."

Excerpted from "Reject the Recall Petition" article on YourHub.com>Golden; Contributed by Vera Smith Read full article

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"I see that Golden is thriving and I am thrilled that most of our city councilors represent my values of sustainability, environmental stewardship, fiscal responsibility and separation of religion and government. "

Excerpted from "Petition for recall election is irrational" article on YourHub.com> Golden; Contributed by: Brenda Porter Read full article

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"You probably won't agree with every decision the City Council makes, but this City Council has been really good at listening to everyone, considering all the information, and using its best judgment to make good decisions for Golden. What has this meant for Golden?
• Despite the terrible statewide and national economy, the City of Golden is in excellent financial shape with very strong reserves and is well prepared to weather the storm.
• Our downtown remains vibrant and our merchants are holding their own despite a tough retail climate.
• The community's infrastructure (including our roads, water and wastewater systems, and our parks and trails) is in good shape and improving every year.
• The city now has and works hard to protect a long-term water supply.
• We have continued to enhance our quality of life, adding parks and trails, improving biking and walking around town, and hosting another year full of exceptional community events like the Candlelight Walk, the Wild West Auto Roundup, and the Fine Arts Festival.
We are moving forward on our commitment to reduce energy consumption, increase the use of renewable energy sources, and ensure Golden's long-term sustainability.
• We continue making city government more transparent and accessible to everyone in the community. We increased opportunities for people to participate (and saw dozens of people join our boards and commissions that had never been involved before), we upgraded our City Council broadcasting system (everything is now also available on the city's web site), and dramatically improved our accountability of the City Manager by establishing rigorous and transparent expectations for his performance. "

Excerpted from "Mayor Smith responds to city council recall" article on YourHub.com>Golden Contributed by Jacob Smith Read full article

"I am totally against the proposed recall of six of the seven councilors, and I ask everyone to refuse to sign the recall petition. First, it is a big waste of $50,000. There’s an election in November for four of the six, just six months from the proposed recall. If you don’t like your councilor, vote him/her out in November.

Fifth, a good number of the concerns brought up by Voice of Golden are not valid with the current city council, although they were valid ten years ago (phrased as “several years ago” in VOG)."

Judy Denison, via e-mail, with permission to reprint

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Get Involved! Citizens for Golden needs your help to stop this recall by making sure that every person in Golden understands the ramifications of signing the recall petitions. Volunteers meet Saturday mornings from 9 to 12, preparing mailings, making phone calls and passing out fliers.  Contact us for more details!