nsrf march 2011 newsletter

8/7/2019 NSRF March 2011 Newsletter

1/25

1

North Suburban Republican Forum March, 2011

www.NorthSuburbanRepublicanForum.com www.NorthSuburbanRepublicanForum.org

Our next meeting is from 9:15-10:15 am, Saturday morning, March 12th featuringStacyLynne talking about how ICLEI impacts your city and Ben DeGrow from the Independence

Institute to discuss education issues and school choice. Remember to invite somebody new to

the NSRF as we discuss politics for the Denver North Metro area. Please forward this

newsletter to other like-minded individuals. We need to be activists to regain our county and

country from progressive-minded Liberals.

NSRF upcoming calendar in 2010/2011:

April9 Kevin Miller discusses his book Freedom Nationally, Virtue Locally, or Socialism

May 14 Colorado legislative session feedback

June 11 -- How to be informed and involved in Colorado and local politics

July 9 Local City Council and Board of Education candidates

August 13 -- Morelocal candidates

September 10 More local candidates

October 8 -- Final push for candidates before the November 8th

election


2/25

2

Stacy Lynnes Biographyy Colorado resident for 32 years

y Lifelong student of learning; most recently completed Colorado State University coursework calledEnvironmental Psychologyto learn more about the methods of operation of extreme environmentalists

y Passionate about the United States Constitution and individual and unalienable rights

y Local government observer, researcher, reporter and educator

y Researching the attempted takeover of private trash companies by the City of Fort Collins unearthed

connections and corruption unimaginable.y This information demanded a forum and resulted in the creation of a twice monthly, fact-based news

magazine called The Fort Collins Retortwhich is hand-delivered to business owners and individuals

y The Retortfocuses on local government actions that violate the United States Constitution, eliminateindividual rights, and negatively impact business owners and individual rights

Promotional Information for ICLEI Presentation

Q: Why did the City of Fort Collins try to take 6,600 private customers from two local trash hauling businesses?

Q: How do prime parking spaces in Old Town get replaced with bicycle racks and restricted green vehicle spaces

without City Council discussion, votes or public input?

Q: How much is one parking space worth to surrounding businesses in Old Town and why does it matter?

Q: Why did the City of Fort Collins spend $1.1 million on light bulbs?Q: Why does the City of Fort Collins spend $600,000 for bicycles, baskets and bike riding classes?

Q: Why did the City of Fort Collins ask for a sales tax increase?

Q: What is wrong with private/public partnerships?

Q: Where is all this money coming from?

Q: Is Westminster, Thornton, Broomfield and Northglenn playing the same game and with the same team?

Q: Why do all of these questions have the same answer?

Please join us to learn the answers to these questions. Discover how the United Nations has used the radical

environmental movement to transform local governments, eliminate public input, remove the power of locally

elected officials and how you can put an end to their goals. See page 23 of this newsletter for more details.

Ben DeGrows Biography

Ben DeGrow, Education Policy Analyst

Ben DeGrow is a Colorado-based public policy analyst with a focus on education laborissues. Since joining the Independence Institute in 2003, Ben has advanced its research inthe areas of collective bargaining, teacher unionism, teacher employment, and schoolfinance. He oversees the Education Policy Centers informational Web site for teachers

and coordinates the Institutes outreach to teachers.

Ben has authored seven Issue Papers, 17 Issue Backgrounders, and numerous opinion-editorials for theIndependence Institute. His writings have appeared in such Colorado publications as the Rocky MountainNews, Denver Post, Pueblo Chieftain, Colorado Springs Gazette, Greeley Tribune, Longmont Times-Call,Colorado Statesman, Colorado Daily, HeadFirst Colorado, Grand County Daily Tribune, and Denver DailyNews. He is a contributing editor for the national monthly School Reform News, and serves as the regular freemarket blogger voice on Education News Colorado. Ben has made many guest appearances on Colorado radio


3/25

3

and television programs to discuss policy issues. He has testified before legislative committees and has givenpresentations to community groups, legislators, candidates, and national conferences.

Ben was born in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1977, and grew up in the greater Detroit metropolitan area. Hegraduated summa cum laude from Hillsdale College in 1999 with a B.A. in History (Political Science minor)and received an M.A. in History in 2001 from The Pennsylvania State University. He is a 2006 graduate of theLeadership Program of the Rockies. Bens experiences in the classroom include leading recitations anddiscussions as a university graduate assistant and a term as a substitute teacher in public elementary and middle

schools in Michigan. He also spent nearly a year on the editorial staff of the Hillsdale Daily News, where heearned Associated Press honors for local sports writing.

Ben is married to Marya DeGrow, who also is his co-worker in the Education Policy Center. They are parentsof two daughters: Kyria and Elizabeth. Among Bens favorite pastimes are reading, playing piano, hiking,visiting historic sites, and participating in various sports. A diehard baseball fan, he is excited by the recentWorld Series appearances of his two favorite clubs: the Detroit Tigers and Colorado Rockies.

In Memory of our longtime NSRF member,

James (Jim) R Osmun

September26, 1934 - February 21, 2011

Visitation/Services was February 26, 2011

James Richard Osmun was born in Hugo, Colorado on September26, 1934to Charles and Alice Bailey. Because his mother died at his child birth, hewas adopted and raised by his grandparents, Burt and Minnie Osmun, along

with his two "brothers," Eldon and Richard, and his "sister," Mary. He livedwith his family until his father died on the ranch. Then, he and his mothermoved to what is now Englewood, Colorado.

He met his wife, Virginia, at Englewood High School. During his senioryear, he went into the Marine Corps and began boot camp. They then went on to the same college, theUniversity of Colorado in Boulder. Following his discharge from the Marines in 1960, he went to college tocomplete a degree in Medical Technology. He married in 1959 and had his first job out of college at DowChemical, Rocky Flats. He and Virginia had their first child, Cynthia Lee, in 1962. Their second and last child,a boy, came in 1967, Stacy Lane.

