Over 180 people attended the Emergency Citizen’s Townhall at the Wheat Ridge Rec Center last week. We made the local news on KDVR and then Foxnews picked up the story and ran it nationally with other large sanctuary city suburbs responding similarly to us! We also made a Telemundo newscast.
KDVR Story on YouTube: https://youtu.be/oqzXHN7hgZI?si=u3545cVogup2R8Bn
View the entire Townhall on Rumble
Thank you to all who attended for Taking up the Torch to get involved. Many have asked me (Brian) what the next step is from here. So this writing is here to explain next steps:
Immediate Next Steps:
Like the flyer said, this could be coming to Jefferson County, not just Wheat Ridge. Visit your next city council meeting or Jeffco commissioner’s meeting. Voice your concern that Denver needs to deal with their sanctuary problems instead of exporting them out to the rest of us. Be clear. Be brief. Be respectful. And be firm. As citizens we expect our elected officials to respond to the community.
Wheat Ridge City Council: January 8, 6:30 PM, 7500 W 29th Ave. Wheat Ridge, CO 80033. Arrive early and sign up to speak during public comment.
Arvada City Council: January 8, 6:00 PM, 8101 Ralston Road, Arvada, CO 80002. Arrive a few minutes early and sign up to speak during public comment.
Golden City Council: January 9, 6:30 PM, 911 10th St., Golden CO, 80401 (note that there is a reception for new council members at 5:30). Arrive a few minutes early and sign up to speak during public comment.
Jeffco Commissioners Meeting: January 9, 9:00 AM, Hearing Room 1, Board of County Commissioners Board Room, 100 Jefferson County Parkway, Golden CO 80419. Arrive a few minutes early and sign up to speak during public comment.
Messaging suggestions: Denver has declared themselves to be a sanctuary city and Mayor Johnston is working to “house” as many immigrants and homeless as possible. The Denver-based attempts to put these immigrants up in hotels is not working – as can be seen by the chaos around these facilities. We do NOT want Denver to export its problems to our community.
Engage More:
Look at your city or county website and search for boards and commissions. There are always openings on one or more of these volunteer boards or commissions. These groups often do the legwork that the city council doesn’t have the time to do. You can learn how public policy works and your place in it. For those of us in Wheat Ridge, visit https://www.ci.wheatridge.co.us/1127/Boards-Commissions to get started.
Attend or watch our council proceedings regularly. Since they are televised or live streamed, you can do it from the comfort of your own home if desired. This gives you the opportunity to see what your elected officials do and are doing to you. You will likely be surprised at some of the policies they enact that you simply haven’t been paying attention to.
Do the same with your state legislature. Their 2024 session begins on January 10th and goes through May 8th. From March through the end of the session is when most of the laws pass. Pay special attention at the end of the session as that is when a lot of bad legislation is rushed through – this is the consequence of a super-majority by one party in the legislature. Remember, elections have consequences.
Engage Even More:
Contribute to candidates at every level whose values more closely align with yours. Many people on the right-of-center are busy working or, in retirement, spending time with activities and families and have left the public sphere alone. Now the far left has come to dominate many areas of the public sphere.
Run for office. There are many offices at the local level where the race is “non-partisan” from the RTD board (with a huge budget), city councils, and special districts. Then, in a year like 2024, there are many partisan offices like county commissioner, district attorney, state senate, state house and of course federal offices. Most of the attendees would have been in the 7th Congressional District.
Also, Kathleen Chandler of the Independence Institute is running the Local Government Project. They’re next class to help you engage better is February 1 via Zoom. You can register for this $10 class here.
And visit takingupthetorch.org to see how others are making a difference and discover opportunities as they arise.
Finally, if you haven’t already signed up for the Torch, do it now.