BY FREDA MIKLIN
GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER
Doug Robinson is running unopposed for Cherry Hills Village City Council District One. He will take the place of current CHV Mayor ProTem Randy Weil, who is term-limited.
Doug and Diane Robinson have lived in Cherry Hills Village for 28 years. They raised their five children there, mostly in the Cherry Creek public school system (the youngest went to Colorado Academy for middle and high school).
After rising to become head of the equities division at former Denver investment banking firm Hanifen Imhoff, Robinson left with others from the firm to start St. Charles Capital. In 2014, they sold that company to KPMG, a big four worldwide accounting and consulting firm. Robinson stayed on for three years. He is now the managing partner at Dry Fly Capital, as well as Adjunct Professor of Finance at CU Boulder.
In 2018, Doug ran for the Republican nomination for Colorado governor but faced strong headwinds as the only one of four candidates in the primary who had not previously held elective office, despite haling from a distinguished political bloodline. His uncle, Mitt Romney, is a sitting United States Senator from Utah and a former governor of Massachusetts. His grandfather, George Romney, was the governor of Michigan and U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Nixon. Doug has often attributed his commitment to public service to watching his family serve since he was very young.
While he pursued his professional career, Doug and Diane Robinson turned their attention to their children’s schools and the issues they observed in their community. Doug served on the board of Colorado Academy, where he held the position of Finance Chair. He was also Assistant Varsity Tennis coach.
Doug’s community activities included leadership positions on his HOA, his church, and the Boy Scouts. At the same time, Doug and Diane started three child-focused nonprofits, including One Chance to Grow Up, which they founded in 2013 with Greenwood Village resident Henny Lasley. It is focused on protecting kids across the country from the dangers of today’s marijuana.
Recently, Doug served on the CHV Master Plan Committee, which gave him “a desire to continue involvement in our Village to protect what is wonderful about it.”
In an interview with The Villager, we asked Doug what issues he expects to deal with as a member of the CHV City Council. He told us he is ready and willing to tackle the problem of the city’s poor cell phone coverage, without the use of 100-foot towers, managing Quincy Farm, and protecting CHV’s home rule rights over zoning policy.
To the question of whether there are any city policies that he believes warrant reviewing, Doug said, “Cherry Hills is in a very good place. Our challenge is to “not mess it up”, protecting all that is good about the city and dealing with the new challenges that arrive to maintain this wonderful place for the next generations.”
We also asked where he stood on the three CHV ballot issues, all related to Quincy Farm. Doug told The Villager he is a “yes” on Ballot Question 2A, the Council-Referred Charter Amendment, because, “The City Council should be unrestricted to manage Quincy Farm in accordance with the original Easement.”
Doug is a “no” on Ballot Question 300, the Citizen-Initiated Charter Amendment, because, “The Ballot initiative seeks to put restrictions on Quincy Farm’s use and mandate requirements that are outside the scope of the original agreement. I have listened carefully to Cat Andersen’s (the previous owner who gifted the Farm to the City) wishes and, in my opinion, the City and Land Preserve are adhering to them. I want limited public access on the West side and careful consideration by Council on what to do with the main house.”