One of James' most notable accomplishments came while working as Chief of the Renal Research Laboratoryat the Veteran's Administration Hospital in June 1966 where he was awarded an honor for his paper, Total andUltrafiltratable Calcium and Magnesium in Human Plasma, Improved Method and Normal Values from theAmerican Society of Medical Technology. In 1970, he was named Med Tech of the Year by the DenverSociety of Medical Technologists while working for Van Waters & Rogers (VWR) Scientific where heremained for ten (10) years. He also started his own company during his time with VWR with friends SandySimons, Dale Harmes and Dick Camfield, called Control Products. He ended his employment with OrionResearch as an analytical sales representative. In 1991, he received the Million Dollar sales award.


4/25

4

After what you would call retirement, James spent his time working in the community with various groupsranging from the Rocky Mountain Llama Association, the local Republican committees; the Loma LindaNeighborhood Association; and graduating from the Colorado Clown School. He spent many hours serving hisfriends and family by building, caring for animals and children, and with technological support.

James is survived by his wife, Virginia; his children, Cynthia and Stacy; his nephew and wife, Richard andJanet Osmun, his nieces, Eleanor Marcum and Rhonda Hayworth; his grand nieces, Melissa Osmun and KatieHayworth; his grand nephew, Matthew Flansburg; and his five grandchildren: Derek, Alexis, Lane, Benjamin,

and Alec Osmun. Arrangements under the direction of Olinger Highland Mortuary & Cemetery, Thornton, CO.

If you no longer wish to receive the monthly NSRF newsletter, please send an email with unsubscribe in the

subject line to [email protected] . If youre not on the NSRF email list and would like to be added, send anemail with subscribe in the subject to [email protected] .

Due to a computer database problem, you may not have received the February 2011 NSRF newsletter. You canview and/or download previous NSRF newsletters by going to our web site at:http://www.northsuburbanrepublicanforum.org/newsletter/


5/25

5

Order your vintage limited edition 100th birthday of Ronald Reagan button for only $12 with

shipping included at www.AdamsCountyGOP.com. For more info, call 303-589-0638.


6/25

6

Denver Post Editorial: Adams County residents

need answers on Commissioner Alice Nichol

Taxpayers deserve an explanation about questionable deals involving a county commissioner and a localpaving company.

By The Denver PostPosted: 03/04/2011 01:00:00 AM MSTThe allegations just keep coming in Adams County. Last weekend, a Denver Post story by reporters KevinVaughan and David Olinger detailed a questionable series of events centering on what looks like an overpricedpublic purchase of property belonging to the mother of Alice Nichol, a state legislator turned Adams Countycommissioner. The story, supported by numerous public records, raised serious questions about possiblemisconduct and ought to prompt further law enforcement scrutiny.

Adams County District Attorney Don Quick assured us it would. Quick said the allegations have become partof an investigation that his office and the Adams County Sheriff's Office are conducting. The sheer width andbreadth of alleged wrongdoing in Adams County government are disturbing. Much of it appears to revolve

around Quality Paving, which has changed ownership but not its name. It was a road widening job being doneby Quality that necessitated the public acquisition of a home belonging to Nichol's mother, Rose Gaccetta.

The questionable elements of the deal include the property appraisal, project cost overruns of25 percent, andthe timing of the Gaccetta property purchase, which took place days before the county commission even votedon the acquisition.

The land the county ultimately bought for the road project had been valued for tax purposes at $197,677. Anappraiser chosen by the property owners pegged the value at $408,447, relying at least in part on renovatedVictorian homes in Denver for comparable values. In the end, the county agreed to pay Nichol's mother$390,000 for the property in a sale that was rushed to take place before Nichol assumed her seat on the

commission.

And let us not forget the mysterious vanishing of a five-car garage on the property. No one is quite sure how itwas demolished. But, conveniently, its removal meant that Nichol's mother was left with a clear, 3.1-acreparcel, zoned and ready for industrial development. In another oddity, Gaccetta's home, where Nichol grewup, was originally supposed to be demolished as part of the project. Then the demolition was removed from theproject. But at the end, it was torn down.

According to the Post story, it could not be determined how the demolition company became involved in theproject, how much the company was paid or who paid for it. This odd episode in combination withpreviously reported issues involving Nichol, Quality Paving and a good-paying county job her son-in-law got

despite being underqualified raises serious questions about Nichol's fitness for office.

Adams County taxpayers deserve answers, and we trust they will be forthcoming soon.

Read more: Editorial: Adams County residents need answers on Alice Nichol - The DenverPosthttp://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_17533838#ixzz1Flhmv18SRead The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse


7/25

7

Adams County road-widening project paved with

irregularities

By Kevin Vaughan and David OlingerThe Denver PostPosted: 02/27/2011 01:00:00 AM MSTUpdated: 02/27/2011 02:50:35 PM MST

The empty lot where Rose Gaccetta's house stood can be seen from the intersection of Washington Street andEast 71st Avenue. Adams County officials don't know who paid for the home demolition. (John Prieto, TheDenver Post)Related Articles

y Feb 11:y New owners of scandal-tainted Quality Paving struggling to turn around firmy Feb 10:y Figure in Adams Co. paving case appears in courty Feb 4:y Plea deal for one in Quality Paving, Adams County road paving scandaly Feb 1:y Adams County commissioner urges reforms after disclosuresy Jan 31:y Adams commissioner calls for reformsy Adams County district attorney expands investigation into Quality Pavingy Jan 30:y Employee preferences disregarded in furnishing Adams County administration buildingy Adams County Commissioner could be giving friends, relatives unfair advantagey Adams County officials get deals on county cars


8/25

8

On an unseasonably warm day in late December2004, anAdams County employee drove to the fairgrounds carrying a$390,000 check that he turned over to a man who was not onlyhis boss but a campaign supporter of newly electedCommissioner Alice Nichol. The check was for Nichol'smother, Rose Gaccetta payment for a strip of her land andher 90-year-old home, which was destined for the wrecking ballas part of ongoing work to widen Washington Street between

Thornton and Denver.

