| Archive for edgewatertalkingstick.myfreeforum.org The talking stick has been used in many cultures to promote discussion and community. It is our hope that citizens will join in and gain a greater sense of community involvement. Note: This is not a government sanctioned forum. |
| Adam Gardner |
Open Letter To The CommunityDear Neighbors,Some of you may have received a campaign flyer on your door from City Council Candidate John McCloskey. Many of you may be wondering about the accusation he leveled against the members of City Council. Unfortunately, the sort of defamation of character Mr. McCloskey has caused cannot easily be undone. Printing a response flyer and delivering it around the city is both cost and time prohibitive. Further, such protestations would likely only further the unfortunate downturn this campaign season has taken. I appeal to all, both those who have been defamed, and those who have previous negative experiences with Mr. McCloskey to take a calm and reasoned approach. I have great faith in the voters of this community that they can see through these false accusations. No member of Council has been illegally influenced by gifts from our current City Attorney. The current City Attorney is honest to a fault, and would never seek to exert undue influence. The event to which Mr. McCloskey refers was a team-building experience, where members of Council, the Mayor, the City Manager, and all Department Heads, and guests of the same (spouses, etc.) were invited to attend a Rockies game in a luxury box at Coors Field. This is explicitly allowed by Edgewater's code of ethics which is embodied in the City Charter and Article 8 of Chapter 2 of the Edgewater Municipal Code (http://www.colocode.com/edgewater.html), which reads in part as follows: 2-8-30(b) Officials, employees and members of their immediate family may accept the following even if the official or employee is in a position to take official action with regard to the donor or if the official or employee has an existing, ongoing or pending contract, business or regulatory relationship with the donor: ... (8)Items of perishable or nonpermanent value, including but not limited to meals, lodging or tickets to sporting, recreational educational or cultural events; Though I personally would not have been influenced by attending the Rockies game, and though I clearly understood that I could legally accept the tickets and attend the game, I chose instead to pay the full cost for my two tickets. I did this to honor my longstanding tradition of not accepting any gifts from those with whom I have a business relationship. This tradition applies to both my personal/private employment, and my capacity as an elected official. I encourage all members of the community to consider whether they want the kind of person that would libel another just to get elected to represent them and their community. Sincerely, Adam Gardner Posted below for your convenience is both the text of Mr. McCloskey's flyer and a link to a scanned copy, and the message I sent to him along with evidence to support my position. |
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| Adam Gardner |
John McCloskey's FlyerJohn McCloskeyFor City Council I am always available to listen to your concerns and work for the benefits of all Edgewater citizens and businesses Contact me at any of these sources: 2278 Ingalls St Home: 303-351-4749 Cell: 303-995-2989 email: JAM853@msn.com SIGNS - SIGNS - everywhere as sign. Do we really know a lot about them all. You should know something about the current city council members that maybe you don't. Please read my concerns below & some words about who I am. IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE! LET US MOVE FORWARD WITH NEW IDEAS FRESH MINDS AND NEW ENERGY! CONCERNS That members of the current city council have abused the open meetings law and that they have abused the executive session and closed out the citizens of Edgewater. That they have stopped allowing citizens input at council meetings on certain agenda items. That they have excepted gifts from the city attorney and then held a closed door meeting to talk about emails they used to discuss it. This could have been taken by some to be a bribe!! As a citizen of Edgewater, you and I need to stand up and say NO. We don't want any council member to except gifts from anyone let alone the city attorney. The council makes that appointment and decides the pay for the attorney. Promises Made, Promises Broken. It is time for a change. 20th & Depew still stands vacant after 8 years and the city spending 10's of thousands of dollars to only change a plan that the citizens of Edgewater had decided on. The old Masons building on 25th Ave still stands empty. We need leaders in this community that can make a decision and move forward. We as citizens can do this by not putting them back in office. VOTE NO for Adam Gardner VOTE NO for Laura Keegan VOTE YES FOR THE REST PEKSONAL INFORATION My wife Rhea & I moved to Edgewater 18 years ago. We raised our daughter Jessica here where I got involved with the schools. I joined the Jefferson County Area Accountability Committee and worked to bring more resources to Lumberg & Edgewater Elementary. We also worked to bring much needed resources to Jefferson High School which continues to show improvement each year. I was a member of DRCOG (Denver Regional Council of Governments) where I networked with many individuals that helped Edgewater with several projecs. I proudly served in in US Army for 10 years, 6 of which were overseas. I'm a Life time member of the DAV. I serviced on the Edgewater City Council years back when we developed the Manhattan Beach Community. We negotiated with the developer to bring Target to Edgewater and move King Soopers to its current location, all to help insure the continued financial health of Edgewater. I have and always will seek the input of Edgewater Citizens before acting on any change in this city. I live here and have made many many friendships here. I have always supported the Historic preservation of this city responsible growth. This is our city. Let me help keep it that way. Thank you again for your support. PRIORITIES Work on solutions for the development of 20th and Depew. Finding a home for the police department. The rent has doubled in the last four years and the building is falling apart. Work with ERA to promote community development. Work with & support the city manager to ensure that Edgewater has all the resources available to move Edgewater forward. Having a fiscally strong budget process that includes citizen input. Our current city finances are a mess. To bring back communication to the residents so they know what is going on. Work on enhancing the Code of Ethics for Council so they can't be abused. I am ready to work with the new council members to move Edgewater forward and back to an open government where the citizens know what is going on. I want to bring City Government to the people! I humbly ask for your vote and promise to serve you the citizens and its businesses for the betterment of Edgewater. This is an exciting time for Edgewater. We have our first City Manager and he needs a council that will work with him to get Edgewater moving forward again We have to many buildings sitting empty and not being used. My past experience with the negotiations with the developer to bring Target to Edgewater along with the moving of King Soopers to their current location give me vast insight into what it takes to bring business to our community. http://cid-9587be73eba72701.skydr...aspx/Public/McCloskey%20Flyer.pdf |
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| Adam Gardner |
My E-Mail to John McCloskeyMr. McCloskey,You sir have libeled me. Your flyers which were delivered door to door today are the kind of thing that makes it very tough for honorable people to serve their community. If you had simply asked, I would have been more than happy to provide you a copy of the attached cancelled check which fully covered the cost of the supposed “gift” you claimed I accepted. Note the date on the check was prior to the event in question. This information was also common knowledge among all the members of council and any citizens who asked for the e-mails which you also incorrectly claimed Council kept secret. You should knock on the door of every member of this community and let them know that you lied to them. Please immediately cease and desist in delivering your libelous flyer. Sincerely, Councilman Gardner cc. Beth Hedberg, City Clerk (Please make this message and the attachment a public record. I will pay the cost of any copy anyone requests.) cc. Other interested parties Attachment: http://cid-9587be73eba72701.skydr...com/self.aspx/Public/check895.pdf |
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| Not voting for McCloskey |
CowardWhat a coward! He can't even face the public he wants to elect him. He hires someone to take his smear flyers around. The other candidates take the time to walk around the city and talk to people. Why doesn't he? He's afraid he'll be confronted with the truth and he doesn't know how to deal with that.He is a mean, nasty and vindictive man. He is angry at council because they did not appoint him to the CRCC. The only person in the room that wanted him on that commission was Joan Martin and the mayor, Bonnie McNulty. And him of course. I seriously doubt that anyone really wants to work with him on council either. He was a bully when he was on before and he is still a bully. Call the number on his flyer and ask him why he wants to be on council. See if you get a warm and fuzzy feeling from him. This guy stands in judgement of everyone around him. What he needs to do is take a look at himself. He is the ultimate sleaze bag. This guy makes Bernie Madoff look like a saint. Find out the truth before you vote. Don't let his smear campaign influence your decision. It is lies and hatred. We don't need that type of man on our city council. |
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| Be informed |
John McCloskey's FlyerIsn't it ironic that McCloskey claims to be interested in hearing from the citizens of Edgewater and finding a new home for the police department. He actually was on the council who sold the police department building out from under the city. And now he acts as if he had nothing to do with that? This man has been one of the most condescending personaities ever on council. He was the council member who quit in a tirade of verbage - against the community he now is saying he wants to move forward. He was the councilman who brought a book of code revisions before council, packing several standing room only council meetings, because he wanted Edgewater to become a gated type community with a law for everything both in and outside of our houses. Luckily he was outnumbered. The citizens spoke - loudly.He was also one of the council who was trying to get all the mass housing in at 20th and Depew. Again stopped by a crowd of citizens not wanting apartments to go in and become future low income housing units. I remember all of this and much more. I remember well all of the condemning looks he cast about the room, the dismissal of anyone's ideas when they spoke before council with ideas and comments. If you think he will try to elevate this community, you are wrong. Be informed. Call the various candidates and talk with them. Don't be fooled by this man who would not even participate in the meet the candidate coffees. They had a table for him, were expecting him but he was a no show, apparently without even bothering to let anyone know he wasn't interested in meeting the public. Nor did he post signs with the rest, and make this run a community endeavor so we get the best of the best. Instead he comes in at the last minute, after the ballots go out and spreads lies. Don't believe them and don't let your friends and neighbors fall for them. Be informed, make a decision based on research not on a candidate's last minute hate mail. I'm sure he's loving this. Attention as you know, whether good or bad makes no difference to someone like him. Just a need to be noticed. I hate to do that- give him attention. Normally I wouldn't say anything, but our city is moving in a good direction, and I know him to be a hindrance to the forward motion. Know what you are getting into if you believe him. He is a bitter man with his own agenda. The city would most likely have been a lot farther along right now if we hadn't had him on council in the past. To the poster, Not Voting for McCloskey---- nor am I nor are any of my informed friends and neighbors. |
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| Guest |
I was confused by the fact that he was so against Adam and Laura, but perfectly fine with Joan. Does anyone know if she attended the baseball game also?
