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The word "integrity" means different things to different people, especially when politics are concerned.
When I make an assertion about the city's budget or a decision made by a past council, you can count on me to cite a verifiable source. The information that I share is not rumor. It is verifiable fact, and I encourage everyone to investigate the source documents themselves.
Over the years, I've spent a great deal of my personal time both gathering information straight from the source and also challenging misinformation when it is presented in public. This hasn't always been politically beneficial to me, but my first priority when conducting public business is always to see false assertions and rumors challenged and replaced with verifiable facts.
Englewood is facing some challenges. We are in the process of executing massive upgrades to the city's water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure. The cost of these upgrades is already showing up on all of our water bills. In the past four years, we've improved our roads thanks to voter approval of a new sales tax, but residents still have ongoing concerns with safety. I am more interested in solving those problems than I am in laying blame for them occurring in the first place. I hope that we can all move forward together, and you have my commitment to open, honest, and transparent communication about the city's needs.
Openness
Openness
Colorado law says that the business of the People must be done in the public light. (24-6-401, C.R.S.) While some citizens may desire confidentiality when dealing with elected officials, the elected official has a duty to keep public his or her business conducted for the People. When an elected official uses a personal email account to conduct public business, trust is broken.
I'm committed to using my official city email account to conduct business. Constituents who desire confidentiality may contact me by telephone or meet me in-person to discuss their concerns. Englewood citizens should be able to count on their elected officials to conduct the business of the People in full public light. When we can monitor what our elected officials are doing, we gain a better understanding of how and why our government works.
Truth, Opinion, Lies, and Between
Truth, Opinion, Lies, and Between
Lots of people talk about the truth. Lots of people label their opinion as truth. Some people pepper truth with lies making it more difficult to discern what is real and what is concocted.
As your elected city council representative, I will work diligently to label truth with sources, opinions as such, and - lastly - to point out lies and falsehood when I encounter it. That process starts with familiarizing myself with the city's charter and the Englewood Municipal Code so that I can immediately address incorrect claims about the laws that govern the city.
When a claim is made about actions taken by our city staff, police or fire response times, or the professionalism of our city employees, I intend to investigate that claim and to close the loop in public at the next available opportunity. Council has a responsibility to address complaints that are made in public and to keep the rest of the public informed by providing an explanation of how the complaint was resolved.
My Approach to Public Records
My Approach to Public Records
Colorado law says that records held by government are open and accessible to the People with certain limited exceptions. (C.R.S. 27-72-201, et seq.) Throughout my council tenure and even before, I was protective of the right of the People to access the records that they own. While few records requests result in any difficulty, I once conducted a meeting with a journalist, her editor, the Chief of Police, the city manager, me, and a handful of other folks to discuss the difficulty that the journalist was having obtaining police records. While police records are handled differently under the law than other government records, I asked for the meeting because I felt that we were having issues with disclosure at the time. The meeting was productive, and all of the concerned parties were able to come to agreement over how to communicate with one another in the future.
Call or Text: 303-900-8811 Email: WardforEnglewood@gmail.com
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