For years, as head of The Arvada Good Government Committee and a candidate for city council, I sought to bring reform to municipal government here where I live. The donation of thousands and thousands of dollars to the election campaigns of members of the current and past city councils by the home builder's Political Action Committees, real estate interests, and local business cronies virtually precludes anyone with a reform agenda from ever taking office in Arvada.
The Arvada Urban Renewal Board has been known for years to have rewarded government insiders with favors ... it looks like their arrogance has finally exposed their irresponsible ways.
The experience I gained working locally with friends and neighbors to bring honest good government to Arvada, is the kind of down-to-earth agenda I will take to the U.S. House of Representatives. Because I do not accept any Political Action Committee contributions or contributions over $500, I will never fall victim to the 'legalized bribery' that now infects so much of government and poltics -- from the local to the federal level.
If you want true reform and genuine government of, by and for the people, then my candidacy gives you an avenue in which to express that desire. And, perhaps, if enough citizens of the 7th Congressional District want finally to put 'principle before politcs' for a change, I can be elected to take that reform message to Washington.
Link: CBS4 Investigates Arvada Volunteer Board's Perks
They stay at $300 a night hotels, enjoy $200 dinners with booze and all the extras and fly around the country to important conferences. Are they Fortune 500 executives? Hardly. They are the Arvada Urban Renewal Authority -- a little known volunteer board in Arvada.While board members are helping to revitalize Arvada and have increased the town's tax base by millions, CBS4 investigator Brian Maass found that these appointees are enjoying some delicious -- and expensive -- perks. ... When half a dozen board members and two staff members went to a conference in Las Vegas 6 months ago, they had dinner at Alize, one of the most expensive restaurants in town. The tab came out to $2,300, which included more than $200 per person for dinner and drinks, thanks to Arvada taxpayers. ... Over 3 years, nearly $160,000 was rung up for eating, drinking, traveling and retreats. ... Denver's urban renewal authority spends about $15,000 to $20,000 a year on meals, travel and conferences. That is a third of what Arvada spends.