Aside from that, I thought his flyer was one of the worst pieces of campaign literature I have seen (bad grammer, spelling, incorrect word choices, confusing sentences, etc.) I don't want someone like that representing me, that's for sure! |
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| ERA Rec SOS |
Joan & etcI have it on good authority that Joan did attend the game. I heard from someone on my street that McCloskey was telling people when he was getting signatures on his ballot petition that he had considered running for Mayor but instead decided to run for Council. I know that the Mayor also went to the ballgame, but McCloskey didn't seem to have a problem with her either. It seems as though this isn't so much about the ballgame as something else.The strange part is that Laura wasn't a part of ANY of the other stuff McCloskey put in his "concerns" section because she wasn't yet on Council. It is a mystery as to why he singled out Adam and Laura. Considering he basically said that the entire Council had accepted bribes, and at least four of those same people (Kent, Joan, Adam, Jamie, Laura, Bonnie) will be sitting next to him every week, it makes you wonder how effective he could even be. He could definitely have raised this issue in a more tactful manner. From what I saw all those years ago, this tactless assault on the sensibilities of everyone around him is his general modus operandi... 50 points to anyone who can solve the mystery. Bonus points to anyone who can solve the anagram! |
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| EW History Buff |
Don't repeat this mistakeAdam and Laura are the only incumbents in this year's City Council election and Laura is running for the first time, as she was appointed this spring to fill a vacancyCould it be that Mr.Closkey named them on his flyer because they, as well as everyone else on Council, except Joan, voted against Mr. Closkey's application for the Charter Review and Compliance Commission? I wonder if the rest of Council had been running if he would have included all of them on his flyer as people not to vote for? My thanks to Council for NOT allowing this person on the CRCC. Vindictive doesn't even begin to describe this sort of selfish, childish tantrum. How could his man ever hope to work with any of these people after saying what he said? He just insulted all of Council, the entire City Staff and our new City Manager, now he wants us to elect him to Council? |
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| Recs Arose |
Minor PointJust a tiny minor correction...
Joan is also an incumbent. It's obvious you knew that from the rest of your post. Agreed on all the rest! |
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| Not on our watch |
It's a shame to have McCloskey behave like this. Again. We don't need a spiteful, malicious man like him representing us. We have a selection of 6 other decent candidates. Forget him and choose candidates who are interested in us.
I think you're onto something if Adam and Laura voted against him for crcc and Joan didn't. Makes sense. He's a vindictive man if you've ever heard him speak. I can't believe he thinks we would forget his past run here. No thanks. Not again. Spread the word. We can't afford to have him bringing down all the good that has finally begun. I shudder to think how he would treat our honorable city manager, attorney and council. We've seen him throw all his insults before, we can't let it happen again. |
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| RECALL |
RECALLThere is always the recall option, if for some reason his nasty flyers work to his advantage.Although, I would like to think that our voters are a little more savvy than to vote for that nasty man. How old is that picture he put on there, anyway? |
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| Behind the Door |
There seems to be a common thread that unites the incumbents and Mr. McCloskey. The sale of the PD building, behind closed doors. The 20th & Depew debacle, behind closed doors. The Andy Bertapelle fiasco, behind closed doors. The Baseball game, behind closed doors.
