Residents of the city of Golden should not sign the petitions currently circulating to recall all but one of the city council members, according to a coalition of local residents called Citizens for Golden.

 

“Don’t fall for the recall,” said Saoirse Charis-Graves, a member of Citizens for Golden and resident of the Harmony Village neighborhood. “A recall election would be expensive, unnecessary, and counterproductive.”

 

In recent weeks, Golden residents received two bulk mailings urging them to recall six of the seven current city councilors. One mailing was an anonymous letter soliciting residents to nominate their own reasons for wanting to pursue a recall election. The other was an issue of the Voice of Golden, an occasional publication by Golden resident Marian Olson, which was entirely devoted to calling for a recall. The issue included a letter from a resident who has subsequently reported his letter was reprinted without permission and that he does not support the recall effort.

 

Some residents have already been approached at their homes to sign the recall petitions.

 

"When someone came to my door, I certainly didn’t sign that petition,” said Brenda Porter, who was solicited at her front door last week in Las Casitas de Oro. “A recall election would be a waste of taxpayer money.”

 

City officials have estimated the likely cost of a special recall election at $50,000.

 

In order to trigger a recall election for any city council seat, petitioners have sixty days to collect a minimum number of signatures from registered voters in the affected wards or districts. Any recall elections that are forced by petition to be held would likely be scheduled for several months later. Four of the six city councilors in question are up for reelection in the next regular election, scheduled for November.

 

“A recall election just seven months before the regular elections is unnecessary and would not help our community come together,” said Matt Burde, a Citizens for Golden member who lives in Ward One.

 

“A recall election would distract our elected leadership from important city work,” said Sandra Miller, a Golden resident who lives in the Iowa Street neighborhood. “I want my city councilors to spend the next six months doing what they were elected to do, which is make decisions in the best interests of our community, not spending time and money defending themselves from this unnecessary attack.”

 

“I don’t agree with every decision this council makes, but a recall election is an extreme and destructive way to disagree,” said Pamela Gould, a member of Citizens for Golden who lives in Ward 3. “There are many better ways to get involved and have a positive impact on Golden.”

 

In order to convene a recall election, petitioners would have to put forward a candidate willing to run against any seated councilor they attempt to recall. 

 

“I don’t know what sort of candidates these extremists would put on the ballot, but I want community leaders who have a positive vision for Golden,” added Gould.

 

“This city is actually in great shape right now,” said Leslie Pollock, a Golden resident from the 12^th Street neighborhood. “We enjoy great services and opportunities for residents, especially young families like mine. The council is helping to organize lots of great community initiatives, like our sustainability, walkability, and bikability task forces. I was proud to participate in the sustainability task forces. These initiatives reflect the values of residents. Also, we just got a letter from most of the city council describing how the city was in good financial shape and was well prepared to deal with the economic downturn.”

 

“This town is such a great place to live,” said Charis-Graves. “This sort of divisive and mean-spirited campaign can only be destructive to the sense of community that so many of us enjoy here.”