Summary of my campaign "platform:"

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY:  I believe in making very careful decisions concerning the taxpayers' money, and spending it on things that the city needs, not just things that councilmembers want.  See my column on fiscal responsibility at:  http://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/broomfield-opinion/ci_13499959.  Below are the text of my remarks at the Candidate Forum on Economic Issues in Broomfield, held at the Omni Interlocken Resort.

BROOMFIELD "HOA" / Issue 1B:  I am against the Nuisance Property Ordinance.  While I agree that there are "problem" properties that do need to be fixed up, I don't think it's the government's business to tell people when, where, how, or how much they have to spend.  In this terrible economy, a lot of people are very worried about this.

COMMITTED TO BROOMFIELD:  I am an avid volunteer for Broomfield!  Among many other projects, I work with the Boy Scouts, the city's summer swim team, as a tutor in local schools, on the Board of the Broomfield Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Sustainability Task Force.  I guess it's a family trait--my dad, at age 82, is gearing up to again be a volunteer business counselor, this time with the project created by the Broomfield Chamber of Commerce, the City & County of Broomfield, and Front Range's Small Business Development Center.  My kids are both on the student councils at their schools, so the tradition of service to Broomfield extends over three generations in my family! 

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CANDIDATE FORUM on ECONOMIC ISSUES

(You can watch the entire forum on Channel 8 or on the CCoB website at http://broomfield.org/news/newsdetail.asp?ArticleID=662.) 

Text of Liz's opening remarks

Did you know that recently the City & County employees approached the city manager’s office with the offer to forego the annual employee appreciation picnic as a cost-saving measure?  That saved the city about $10,000.

I’m not a financial expert, and I’m not a human resources expert, but I know nobility when I see it.  Would you join me in giving a round of applause to the noble employees of the City and County of Broomfield?

Those employees know that when the budget is tight and revenues drop, cuts must be made.  That’s the fiscally responsible thing to do.  But I would suggest to you that there is more to fiscal responsibility.

Fiscal responsibility is also about planning for the future.  Council has recently approved a long-range plan that calls for the budget to be balanced annually, although it's really hard to plan for uncertain times like these.  But I would suggest to you that there's more to fiscal responsibility.

You may have seen my column in the Enterprise recently where I told a story of how my teenage son and I had gone to an electronics store ready to spend "big"—I swear I could hear the VISA card in my purse screaming, “Let me OUT!”—and yet we left without either of us having spent a penny.  Neither of us could justify spending so much money on things we really wanted, but really didn’t need.

I would suggest to you that fiscal responsibility is also, when presented with a bright and shiny opportunity to spend money on something you want but don’t really need, is a matter of having the character to say, “No."  To say, "No, I will not spend this money frivolously even though I have this money to spend."

So, to answer the question as to the city’s economic status, well it’s bad enough that the employees volunteered to give up their picnic, isn’t it?  As to what I would like done differently, I would like to implore the members of city council, both those who are in office and whomever of us here are elected, to spend money – the taxpayers’ money – more wisely on things the CITY needs, not things COUNCIL MEMBERS want.

Just because we HAVE money doesn’t mean we HAVE to spend it.  Thank you.

Forum sponsored by the Broomfield Enterprise, the Broomfield Chamber of Commerce, and

the Omni Interlocken Resort, and held October 19, 2009

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Letters and articles from the Enterprise and elsewhere:

Forum on Economic Issues:  http://broomfield.org/news/newsdetail.asp?ArticleID=662 (also on Channel 8), with the Enterprise's coverage here:  http://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/ci_13603679

Letters to the editor supporting me, from Karen Steele, Janett Amsbaugh, and Sarah Clarke (also a letter from Betty Cothern commenting on travel spending):  http://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/broomfield-opinion/ci_13654088 

Anne Crouse's letter to the editor supporting me:  http://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/broomfield-opinion/ci_13473684

Terri Kalmbach's letter to the editor supporting me:  http://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/ci_13018022

As they used to say on Monty Python, ". . . and now for something completely different . . . "

A Limerick on Voter Turnout

An election in Broomfield is a-gathering
With a bunch of politicians a-blathering
But if you don't cast your vote
You'll be a-missing the boat
And that's a story Dan won't be a-Rathering!

(Yes, I know Dan Rather has been off the air for some years,

but YOU just try to find something that rhymes with “blathering!”)

PLEASE VOTE!