I find myself in a position of only voting for three candidates. Barclay, Clark and Cooper. Hopefully they will open that door and let the Sunshine in. |
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| Fact Check |
to Guest at 11:05Nice try to confuse people by weaving completely different City Councils - in different eras- into one sensational, unsubstantiated inuendo.Edgewater residents are smarter than that and like most Americans they don't take kindly to being told who to vote for.
Point 1. "There seems to be a common thread that unites the incumbents and Mr. McCloskey. Not true. None of the Council persons presently serving, were on Council when Mr.McCloskey was on Council. It was during Mr. McCloskey's term as Council President that he and former Mayor Bob Prewitt negotiated the sale and rental agreement that has given us our present headache with the police station. That was way before this Council's time. Point 2. The 20th and Depew committee was a Mayor's committee formed by for Mayor Prewitt and his right hand man, McCloskey, and McCloskey interviewed the members of the committee, his wife, the mayor's wife, three other Councilpersons, one ERA member and one ordinary citizen. These "mayor's committees" are no longer allowed under our current Charter. It doesn't take a genius to see why the make up of this committee might pose a problem. No minutes were taken, the rest of Council had to rely on whatever the Mayor reported to them during Mayor's comment at City Council meetings. Although the 20th. and Depew meetings were posted and open to the public, no one from the community ever attended until the community became alarmed. So, they met for about 6 months, under the radar, without any written record of the proceedings but not behind closed doors. Point 3. Mr. Bertapelle's commitment to his community was so strong that he wished to serve on Council and occupy a higher level position with the Fire Dept. that would better utilize his valuable skills in medicine. Unfortunately, the current Charter didn't allow him to hold both positions at once. That was a very public proceeding in Council. I don't know what closed doors you could be referring to. It was even widely debated on the Talking Stick and it's still in the archives, look for yourself. Point 4. The City Attorney invited City Staff and the City Council and friends to attend a baseball game, as a gesture of teambuilding and an opportunity to get to know each other in a less formal place outside of Council chambers. Please refer to Councilperson Gardner's post at the top of this topic that footnotes the precise piece of legislation that states this is completely OK! I can only conclude that this "common thread" you refer to is a fabrication of your imagination or you haven't had access to accurate information. I hope my post helps to clarify the facts for you. |
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| Guest |
Re: to Guest at 11:05
You were so close. In fact, the charter DID allow Mr. Bertapelle to serve in both capacities. That was the contriversy. He stepped down from council on his own. |
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| Guest |
Wrong again. The charter did not allow him to serve on both. He had to make a decision and chose the fire department. People will believe anything in writing and Mccluskey is betting on that to get his claws into our city government. |
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| Guest |
Off topic but to clear the record.The issue was whether Mr. Bertapelle couldn't be "grandfathered" in to serve in both capacities.Mr. Bertapelle had already come to the Charter Commission asking them to allow his request to hold both positions and the Commission decided it would be too much of a conflict of interest for a Fire Dept. official to also vote on the Fire Dept. budget and the appropriation of funds to the Fire Dept., and the Charter needed to define guidelines over time, not just in a specific case. Mr. Bertapelle was aware of that finding when he sought relief through the City Council and the City Attorney to be "grandfathered" in to hold his old position on Council and to seek to become a Fire Dept. official because the new Charter stated he couldn't do it. He needed to decide which one he wanted more. Because the issue was conflict of interest, and it had been thoroughly debated by the Charter Commisssion (who really tried to find a way to give Mr. Bertapelle what he wanted) at the end of the day the policy concern about conflict of interest out weighed Mr. Bertapelle's desire to hold two positions. Even if he had been "grandfathered" in for a few months he would have been subject to the transitional provisions when the new Charter was enacted, just like the sitting ERA members who had to vacate their positions because they were receiving salary for work they did for the City. He did decide to step down from Council to take the position with the Fire Dept. and we are all thankful for his service and his commitment to EW. |
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| McCloskey''s flyer |
Go AwayIt's cheap. It's black and white. It's poorly written and it's full of lies (especially the one where he says he will bring change and work with the City Manager, ha! All he ever does is fight.) and it is probably in every one's recycling bin by now. I hope so, that is where it belongs and I hope he crawls back under the rock he's been under for the last 6 years or so and stays there, permanently. |