The Washington Street project, which continues today, washeralded as a key piece of Adams County's effort to meet thegrowth of the 21st century, and it helped transform an area oncedominated by farming into a bustling corridor of light But aDenver Post investigation found that the purchase of Nichol's

childhood home and the accompanying paving project were fraught with irregularities.

For instance, Adams County officials paid Nichol's mother $150,000 more than their own appraiser suggestedher land and home were worth. They handed over the check five days before county commissioners approved

the purchase. They overlooked concerns raised by the employee responsible for acquiring the land alongWashington Street. Among the red flags he raised: An appraisal arranged by Nichol's husband used renovatedVictorian homes in central Denver to help establish the value of Gaccetta's brick farmhouse in an industrialarea of Adams County.

The aberrations continued after the purchase, which left Gaccetta, who died in May 2010, with a 3.1-acre lotzoned for industrial development at the northeast corner of Washington Street and East 71st Avenue. A five-car garage that was supposed to be left on the property vanished and county officials cannot determine whopaid for a demolition that benefited the owner by clearing land for future development.

By itself, the purchase of Rose Gaccetta's home and land, pieced together through a detailed examination of

hundreds of pages of county records, e-mails, handwritten notes and contracts, raises questions about theconduct of county administrators and Nichol's husband, himself a former Adams County commissioner. ButThe Post investigation found that it is also part of a larger pattern of questionable practices at nearly every stepof the project known as Washington Street Phase II, a job awarded to Quality Paving Co.

The company, which was sold in 2010 and is under new management, is at the center of an ongoing criminalinvestigation, and six people have been charged so far with felonies accusing them of bilking taxpayers forwork that was never done. According to court documents, alleged fraud on the Washington Street project alonecost taxpayers more than $362,000. The man whose department controlled every aspect of the project was LeeAsay, then the head of the county's public works department. He was the same official who leaned on one ofhis employees on behalf of Gaccetta's family and who picked up that $390,000 check at the county fairgrounds

and, presumably, delivered it to the incoming commissioner's home. Theproject manager was Sam Gomez, a county worker facing 76 felony chargesin the Quality Paving scandal.

The Adams County Board of County Commissioners. Alice J. Nichol (JoeAmon, The Denver Post )


9/25

9

Both Asay who is under investigation but has notbeencharged and Gomez had Quality Paving do work attheir homes, according to court documents. In addition, costoverruns plagued Washington Street Phase II, driving the pricefrom $4.7 million to $5.9 million a 25 percent increase.

The Post found still more irregularities. The demolition of thehouse was removed from the road project's contract for

reasons no one can explain. The house was torn down by abusiness partner of Quality Paving's former owner. No onefrom Adams County can explain how that company gotinvolved or how the demolition was paid for.Asay declined tobe interviewed, citing the advice of his attorney.Gomez'sattorney, Richard Irvin, could not be reached.

Alice Nichol, a Democrat, has acknowledged Quality Pavingdid work at her home in 2005 in a job arranged by herhusband. Neither she nor her husband, Ron Nichol, agreed tobe interviewed for this story.

Instead, it fell to Jim Robinson, the county administrator, toaddress issues raised by The Post's investigation. Robinsonsaid the way various aspects of the Washington Street project

were handled is a concern and he hopes the ongoing scrutiny will spark changes in the way Adams County

administrators do business."It's really important for the county to take a good look at our procedures and seewhat kind of substantive changes we can implement," he said.

Purchase rife with oddities

Recent decades brought explosive growth in cities like Thornton, Westminster and Brighton and theaccompanying transformation of some parts of Adams County. The corridor along Washington Street south ofThornton was no exception.At one time, a sleepy two-lane road cut across farmland where Alice Nichol grewup in a two-story brick farmhouse with her parents, John and Rose Gaccetta. In the 1960s, Nichol and herhusband built their home on a section of the family's land along 71st Avenue. But as the new millenniumarrived, work was being planned that would forever change the area, widening Washington Street as it headed

south toward Denver.

By that time, Rose Gaccetta was a widow and her five-bedroom home was surrounded by small industrialbusinesses and big highways.Along the road sit a tattoo parlor, an adult entertainment business, an engine shop,a concrete supply store. To the north, low-slung brick buildings of a business park offer woodworking tools,auto repairs, auto parts, auto detailing. Interstate 270 traffic zips overhead.

As the years passed, Alice and Ron Nichol each became a force in Adams County politics. He worked in thecounty's planning department, then served as a commissioner in the 1980s and today is a member of the Board


10/25


11/25

11

comps are mostly in downtown Denver."

Finding comparable properties can be a challenge. The Gaccetta home was located in a rural area wherefarmland was being converted to commercial and light industrial use.Schueller and Nelson relied on propertiesin changing commercial or industrial areas, including one along West 38th Avenue near Federal Boulevard andanother in the 4100 block of Tejon Street. Bien's comparables included central Denver homes among themone at 1537 Washington St. that sold for $425,000 and one at 1638 Pennsylvania St. that sold for $555,000.

Bien told The Post he could not discuss details of any appraisal without the consent of his client RonNichol. But he suggested that Denver might have been the best place to find houses comparable to a "historicalhome" standing alone in Adams County."That appraisal was done honestly and without any connections," hesaid.

County approval comes later

Taking land for public projects is sometimes a drawn-out process and can end up in court. The same monththe negotiations with Ron Nichol were reaching their apex, December2004, a district judge hammered AdamsCounty in another land case. In that case, Adams County officials had concluded the land was worth $474,050 but a judge set the fair price at $925,210 and ordered the county to pay interest and attorneys' fees.

Around the same time, Wolken reviewed both appraisals and concluded that a fair compromise would be$298,715. He also scheduled a meeting with Ron and Alice Nichol for Dec. 8, 2004 a month after she waselected commissioner to discuss purchasing her mother's house.Wolken's notes show negotiations continuedinto late December.

