I ask you to cast your vote for Mark Gotto
Next week, we will be receiving ballots to vote for several elected officials in Arapahoe County. I ask for you to cast your vote for Mark Gotto to be our Arapahoe County Commissioner District 2. I have known Mark for many years. He will be an outstanding commissioner representing District 2, the District that I have had the privilege to represent for 12 years. I support Mark because he understands what the commissioner job entails. When Mark was elected to the Centennial City Council, we worked together on several issues that were important to our shared constituents. He is smart, honest, fair and compassionate. I know that he will listen to and serve all Arapahoe County residents. He will focus on keeping our county safe, work to reduce crime, address mental health issues, and will support funding for important services like the new health department, road maintenance, reducing child abuse and numerous other issues that must be addressed.
I enthusiastically support Mark Gotto and ask for you to vote for him as your next Arapahoe County Commissioner District 2.
Nancy Sharpe, Arapahoe
County Commissioner, District 2
Vote yes on Prop 2A to update CHV city codes
Last August, while submitting an online order through one of the nation’s top auto parts vendors, I received a pop-up message stating, “we cannot ship to this address because it is in a “home rule” city that does not participate in Colorado’s Sales & Use Tax System (SUTS).” The message continued, “we will ship to this address only after the city joins SUTS.” My emails with the company confirmed that due to Cherry Hills Village’s outdated tax code, the company would no longer ship products to our city. Even after I sent a letter from the City explaining that the company would face no repercussions for selling to me, the vendor flatly refused to ship their products to my home in the Village.
More than a year later, this vendor has not changed their position and I’ve since heard similar stories from other residents. Proposition 2A is a straightforward update to CHV’s code allowing the city to join more than 200 Colorado municipalities in the Colorado SUTS program. A “yes” vote on 2A will help ensure our city receives the sales taxes collected on its behalf, and our residents are able to transact with merchants everywhere.
Kevin Schwall
We are at a tipping point in Cherry Hills Village
During the summer of 2021 Mayor Stewart led the charge to GIVE Quincy Farm, consisting of 17.5 acres of open space in the heart of the Village, to a nonresident daughter of the donor’s stepson. The Mayor, writing in The Villager and in the local Crier, stated unequivocally that Cherry Hills Village could not afford to keep and maintain the property. Quincy Farm would bankrupt the Village. Hundreds of residents rallied behind retaining Quincy Farm, including the Cherry Hills Land Preserve, and the proposed gift was withdrawn by Council. The Mayor has continually argued that Quincy Farm will bankrupt the Village.
Mayor Stewart is now advocating on his campaign website that the dedicated revenue stream for parks, trails and open space, created by voters when the Village withdrew from South Suburban, should be cut by 27%. Is our fund on the precipice of bankruptcy or is it so extensive that more than one-quarter of funds designated for parks, trails and open space should be permanently cut? Both cannot be true.
The Village does not have to choose between fiscal responsibility and its cherished parks, trails and open space. Mayor Pro Tem Katy Brown led the opposition on City Council to the Mayor’s proposed gifting of Quincy Farm. Katy has a demonstrated commitment to trails, parks and open spaces and to sound fiscal policy. Katy understands the revenue created by Cherry Hills Voters, how dollars come in and where they can be spent without reducing services, giving away open space or raising taxes.
The flip flopping positions of the current Mayor and disinformation regarding Quincy Farm and the Village’s financial status creates unnecessary conflict and dissension. If Russell Stewart cuts voter approved funds for open space by more than one quarter he will achieve the funding crisis he predicted when seeking to give away Quincy Farm.
I cannot emphasize enough the impact of this election on our Village. A vote for Katy Brown is a vote for sound fiscal practices and a vote to preserve the open spaces and trails that make our community a wonderful place to live and raise our families.
Respectfully submitted,
Laura Christman
Former Mayor
Cherry Hills Village