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| McCloskey''s flyer |
I hear that. He didn't come to my and deliver it either, like the rest of them did. He must not want the job very much. | ||||
| Guest |
So does he not put out signs because nobody wants his sign in their yard or do you think he believes that he doesn't have to work for it because there are 5 slots open? Is he trying to increase his chances by slamming 2 of the candidates? | ||||
| Guest |
Re: Go Away
So what if he isn’t one of the full-color, high-gloss campaigners, and so far not one candidate has knocked on our door. This is Edgewater. glad this shit isn’t on TV or something. Besides, fair is fair. I doubt if JM’s flyer meets the legal standard of libel that Adam has accused him of. Does that mean that Adam needs to ” immediately cease and desist” and ” knock on the door of every member of this community and let them know that you lied to them.”? Shouldn’t unproven assumptions about candidates be deleted for the stick? I wasn’t impressed by his flyer, but some of this is just mean and has nothing to do with how he might serve on council. |
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| Guest |
An old saying...Remember this one? "Where there's smoke there's fire?" Why would all these people be sounding an alarm about this one candidate McCloskey if there wasn't something going on?How do you prove that someone is a bully? How do you prove that someone uses intimidating, threatening and insulting body language to gain power over others? What do you need for proof? You tell me. Anecdotal evidence, second party verification? Dates, times, photographs? What do you need?
I think it is a stronger arguement when someone does back up their assumptions with facts and first person experience, but I thought the Talkingstick was also created to sometimes give people shelter to say things they couldn't say in public for fear of recrimination in such a small town. |
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| Behind the Door |
Just trying to show a trend in Council that has been going on for a long, long time. |
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| Guest |
I get it. It’s okay to pull the alarm on John, but not Devon. | ||||
| Moving ahead |
council trend is over now
But that is over now. We have a City Manager, a Council that works together, new people willing to step up to go on Council. We don't want to go back to the era of McCloskey and Pruitt and all the rest before them. |
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| Guest |
Everything I have read indicates to me that John is strong and your weak. I vote for John............... 
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| Strong Candidates - Yes! |
OMGI totally agree! We should definitely vote John in because he appears strong. Bullying is definitely the way to good government. Intelligence is overrated.That's why I'm supporting a Limbaugh-Olberman ticket for President and Vice President in 2012. Unless I can get John to run for national office??? hmmm.... |
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| Out of Sight |
Yeah, like the other famous EW politician of the time, N. McNulty. He spent a lot a time going to lunch with the Sloans Boys. Of course they didn't treat him to typical EW fair, no they went to places like My Brothers Bar and other Highlands hot spots to plot the granting of a tavern licence and the sale of the PD building. Out of sight, out of mind, I always say. The past is very much with us today. Isn't that right Bonnie? |
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| Guest |
Democrat or Republican, it matters not. McCloskey is a bully.
When he quit council the last time he threw a nasty tantrum on council as his closing statements. He decided to use his time to play McNasty once again. He was a part of that back door dealing group that included McNulty and Prewitt. Don't let him fool you. He was part of the bad dealings that got the police department screwed. That whole group was nothing more than a contest of who could screw who, and who could personally benefit the most from it. I don't trust any of them. |
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| Remembering |
The mistakes of the pastThe last instance I can remember of McCloskey and his bullying was after he left council. At Edgewater Days a mayor candidate opposing Bob Prewitt had an information booth. McCloskey tried to bully the people in the booth into shutting down, looming over people and telling them they had to leave. He did his best to be both threatening and intimidating (and at his size he does both pretty well) but he wasn't successful in that case. When people pushed back he backed off - typical of any bully.As has been said by other posters, a vote for McCloskey is a vote for bullying, intimidation and backroom dealings - not to mention really poor writing skills if his flier is any indication. Why burden our new city manager with this kind of old (wind) baggage? Edgewater will be a lot better off when some of its past is in the museum, not in city government. |
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| never again |
McCloskey' s true colors