On Dec. 27, for example, Wolken met with Ron Nichol and offered $350,000. In that meeting, Wolken wrote,"Ron said would go down to $390,000."The next day, Wolken wrote notes detailing various conversations withRon Nichol. In the end, he noted, "we agreed on $390K."Asay signed a voucher, and the next day the checkwas cut.

On a copy of the check provided to The Post by Adams County, Wolken wrote "29Dec04 16:00 gave origck toLee Asay at Reg. Park." The regional park is the complex that houses the county fairgrounds.But the purchasestill hadn't been approved by the county commissioners.

On Jan. 3, 2005, the outgoing commissioners approved the purchase in a unanimous vote without discussion,according to a recording of the meeting. Democrat Elaine Valente Alice Nichol's first cousin was one oftwo commissioners who was on the verge of leaving office. Valente, who has since died, voted with fellowDemocrat Larry Pace and Republican Ted Strickland to approve the deal even though the land purchaseinvolved her aunt.

Jennifer Wascak, a deputy Adams County attorney, said legitimate reasons existed for trying to complete the

purchase in 2004. For one, county officials were worried about the perception that would be created if thecounty bought Nichol's childhood home after she took office. For another, Ron Nichol wanted the dealcompleted before the end of the year for tax purposes, she said.

Wascak also said it is "not uncommon" in time-sensitive contracts for purchases to be completed before theyare approved by the commissioners. In this case, she said, the language in the resolution should have beenmodified to reflect the fact the purchase had already been made.However, a Post examination of thousands ofpages of records on the 26 other purchases made by the county for Washington Street Phase II found that inevery other case, the check was written after the commissioners voted to approve the deal in some cases,


12/25

12

months after.

It also is not clear what if anything the commissioners were told about how the purchase price wasestablished. The agenda for the meeting and the resolution approving the sale both lack a price. The onlydocument to list the price was a sales agreement, and Valente, then the board's chair, was the onlycommissioner to sign it.

Pace declined to comment about the purchase.Strickland, a longtime state legislator whose career concluded

with two terms as an Adams County commissioner, told The Post he did not know that the county paid for thehouse before the vote."I don't know how that would work, that they could issue a check prior to the resolutionauthorizing the purchase," he said.

No one from the county asked for his verbal consent in advance, he said. Whether someone sought verbalapproval ahead of time from Valente and Pace who together accounted for the two votes needed to passanything isn't known."I know I wasn't called heck no," Strickland said.

Strickland also said he was not told of a huge price difference between appraisals. And he questioned whetherValente was told about the competing appraisals and the negotiations, saying that while she was a Democratand he a Republican, she was a zealous watchdog of the county's money."I consider myself a fiscal

conservative, but Elaine put me to shame," Strickland said.

More quirks in the project

But the purchase of Rose Gaccetta's home and property was only one facet of the Washington Street Phase IIproject that involved questionable practices, The Post found.On June 6, 2005, Adams County advertised forbids for the widening of the road between East 78th Avenue and Colorado 224.

The county scheduled the bid opening for3 p.m. July 8, 2005.Quality Paving's then-owner, Jerry Rhea,submitted a bid to the county for the job that day. His company was the lowest bidder $441,935.01 less thanthe next-lowest proposal. In all, seven companies submitted bids.

That same day Thorngren Building Co. obtained a permit to demolish Rose Gaccetta's former home. At thetime, Thorngren was closely associated with Quality Paving.David Thorngren, a principal in the buildingcompany, was Rhea's partner in a venture known as 11650 Old Wadsworth Partnership, according to staterecords.

It would not have been unusual for Quality Paving to have turned to a subcontractor such as ThorngrenBuilding to demolish the home once the contract had been awarded. But according to documents reviewed byThe Post, the home demolition was removed from the Washington Street contract during the bidding process.

Wascak said a review of records found no indication that the county ever awarded a contract to Thorngren or

cut the company a check.As a result, it could not be determined how Thorngren became involved in the homedemolition the same day Washington Street Phase II bids were opened, how much the company was paid totear down the house or even who paid for it. Once the county had bought the property, it ordinarily would havebeen the county's responsibility to demolish the house.

The Post was unable to reach David Thorngren for comment.Two months later, on Sept. 9, 2005, the county'spublic works department recommended that Quality Paving be awarded the bid for Phase II. Among the peopleinvolved were Asay and Gomez, each of whom is alleged in court documents to have had work done at theirhomes by employees of Quality Paving.


13/25

13

On Sept. 19, 2005, the county commissioners, Nichol, Pace and W.R. "Skip" Fischer, voted unanimously toaward the contract to Quality Paving Co.The relationship of Nichol and her husband with Quality Paving isnow one of the subjects of the ongoing criminal investigation.

Ron and Alice Nichol's son-in-law was hired in May 2005 as the superintendent of Adams County's fleet ofvehicles and heavy equipment. That decision was made by a three-member panel that included Asay and Rhea,The Post reported in January.The Post also reported that the company repaved the driveway in front of thecouple's home. Ron Nichol acknowledged to The Post in an interview last month that he arranged for the work.

Nichol said that while a Quality Paving supervisor offered to take no payment, he insisted on paying for the joband ultimately issued a $10,000 check to the company.

The check was written Sept. 20, 2005 the day after Alice Nichol voted to award Quality Paving the contractfor Washington Street Phase II.Later that year, Quality Paving undertook the work of converting WashingtonStreet into a six-lane thoroughfare with a center turn lane along the stretch of road where the Gaccetta homeonce stood.

The Post's examination of records showed that Quality Paving was granted seven "change orders," driving upthe price of the project by more than $1 million.The largest, for $611,696.42, was spelled out initially in amemo from Quality Paving's then-vice president, Dennis Coen, to Gomez. Gomez, in turn, wrote a memo the

next month detailing the overruns, some of which were blamed on things such as "unstable subgradethroughout the project" and "additional pipe needed due to under estimation by engineer."

The commissioners unanimously approved six of the change orders.The seventh, for $57,000, was not taken tothe commissioners for approval as it should have been, Wascak said, after a search for documents at The Post'srequest. That change order was handled by Gomez and Asay, documents show.

