Guest Post: No on Edgewater Ballot Question 2A

From Edgewater resident Larry Welshon:

I appreciate this opportunity to offer a point of view on measure 2A.

In his recent submission to the Edgewater Echo, Councilman Beltrone laid out his (and, I suppose, the Council’s) advocacy for measure 2A. Note carefully that his reasoning is based on consolidating authority in government, which necessitates taking that authority from the people. As a matter of policy submitted for our consideration, shall we change the Charter to allow this consolidation of power? If we do, will this precedent make it more difficult to stop more objectionable measures? I would ask that you consider measure 2A not only on its own merits, but in light of a larger, and troubling, pattern.

Placed on the ballot by this council as a reaction to the limits imposed on local government by the Edgewater Charter, measure 2A may seem an innocuous change. However, those interested in a little cautionary perspective may wish to read a bit further.

It’s fair to say that the Charter of the City of Edgewater was itself a reaction to a previous form of city government prone to favoritism and opaque governance. It was a “strong mayor” form. We now have a “mayor-city manager” form. As originally conceived and adopted, the Charter placed strong limits on the city government, ensuring that Edgewater’s citizens retained power. Over time, the city council has been increasing its own power by whittling away at the limits that were in the Charter. This has been done incrementally by submitting to the citizens of Edgewater ballot measures that, taken out of context, seem benign. Yet if one looks at the larger historical trends, a pattern of consolidation of power by council becomes apparent.

Examples of Council’s nibbling away at the Charter as originally written include the following:

1. In 2014 the city council, through a referred measure, took over the duties of the charter commission from a citizen board. Council has since used these powers to suggest changes, not to actually systematically review the Charter. Associated with this, they disbanded the charter compliance and review commission that allowed citizens to bring to light potential violations of the charter.
2. In 2018 Council, through a referred measure, attempted to allow itself to raise its own pay after a subsequent election. Thankfully, that power still lies with the people.
3. Also in 2018, Council unsuccessfully attempted, through a referred measure, to eliminate the charter provision that allows a candidate who didn’t win enough votes to take a council seat vacated within 180 days of the election. Had this effort succeeded, Councilman Cory Reid-Vanas would not be seated today.
4. Through another referred measure in 2018, Council changed the charter to weaken enforcement of dereliction of duty by council members.

Council has also insisted on having their “retreats” away from the city. Although not a charter issue, this practice limits citizen input and, to me, shows a tendency toward consolidation of power by the Council and diminishing the power of the people through direct participation, something that was once common in Edgewater. Another example of this was Council’s discussion this summer about folding the BOA into the P&Z. The BOA is our last vestige of a citizen body that can review the actions of city officials.

All in all, measure 2A may be an okay idea in itself: granting to the City Manager, via Council resolution, administrative latitude as the governance landscape changes. However, what ought to be considered is whether or not you’d be happy if this much latitude were given to a less scrupulous City Manager than our current one, Dan Maples. Mr. Maples has my support as a fair and competent administrator from the moment he took the helm from his predecessor. If this measure had been placed before us under the previous administration, I’d have been much more vocal in opposing it.

Thank you for your time.

Larry Welshon
Larry.Welshon@gmail.com

Joel Newton

Joel has been a resident of Edgewater, Colorado with his family since 2012. He is the Executive Director of local education nonprofit Edgewater Collective and Editor of the Edgewater Echo.