I honestly believe this man has nothing more on his mind than to come back into council and try to start his reign of power all over again. He wants new people on council so he can do this. He is a master of intimidation. Look what he tried to do with his and Prewitt's committee. They had some pretty fancy plans for 20th and Depew that were kept under wraps and being worked on behind closed doors until they got found out and stopped by a king soopers full of citizens. No one found out though in time to stop them when that same council sold our police department. Gee wonder how that happened? Think how different things could be if we had not had those people in charge. Don't give him another chance to do more damage. We have a City manager to help deal with our development. He is an expert there. That's why this council hired him. We have ERA working well and moving toward a goal. He has had no part in any of that. We have a new form of government so that our city administration can be run properly and past mistakes can't be repeated. We don't need his destructive tendencies being an obstacle to our moving ahead. Listen to the tape from the CRCC interview. He is a bitter and beaten man trying to revive his role as a bullying council member. Don"t need it. Don't want it. It's refreshing that he is the only one running for council that has chosen to take the attack mode to try to get on. Speaks volumes doesn't it? He wants our incumbents off because he knows he can't intimiate or bully them into submission as he did with past council newbies. He and BP were masters at that. Ask around and learn from our past mistakes. We don't need to go there again. |
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| Guest |
Re: The mistakes of the past/true colorsGood to know even more about him. Thank you. |
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| Inquiring Mind |
I STILL wanna know!When Big John left council the stated reason was that he had been promoted at the post office and was going to be busy. However, post office insiders later said he WASN'T promoted. So John, what happened? Were you promoted or not? If not, why did you lie to the council and the public about it? And what was your real reason for quitting? Or did you get a promotion that was rescinded (though the insider didn't seem to think you'd been offered a promotion)? You have a responsibility to explain your self to the voting public, John, since you stated things in public that apparently weren't true. After all, sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, and if you're going to demand honesty from others in the public arena (although we find out we already GOT honesty from them) then we have a right to honesty from YOU. We all KNOW you're reading the Stick, John, so we'll expect your answer here. |
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| Guest |
Not in this lifetime. He's a coward. | ||||
| heard that before... |
This is an exciting time for Edgewater...The last time McCloskey said, "this is an exciting time for Edgewater" he tried to shove 155 units of high density housing down our throats and we lost our recreation center in the process. You can thank him for that too, when your kids have no where safe to play.Now he wants another go at it? No way. No thanks. PS I STILL wanna know TOO |
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| Guest at 7:41 |
Gee, "heard that before", do you know ANYTHING about the public process? Mr. McCloskey was on a COMMITTEE appointed to find a solution for what to do with 20th and Depew. A Committee means more than one person! That Committee sent out Requests for Proposals, and presented what they received to the citizens of Edgewater. Mr. McCloskey didn't write any of those proposals -- they came from professional developers in Denver who actually have some experience with building projects and knowing what it takes financially to work in the long run. Council could have worked with them to get a recreation center or police station built into the project. It was up to the Council to choose one, but they did nothing.
No, I am not Mr. McCloskey nor do I even know him. I'm just someone who gets tired of people making accusations based on wild assumptions and totally lacking any fact. |
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| Guest |
Guest at 7:41.
Perhaps you should learn more about the Edgewater 'political process' that went on during McCloskeys term. A very good lesson in governmental corruption. If you don't know McCloskey, you are better off for it. If you plan to vote in this election, and want to check that box next to his name, then I suggest you get to know him. I suggest a 10 minute conversation. That is usually enough to figure out his character. |
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| Guest |
You make a good point. This tread seems to be nothing but sour grapes and raw emotion. If these posters acutally produced some facts instead of feelings it might make for a better debate. I think you are right. John was one of many. Council had the final say. High density housing did not happen. The system seemed to have worked for those who opposed the housing. It failed for those who supported the housing. Public process works the way it works. What does that have to do with “Big John”? |
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| Just the facts |
Facts, facts, factsFact CheckPoint 1.