Ultimately, Adams County taxpayers paid about $5.9 million for the project, an amount that was more thanfour of the losing bidders had estimated the job to cost.Today, the six people who have been charged withfelonies are associated with either Quality Paving's work on Washington Street or other road-resurfacingprojects. Among them are Rhea and three other former company officials, one of whom has already pleaded

guilty and agreed to testify against the others, as well as two former Adams County employees.

In all, according to prosecutors, Adams County taxpayers were bilked out of $1.8 million in work that wasnever done.And court documents point specifically to two of the change orders on the Washington Streetproject as fraudulent.Tony Leffert, Rhea's attorney, said change orders are "just normal construction issues thatcome up" and said many of the assertions of prosecutors are "simply not accurate."

Case of the missing garage

The Post also found that as the Washington Street project continued in 2005 and 2006, so did theirregularities.Back in 1997, the Adams County commissioners had approved an application from Rose

Gaccetta and Alice Nichol to divide what was then about 4.2 acres of land into two parcels that would be zonedas industrial. At the time, the commissioners imposed a requirement that "no additional access will bepermitted to Washington Street and all future access shall be obtained from 71st Avenue."

Yet today, a 63-foot curb cut provides access from Washington Street to the land, now owned by a family trustand ready to be redeveloped. Wascak confirmed that the commissioners' 1997 requirement was never changed.However, she said the language could be interpreted to mean a curb cut was allowed to replace the originaldriveway even though it is wider and at a different location.


14/25

14

And finally there's the case of the missing five-car garage.Rose Gaccetta's property, which had once been partof a 10-acre farm, included not only her home but a guest house and a separate five-car garage.All of thedocuments associated with the purchase spelled out in clear terms that the five-car garage, located well backfrom Washington Street, was to be left in place.

But it wasn't and county officials cannot explain what happened to it, or even who paid for the demolition.

In March 2008, an attorney for Adams County began asking questions about the garage, which in turn

prompted Wolken to e-mail a public works employee. In that e-mail, Wolken asked a county road inspectorwhether "you recall if the county's contractor was paid to remove the large 2 story brick house at 7150Washington along with several secondary buildings, guest house with garage and detached 1-car garage." Healso asked whether a payment had been made "to the contractor for the removal of the 5-car garage and anyother structures? Need to know all the demo cost involved at this site. ... I recall the owner wanting to salvagethe interior finish of the old house and wanting to keep the 5-car garage, however the garage is no longer thereand not sure who and when it was removed."

Wolken never got an answer, Wascak said, and today it is not clear exactly what happened to the garage. Nopermit was ever obtained for its demolition, but the entire Gaccetta property was covered over with anestimated 30,000 cubic yards of dirt in either late 2005 or early 2006, which raised it to the level of

Washington Street, so presumably the garage was gone by then.

New push for transparency

As the Quality Paving investigation, now in its third year, grinds on, it is possible that some of the unansweredquestions about the Washington Street project may ultimately be answered.Robinson, the county administrator,acknowledged that he harbored concerns about how the entire project was carried out and, specifically, thefact that Asay and Gomez were both heavily involved in the key decisions.

"Is it a concern?" Robinson asked. "Sure it's of concern. Once again, if you have the contractors and you haveemployees working in concert to overcharge the county or not do work, sure there's all kinds of things that can

occur."He reiterated that the county plans to seek repayment of the approximately $1.8 million that wasallegedly stolen.

And he said he hopes the scrutiny the county now faces leads to reforms that make its dealings moretransparent. Just last week, the commissioners spent two days discussing changes to Adams County'sprocedures.Adams County's hardworking employees, he said, deserve substantive changes that lead to moretransparent decision making and confidence that rules are being followed."They don't want to be embarrassedany more," Robinson said.

Kevin Vaughan: 303-954-5019 [email protected] David Olinger: 303-954-1498 or

[email protected]

Tips


15/25

15

If you think there are irregularities in the way your local government operates, the investigative reporters atThe Denver Post are interested in hearing about it. You can reach us at 303-893-TIPS or toll-free at 866-748-TIPS or by e-mail at [email protected].

Archives. denverpost.com/extras

The goings-on at Washington Street

2003: The Adams County assessor lists the actual value of Rose Gaccetta's property as $197,677.

Nov. 12, 2003: The Colorado State Board of Real Estate Appraisers disciplines James Bien. The disciplinefollowed a complaint that he grossly undervalued a house, then tipped his former employer, who came by tooffer cash for the property.

Feb. 23, 2004: Right-of-way specialist John Wolken writes Gaccetta a formal notice of intent to acquire aportion of the property at 7150 Washington St.

May 28, 2004: Charles Nelson and Donald Schueller submit their appraisal of Gaccetta's property, completedMay 14, concluding it is worth $239,980.

July 2, 2004: Wolken writes in his notes that Ron Nichol has questions about the appraisal and wants to talk.

July 15, 2004: Nichol sends Wolken a copy of a proposal from Bien, who estimates his fee to appraise theGaccetta property will be $7,000. The county later agrees to cover that fee.

Sept. 10, 2004: Bien sends Gaccetta and Nichol his appraisal, completed Aug. 14, which values the property at$408,447.

Nov. 2, 2004: Alice Nichol, a state senator at the time, is elected to the county commission.

Dec. 8, 2004: Wolken writes a letter to Gaccetta in care of Ron Nichol marked "did not send or share" at top.In it, he questions the appraisal done by Bien and says that "the county believes, after reviewing bothappraisals, that a reasonable value for the acquisition would be $298,715."

Dec. 28, 2004: Wolken writes three pages of notes on various conversations, including one marked at 1:51p.m. that says, "Ron reviewed" and "we agreed on $390K removal and cap both wells."

Dec. 29, 2004: Adams County issues a check for $390,000 to Gaccetta.

Jan. 3, 2005: Adams County commissioners approve the purchase of Gaccetta's property for $390,000.

