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Last updated on September 27, 2000

This is a slightly dated item, but we wanted to remind people that the first thing Mayor Van Lone did after he was declared the loser on April 4th was to challenge the validity the election because 4 convicted felons had been allowed to vote (see Daily Camera article on Tom's accusation). This was never an issue and it would have taken Mr. Van Lone 15 minutes to determine that the felons were on probation and were legal voters in the State of Colorado.

The Erie Watchdog takes a sabbatical

The latest update on the status of the election contest from The Boulder Daily Camera

A legal challenge against the April 7th ballot recount for Mayor of Erie was filed in Boulder District Court by Reed Schrichte. The complaint asserts that legally defective ballots that were excluded on April 4th were included in the April 7th recount, and also that at least one ballot that indicated a vote for Mr. Schrichte was counted as a vote for Mr. Van Lone by election judges who were not impartial. A court hearing must be scheduled between May 8th and May 18th, 2000. view the legal challenge

The election recount yielded a result of 529 votes for Tom Van Lone and 527 votes for Reed Schrichte. A large number of ballots of undertermined status that had not been counted on April 4th were included in the recount. The legality of that action will have to be determined by a judge, but the only way to do that is to challenge the recount legally.

Check out the new message board we added to the site! Now anybody can throw in their $.02 worth

Since the Board of Trustees did not put the Vista Ridge annexation to a vote of the people, Erie citizens are circulating a referendum petition to require a public election on this annexation (as well as the neighboring but separate Barb annexation). For more information or to sign the petition, call or e-mail Barbara Connors (303 665-2190, blmconnors@earthlink.net) or Steve Skapyak (303 665-7480, katyak@rmi.net)

The Erie Housing Authority (which is actually the Erie Board of Trustees acting in a different capacity) voted to name the new senior housing center the Victor F. Smith Senior Housing Center after the current mayor.

This follows an earlier decision to name the new water treatment plant the Lynn R. Morgan Water Treatment Facility after a current trustee. At least Mr. Wurl was deceased before they named Leon Wurl Parkway after him. No word on who the Waste Treatment plant will be named after.

There will be a public forum on March 20, 6:30 - 9pm at the Erie High School. The forum is intended to create public dialogue about smart growth. The main topic is alternative development scenarios for the former Northfield property. Due to the Northfield defeat the developer is now taking a design approach that is much more compatible with the existing community, and is pursuing a philosophy that AGREE can support wholeheartedly.

AGREE is pleased with how things have worked out after Northfield. Neither Frederick or Weld County has shown any interest in the development. The developers is now being much more responsive to the community, and hopefully a plan will emerge that everyone including AGREE and the developer can be pleased with. If not for AGREE there would never even have been a vote!

When Erie voters rejected the 2,500-acre Northfield annexation in a December special election, it taught town leaders a valuable lesson on how to get their own way: Don't let the people vote.

Vista Ridge, another huge annexation/development project-among many that will turn Erie into a booming east county metropolis overnight-was the topic of a six hour discussion Feb. 22. After public comment, Erie trustees voted 4-1 against sending the annexation to a public vote, like they did with the Northfield project.

"Not only am I not going to put it to a public vote, but I am going to seek out the earliest opportunity to change the growth management policy to remove that provision," said Mayor Vic Smith.

Trustee Lynn Morgan said the Northfield vote taught her that the public can be "swayed by misinformation."

So here's the real message from Erie town leaders: The public voted against growth, so it will have no say in the future. The public is ignorant and easily swayed by private sector misinformation. We know better, and hereby revoke your privilege to vote.

We discovered a Town of Erie check made out to the Boulder Cork restaurant on February 10, 2000 in the amount of $1,450.68. Further investigation revealed that this was for a going-away party for ex-Trustee Richard Sisk (who moved just outside city limits last year and therefore had to resign his board seat).