Not true. None of the Council persons presently serving, were on Council when Mr.McCloskey was on Council. It was during Mr. McCloskey's term as Council President that he and former Mayor Bob Prewitt negotiated the sale and rental agreement that has given us our present headache with the police station. That was way before this Council's time. FACT Point 2. The 20th and Depew committee was a Mayor's committee formed by for Mayor Prewitt and his right hand man, McCloskey, and McCloskey interviewed the members of the committee, his wife, the mayor's wife, two other Councilpersons (Nelson McNulty and Sara Cassiday), one ERA member and one ordinary citizen. These "mayor's committees" are no longer allowed under our current Charter. It doesn't take a genius to see why the make up of this committee might pose a problem. No minutes were taken, the rest of Council had to rely on whatever the Mayor reported to them during Mayor's comment at City Council meetings. FACT Although the 20th. and Depew meetings were posted and open to the public, no one from the community ever attended until the community became alarmed. So, they met for about 6 months, under the radar, without any written record of the proceedings but not behind closed doors. FACT Point 3. Mr. Bertapelle's commitment to his community was so strong that he wished to serve on Council and occupy a higher level position with the Fire Dept. that would better utilize his valuable skills in medicine. Unfortunately, the current Charter didn't allow him to hold both positions at once. That was a very public proceeding in Council. I don't know what closed doors you could be referring to. It was even widely debated on the Talking Stick and it's still in the archives, look for yourself. FACT Point 4. The City Attorney invited City Staff and the City Council and friends to attend a baseball game, as a gesture of teambuilding and an opportunity to get to know each other in a less formal place outside of Council chambers. Please refer to Councilperson Gardner's post at the top of this topic that footnotes the precise piece of legislation that states this is completely OK! FACT |
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| Guest |
That building was never a police station, but rather a converted meat market that has become a joke amoung citizens and criminals alike. I'm not sure who I can support amid all the accusations but I know that I like someone who does something other than talk. I have not seen anythng done with 20th and Depew yet. I know we have a recession but I wonder if the other plan would have been implemented by now under other leadership. Who ever can fix our problems will get my vote. Everytime I look at that poor excuse of a rented shack we call a police department I'm embarassed for us all because it represents Edgewater as a whole. | ||||
| McCloskey''s flyer |
and his trouble with factsThis thread began to clear up a falsehood made and distributed to every door step in Edgewater, by Mr. McCloskey.Clearly a number of people feel strongly about him but let's not forget how this started. I believe Adam Gardner's statement at the beginning of this thread would be a timely and appropriate reminder at this point. It too, is fact. I would call on Mr McCloskey to retract his accusations and apologize to the candidates he attempted to harm with these false accusations. If readers feel compelled to discuss Mr. McCloskey's character it is only because he has tried once again to manipulate the facts. Councilman Gardner's statement
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| eye witness |
no "do-overs"
Fact: regarding the 20th and Depew committee, John was one of 8 on the committee but as Council President, he and Bob Prewitt created and lead the committee. Council did have the final say when they voted to disband the 20th and Depew committee because Edgewater residents had lost faith in the committee's ability to be responsive to the community and to develop the project. "Big John" resigned from Council. Council did assume responsibility for the development of 20th and Depew and eventually entered into an agreement with The Ice Ranch Inc. to provide a commercial ice arena, restaurant, recreation facilities, meeting rooms and offices inside the ice arena building and a spray park and other amenities outside the building for the community. Then, last October, the recession hit but there are people at this very moment still working to develop 20th. and Depew. I don't understand why, in his statement this morning in the HUB, McCloskey thinks there is anything for him to help develop at 20th and Depew. The community has already asked him to step aside and Council confirmed that with their vote. |
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| Guest |
Hopefully the new Council will correct this piece of poor legislation which was rammed through Council, using Home Rule Power, to beat the States Constitutional requirements that we the Citizens of Colorado voted on. As written the code would allow any potential contractor to take any and all City policy makers to the Super Bowel to sway their vote. It's just wrong. |
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| Guest |
The law is the law.It's not OK to make it up to suit your purposes or to harm someone else with.You owe those folks an apology. |
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| Guest |
In 2006 the Citizens of Colorado passed Amendment 41 which is now Article 29 of our State Constitution.