Jan. 11, 2005: Alice Nichol takes office.

July 8, 2005: Bids are due for contractors interested in the Washington Street Phase II project, which includesthe demolition of the Gaccetta house. Quality Paving submits its bid. Thorngren Building, owned by a businesspartner of Quality Paving's then-owner Jerry Rhea, obtains a building permit to "demolish house and garage."


16/25

16

Sept. 19, 2005: Quality Paving is awarded the Washington Street Phase II project.

Read more: Adams County road-widening project paved with irregularities - The DenverPosthttp://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_17493461?obref=obnetwork#ixzz1FliQPmFfRead The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

RTD Director KenRiley: Tax the rich! Tax the rich!February 25th, 2011

RTD Director Ken Riley joins unions in chanting, Tax the rich! Tax the rich! Watch the video below.(YouTube / Whosaidyousaidtv)

YouTube can be such a terrible waste of time but there are occasions when it is a boon. Yesterday we postedvideo of Colorado State Representatives Judy Solano and John Soper cheering on the union rally at the capitol.

Thanks to a comment left on that story we now have video ofRTDDirector Ken Riley at the same eventyelling Tax the rich! Tax the rich!

Riley won election this past November over incumbent directorNoel Busck who is now most famous for the$400,000 bag he accepted from the criminal Dan Tang. Riley is a union lover who previously, as arepresentative of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), worked topush union-backed meet and confer regulations in Thornton.

As an elected official representing Thornton and Adams County, one would expect Riley to have a bit of


17/25


18/25

18

Erik Hansen of grandstanding for the Republican Party, she is dead wrong. It was Erik Hansen who

comes forth with the litany of reforms the county should adopt to begin the clean-up process.

The following week, June questioned the ongoing Quality Paving scandal and Nichols ties to it. She exhortsthe commissioners to have a come to Jesus meeting to fix the problems in county government.

For his part, Bill Christopher wholeheartedly endorses Hansens plan in the February 17th Sentinel. Hewrites that the current three commissioner system is too much Too much control; too much power; too

much influence. It invites nepotism, closed door deals and a lot more. He continues by saying Hansen is spoton and it is past time to bring Adams County forward.

For me, I am utterly shocked. This is one of the few times I have agreed with June or Christopher let aloneboth of them at the same time. I guess there is indeed a first time for everything.

The time has come for citizens to take back their government at all levels. Locally we are seeing the effectsof a corrupt regime that has been in power far too long. The Adams County Commissioners need to takeaction and they need to take it now. Alice Nichol and Skip Fischer need to get on board or they need to get

out. Period.

The commissioners will be discussing the reforms at a retreat scheduled for February 24th and 25th at theAdams County Government Center. This meeting is open to the public and concerned resident should plan onattending or call or email the Adams County Commissioners TODAY and let them know you support theproposed reforms.

y *Note: This retreat will not be the first time for citizens to hear about the needed reforms and it maynot be the best opportunity. There will be more important meetings at a future time. For now, emailingthe commissioners is likely the best course of action.

You can reach the commissioners office at 720-523-6100 to get more information about the meeting or

to call the commissioners and have your voice heard. Their email addresses are also below. DO IT

TODAY!

Skip Fischer [email protected]

Alice Nichol [email protected]

Erik Hansen [email protected]

Editors Note We have had a report of a citizen being told the retreat was private. That is absolutelyincorrect. This meeting is open to the public by state law. If you are told otherwise, please let us know all ofthe details by leaving a comment below or contacting us.

http://www.tonysrants.com/thornton/calls-for-changes-in-adams-county-government-mount/

GOP Chair candidates differ on particulars


19/25

19

...Such as what to do with a

RINO

Current state GOP Vice ChairLeondrayGholston, standing, makes apoint at a forum for party chaircandidates Feb. 24 in Littleton. Othercandidates who attended are, from

left, state Sen. Steve Harvey, RyanCall and Matt Arnold. Moderator LoriHorn of forum organizers R BlockParty looks on.

Photo by Ernest Luning/The Colorado Statesman

3/4/2011

By Ernest LuningTHE COLORADO STATESMAN

The four candidates for Colorado

Republican Party chairman agreed that if a

GOP candidate needs a lecture, it ought to be done out of public view but thats about the only topic that found all

of them taking the same position at a forum on Feb. 24 at the Bemis Public Library in Littleton.

Whether it was the prospect of turning municipal elections partisan, if theres such a thing as a RINO (Republican in

Name Only), or even whether the chairman position should be paid, at least one of the four staked out a contrary

position, sometimes sharply at odds with his fellow candidates.

The forum, attended by more than 100 Republicans, was organized by the conservative group R Block Party, and

featured chairman candidates Matt Arnold, head of the Clear the Bench campaign aimed at Supreme Court justices in

the last election; Ryan Call, the state partys legal counsel for five years and until recently chairman of the Denver

County Republicans; state Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, who claims the endorsement of a majority of

Republican legislators and a number of last years statewide candidates; and current state Vice Chairman

LeondrayGholston, who works as a defense contractor in Aurora and laments that he isnt represented by a single

Republican, from state legislator on up. A fifth candidate, recent Michigan transplant Barton Baron, who is running on

a ticket with a vice chairman and secretary candidate, skipped the forum.

State Republicans will pick new leadership on March 26 at the biennial state central committee meeting at Douglas

County High School in Castle Rock. GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams announced last month he was dropping his bid for

a third term. In his letter to state Republicans, Wadhams said he was tired of those who are obsessed with seeing

conspiracies around every corner and who have terribly misguided notions of what the role of the state party is, and

warned against the notion that simply uniting conservatives is the path to victory in Colorado.

An audience member at the Littleton forum stated bluntly, I didnt like Dick, and went on to suggest that some of

the candidates have been accused of being his voice. He then asked, How are you different than Mr. Wadhams?

Gholston, who has made a point of saying he isnt distancing himself from the Wadhams regime, nonetheless said he

comes at the party from a different perspective. I have more of a grassroots background, he said. I think Dick

takes a top-down approach, Im a bottom-up kind of guy.

Im Ted Harvey, Harvey said to cheers and laughter. After a beat, he continued: If you recall, Im the one that ran

against Dick. Theres not one other person up here who took the leadership to run for this seat when we knew there

was a problem that had to be changed.

Call allowed that hes worked closely with Wadhams over the last four years but pointed out he has worked equally

with county parties and candidates, and added that hes been fighting conservative battles since his school days at

the University of Colorado Boulder, where he headed the College Republicans. I will do things very, very differently

than our current chairman, Call said.


20/25

20

Im much better looking, began Arnold, with one of many quips he sprinkled throughout the discussion. But then he

turned serious. Contrary to Harveys assertion, Arnold said, hed been exploring a candidacy since before Wadhams

withdrew, and the timing of his announcement was dictated by stategery (repeated use of the Saturday Night Live-

inspired malapropism was another of Arnolds trademarks). Then he turned more serious still: Unlike Dick Wadhams,

I will not actively sabotage the fundraising efforts of any candidate or cause that is out there promoting Republican

principles.

Asked by forum moderator Lori Horn to define a RINO, three of the candidates said they plan to retire the term if

they win the party election, but the fourth made a case for it.

I really do hate this term, Gholston said. I fight for the right to be called Republican Im the only one in my

whole family Im not wiling to take that right away from anybody.

We have to unite around the principles that make our party great, we cannot be pointing fingers at each other,

Harvey said. Right now our party is divided worse than Ive ever seen it, ever, in the 20-some-odd years Ive been

involved in politics. He added that Republicans ought to be united trying to beat Democrats and not waste energy

squabbling with each other.

Noting that his years as a Denver Republican have taught him that not all Republicans are going to agree about

everything, Call asked the audience to toss out the purity tests. We cannot afford to be pointing fingers at each

other and drawing lines, he said. If you want to identify yourself as a Republican, youre going to find a welcoming

place in the party. Its critically important that we tone down that divisive rhetoric.

Arnold begged to differ.

There are RINOs, he said, riffing off a comment made by Gholston. Theyre not just endangered species. He said

the party ought to be concerned about putting someone in office who will advance our principles and not work to

elect just anyone with an R behind their names. As an example, he said, the Coca Cola Company spends plenty on

quality control to ensure that when you buy a coke and pop open a can that what youre getting is Coke. Our brand

is important.

Arnold painted perhaps the most vivid portrait of the problems he sees with the Republican Party under Wadhams

later in the discussion. Calling last years mixed results at the ballot box a horrible opportunity lost, he evoked his

earlier comments about the Coca Cola Company maintaining quality control over the brand.

We must be able to reestablish the trust that the Republican brand actually stands for something, he said. And

when you pop open that Coke, youre going to get a Coke, not a rat head. Weve had too many rats heads in our

Coke bottles.

Earlier, several of the candidates called for Republicans to stop attacking each other over perennially divisive issues,

including Referendum C and the abortion debate.

The stakes are just too high in this upcoming election for us to remain divided, Call said. The job of the party

chairman is to create an open and a welcoming party. We need to stand for liberty, for limited government, but we

have to recognize within our party there is room for honest disagreement on legislative policy.

Looking exasperated, Call continued: Within our party, you are still a good Republican if you believe the right to

choose is a decision to be made between a woman, her doctor, her conscience and her God. Its OK if you believe

that sometimes, as a Republican, you can vote to keep extra revenue for your school district. The party chair should

focus on what unites Republicans, Call said, not on what divides them.

Gholston took up the same theme, calling himself a nutty, right-wing conservative but stressing that he doesnt

believe everyone in the world needs to share his views. News flash! he said. We cant do anything about abortion,

we cant do anything about it anyway. The council of nine has already ruled. So it does us no good to go butting our

heads up and beating each other up year after year after year. Ive established Im a right-winger, but Im so sick of

that nonsense, Im so sick of it.


21/25

21

Republicans have been purifying themselves out of office, Gholston suggested. The simple fact is, without

majorities, we cant even begin to address all the other issues that are going on right now.

Branding himself a Constitutional conservative, Arnold said that fealty to the U.S. Constitution was his only litmus

test. Theres no compromise in that, he said and then warned against getting distracted by wedge issues

Democrats could exploit to turn Republican against Republican.

There are areas where were going to have some disagreement were not cookie-cutters, were not Democrats,

were not Communists, we dont have a Politburo deciding our policy.

Harvey acknowledged that not every GOP candidate in the state can be as strictly conservative as Douglas County

Republicans.

As state chair, my goal is to make sure everybody is on the same page, going the same direction, to elect

Republicans. Whether they are pro-choice Republicans in a moderate district or hard-core Republicans, he said,

party leadership needs to talk about what we are for, not what we are against.

[email protected]

http://www.coloradostatesman.com/content/992629-gop-chair-candidates-differ-particulars

Whatis a Small Donor Committee?Have you heard of Political Action Committees(PACs), run by the big political power houses? The

Republican party has a few, leaders like Romney and Gingrich have them, both for the candidate andanother for issues. You may not know that in Colorado we also have PACs that are registered with thestate. We have Political Organizations, Political Committees, Political Parties, Issue Committees, andfinally Small Donor Committees (SDC).Every single person reading this is able to form their own Small Donor Committee. The minimumnumber of people needed is one. So why start a small donor committee? The answer is to solicit andexpend contributions.Solicit - no more than $50 per person per YEAR per SDC.Expend - to parties, orcandidates, but not before the primary, and ONLY to non-Federal candidates in Colorado up to the limitsallowed in the Colorado laws.

Dana West and I started our Small Donor Committee, ThorntonCircleRin 2006. It is small bycomparison to others but we were able to donate much needed funds to candidates running for theColorado State House, Colorado Senate, and Adams County candidates in the last two elections.I started the committee and I can only donate $50 per YEAR. But if you start one, I can donate to yoursas well. You can donate to your own and to mine. If one of your friends starts a SDC, I can donate to mine,yours and your friend's. You can see how just a relatively small donation, made to many SDCs, canprovide the funds needed for our candidates. Four dollars per month, less than one dollar per week,can make a huge difference.You can donate today by going tohttp://www.northsuburbanrepublicanforum.org/small-donor-committees/.