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satell...e=1224913947935&ssbinary=true Before that law was enacted, the Edgewater City Council in January of 2007, as it's first order of business (Ordinance 01-07) used the powers of Home Rule to create a watered down Code of Ethics to shield its self from the stringent requirements of Amendment 41. http://www.colocode.com/edgewater/edgewater_02.pdf That is not made up, it is historical fact and in the record. I owe no one an apology. |
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| Guest |
Your premise is flawed, SirYou have accused people of violating rules that do not exist on their books. That is similar to saying, if I steal a loaf of bread in the USA, I can have my fingers cut off because in Saudi Arabia, those are the rules.Colorado's Proud Tradition of Home Rule, is just that, a proud tradition giving small communities the right and authority to be self governing. If those were the rules and they followed the rules you can not say they did anything wrong. The law is the law. If you have an issue with Home Rule then you should be addressing this issue in the state legislature not victimizing a few honest Councilpersons for receiving good advice from their Attorney and acting on it in the spirit of fellowship and cooperation. And to do all this to gain political advantage by trying to tarnish their good names in an election is truly unethical and underhanded. You do indeed owe them an apology. Shame on you. |
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| Guest |
The only unethical thing about this was the political loophole Council took advantage of. Legal is not always ethical nor right. Of what benefit to the City is it for any City official to accept "perishable" gifts of whatever value used to influence them? It is the root of corruption, one all to familiar in Washington. This very behavior has led to some of the most egregious failures of our City. It is time to correct our Code of Ethics and remove the temptation. Our Code of Ethics should address conflicts of interest and public declaration of a conflict of interest. No more sneaking around under the cloak of hidden City email invites, "working lunches" or exotic "retreats".
Again the apology is not mine to be given. |
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| Guest |
Close the loopholesPoint taken, if the Code of Ethics needs to be brought into line to keep certain Councilpersons from lunching with the Sloan's boys, I agree, wholeheartedly. I simply don't believe that the two Council persons being skewered in this election did anything other than listen to advice of Council and act in good faith.They are not attorneys, they didn't perceive their actions to be exploiting unethical, but legal loopholes. Had they seen this problem of perception, in my opinion, they wouldn't have gotten anywhere near that baseball game. They are being made unfair examples of a larger more pervasive problem. Review the code of ethics and correct the loopholes. and obviously, you are not the offending party, you write too well. Please accept my apologies. |
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| Guest |
I do not wish to beat up on anyone. But a problem exists and what better time to bring it up than an election, when public awareness is at it's highest. If the incumbents and new candidates are made aware of the problem then it behooves them to address it. If not now, then soon after they assume office. | ||||
| Guest |
For those who don't like our Charter, that should be addressed as an item for the voters to decide on. It can be changed by a vote of citizens at an election. Don't forget that the Charter was voted on and passed by a majority of citizens only last year. It was the citizens' vote, not council's vote. Don't put this on their shoulders.
All candidates, except McCloskey, are running a clean campaign, with no personl attacks. I guess he feels he can't run on his "good" name huh? It's a shame he has personally attacked Laura and Adam. It's wrong. Because he, I believe from reading previous postings and knowing his past antics, is against them for not voting for him for CRCC. This is yet another of his bullying techniques. Have you listened to that tape? Thank heavens the majority of council did not approve him. He is vindictive, at best. It's sad he attacks our current council , city manager, staff and attorney who have all shown they are only interested in doing what is right for our community. Does council all agree on every issue? Absoluteley not. Thank God. We need a council that looks into everything and has our interests at heart. It seems McCloskey, and some past councilmembers and mayors, have not had this ideal. Past actions speak loudly. This man is trouble. I wish everyone had seen him in action. He is bitter and angry. We don't need that ever again. We need representatives who don't have chips on their shoulders. |
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| Guest |
Regardless of McCloskey or any other candidate or incumbent, the Code of Ethics is not a Charter issue to be voted upon by the Citizens. The Code of Ethics is established by Council by ordinance. According to the Charter:
However, the CRCC does enforce the Code of Ethics in regards to the duty to declare a conflict of interest by public officials. |
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| Guest |
Geez, this reads just like a junk novel. Love it! 
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| Guest |
How so? I see no sex scandal here. Nothing even close to a Gary Hart or a Bill Clinton stained dress fiasco. No Gordon Liddy or Oliver North cloak and dagger stuff either. No sign of an Edgewatergate scandal. Just good old politics, as it should be. | ||||
| Guest |
my mistakeI hoped the story was just getting started and maybe there would be some cloak and dagger thing or a big betrayal involving a ten gallon hat or some sorid liason between an ambious, driven wannabe and a behind the scenes power broker...oh, too bad. Just good old fashioned politics, huh? So, when is the election over? I really prefer romantic drama.
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| Scare Rose |
A hat you say?Does this ten gallon hat have a name? I nominate the previous post for the Golden Talking Stick award. |
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| Guest |
don't get the jokePages 1-5 of this topic said a lot about this candidate John Closkey. I am not going to vote for him but I don't get the joke at the end of the topic. What's so funny? |
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| Guest |
Not much, it ain't a comedy. Lots of clowns though. Must be a slasher flick. | ||||