If you have any questions, please contact Dana West or Phil Saner [email protected].


22/25

22

For Immediate Release: Monday 2/14/2011E-Mail: [email protected]

Phone: 303-819-9722

HEIDI WILLIAMS ANNOUNCEMENT AS CANDIDATE FORTHORNTON MAYOR

THORNTON, CO --Heidi Williams, the Owner of A Scrub Stop & More in Thornton, a Director of theAdams 12 Five Star School Board, and Chair of TRAB (Thornton Revitalization Advisory Board) willofficially enter the race for Thornton Mayor this week.

After careful consideration and consultation with family, friends, and supporters, I have decided toformally enter the race to become the next Mayor of Thornton.As a small business owner who hascreated local jobs in Thornton and expanded businesses, I have the personal experience and theunderstanding of what it takes to grow and revitalize Thornton. As a mother of three children, schoolboard member, and concerned resident, I also have a vested interest in moving Thornton forward.Acampaign kickoff event was held at 6:00PM on February 24, 2011 at A Scrub Stop & More located at550 E Thornton Pkwy #218. The announcement party was being hosted by former Thornton Mayorand current Adams County Commissioner Erik Hansen, Adams County Treasurer Brigitte Grimm,School Board member Mark Clark, and several Thornton business owners.

All Thornton residents are invited to attend this event and meet Heidi.For more information about thecampaign, please visit www.heidiforthornton.com or contact Heidi at 303-819-9722.Heidi is Coloradonative, wife, and mother of three kids. She has been a North Metro resident since the early 1990sand has owned her business in Thornton for over six years.


23/25

23

http://www.icleiusa.org/

Colorado cities that are members of ICLEI: Arvada, Aspen, Boulder, Breckenridge, Carbondale,Commerce City, Denver, Durango, Fort Collins, Golden, Gunnison County, La Plata County,

Loveland, Manitou Springs, San Miguel County, Snowmass Village and Westminster.

History

TheRoots of Local Action

ICLEI is an international membership association of local governments dedicated to climate protection andsustainable development. The organization was established in 1990 when more than 200 local governmentsfrom 43 countries convened at the World Congress of Local Governments for a Sustainable Future, at theUnited Nations in New York. Established as the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, theofficial name is now ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability.

ICLEI USA was launched in 1995 and has grown from a handful of local governments participating in a pilotproject to a solid network of more than 600 cities, towns and counties actively striving to achieve tangiblereductions in greenhouse gas emissions and create more sustainable communities. ICLEI USA is the domesticleader on climate protection and adaptation, and sustainable development at the local government level.


24/25

24

ICLEIFundingLiberal and environmentalist groups also subsidize ICLEI operations. In 1997, George Soross Open Societygave ICLEI a$2,147,415 grant to support its Local Agenda 21 Project, also sometimes known asCommunities21. These are ICLEI-funded cityprojects that promote sustainability. They draw theirinspiration from the Rio Earth Summit, the 1992 United Nations environment conference held in Brazil.Communities that adopt Agenda 21 projects get ICLEIs help in creating sustainability inventories and theypass resolutions affirming that they will pursue the three Es of sustainable development: environment,economy, and equality. Of course, ICLEIs definition of sustainable development comes from the U.N. and

liberal groups such as the Sierra Club, Center for American Progress, Natural Resources Defense Council, andThe Climate Group.

NSRF Board of Directors Email Address TelephoneJohn Lefebvre President [email protected] 303-451-5558

Leonard Coppes Vice President [email protected] 303-287-9145

Jan Hurtt Treasurer [email protected] 303-451-0934

Phil Mocon Secretary [email protected] 303-427-5453

Brian Vande Krol Planning [email protected] 303-466-4615

Gary Mikes Planning [email protected] 303-252-1645

Mike Arnall Planning [email protected] 303-655-1258

Dick Poole Planning 303-373-1521Dana West Communications [email protected] 303-280-0243

Join the North Suburban Republican Forum on the Internet and Facebook:

http://www.northsuburbanrepublicanforum.org/ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=95611986640&_fb_noscript=1

NSRF MEETING TIME AND PLACE

We will be at Gander Mountain, 9923 Grant Street, Thornton, CO from 9:15-10:45 a.m. on the

second Saturday of each month in the employee training room. If you live in Adams County or

Denver's northern suburbs, come join us for lively spirited debate and to meet Republicanmovers and shakers. Any candidate in attendance will always be given speaking time.

Directions to Gander Mountain:

Gander Mountain is a huge sporting goods store in the old Biggs, now Wal-Mart/Home Depot

shopping center just east of I-25 and south of 104th Ave. Just go in the front door, turn

left at the first aisle and follow it to the employee meeting room on the far left.

Yearly membership dues are $20, while a couple is $30. Make checks payable to NSRF. It only

costs $3 per person to attend the monthly meeting and a continental breakfast and beverage

(coffee, tea, orange juice or water) is included. A membership application is located on the

last page. Fill it out and bring it along with you.


25/25

25

The North SuburbanRepublican Forum1149 W 102nd Ave

Northglenn, CO 80260

Membership Application

This application is for:Annual Regular Membership (individual)$20.00 fee

Annual Regular Membership (couples)$30.00 fee

Annual Regular Membership + all 2011 monthly meetings cost$56.00 fee

Please Print.

Last Name:_____________________________First:_________________________MI:_____

Last Name:____________First:____MI:_____

Address:___________________________________________________________________

City:___________________________________________Zip Code:____________________

Telephone:(________)____________-_____________________

E-Mail Address:_______________________________________@_____________________

Signature

Signature

Payment by: Cash Check

Date:__________________________2nd VP Treasurer

nsrf march 2011 newsletter

Documents