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Karen Benker tries to use Election Law to punish free speech
1/12/2010 9:45:28 AM

Published on Longmont Your Hub 10/20/2009 12:26:57 PM

The freedom of speech and the freedom of the press are precious rights worth defending. That's why we should all be alarmed with how Council woman Karen Benker is using Longmont's campaign laws to intimidate people who express their opinions and report information critical of elected officials.

Markey's absurd statement about the Public Option
8/25/2009 1:36:20 PM
Congresswoman Betsy Markey made an absurd statement when she visited Longmont to talk about health care last week that no one seems to be questioning. And then she repeated it last night during her tele-town hall.

Markey claims the premiums for the government-run public option will cover the entire cost of the program. She said the public option will not be subsidized with taxpayer dollars the way Medicare and Medicaid need to be.

How is that possible? Watch this Daily Times Call video. She makes the statement just over half way through the video: http://www.timescall.com/multimedia/video

City breaks rules for councilwoman's nonprofit
8/14/2009 11:43:43 AM
By Greg Burt

City rules are city rules...but sometimes suspicious exceptions are made.

The city of Longmont supposedly has strict application deadlines each year for non-profits seeking city funds. But on rare occasions the rules are waived. Longmont city staff made one of these suspicious adjustments two years ago when it let a several-month-old non-profit called Homeless Outreach Providing Encouragement (HOPE) bid for city funds after missing the application deadline. The question is, did Councilwoman Karen Benker's membership as a HOPE board member influence the decision?
 

Boulder DA okays politics in city contracting
8/6/2009 10:55:54 AM
By Greg Burt

Before I lauch into explaining what I think Boulder County District Attorney Stanley Garnett and Councilwoman Karen Benker did wrong, let me start out by saying something nice.

I think it's impressive that Benker volunteers helping Longmont's homeless as a volunteer with Homeless Outreach Providing Encouragement (HOPE). Handing out blankets and other supplies to these people where they live on the streets is difficult work. Homeless people typically have severe personal problems and many are mentally ill. I don't know many politicians who go out of their way to rub shoulders with the homeless. I think it would do us all good to get more personally involved with the poor.

But that being said, I think Benker hopes her service to the poor will overshadow the fact that she broke state law when she tried to persuade fellow Council member Sean McCoy and the Longmont Housing and Human Services Advisory Board to give HOPE a $10,000 city grant.
Longmont council member fought for city grant to her non-profit
7/30/2009 3:31:30 PM
By Greg Burt

Longmont Council member Karen Benker allegedly tried to persuade her city's housing and human services board and a fellow city council member to give a $10,000 city contract to a non-profit called Homeless Outreach Providing Encouragement (HOPE) while Benker served on the charity's board.

Colorado state law specifically forbids a city council member with a personal interest in a matter pending before the governing body from trying to influence the other members about that matter. It also requires a council member to disclose the personal interest to the government body and abstain from voting on the matter ( CRS 24-18-109(3)(a)).

Adams Taxpayers Losing Out
7/28/2009 9:31:02 PM
A story about former Adams County Treasurer's poor investment practices
Award Winning Article
7/28/2009 8:43:33 PM
This story won a Colorado Press Association Award in 1999.
Newspaper cuts create an opportunity for Veritas Consulting
7/4/2009 11:18:05 AM

Newspapers are cutting staff around the country and this affects the quality of news coverage these media outlets give their readers. Important stories are being missed. The press' government watch-dog responsibility is being compromised even further. Read this article about recent layoffs at the Gannett news organization.

An article I wrote for a business organization frustrated with their city council
6/6/2009 9:57:43 PM
I wrote this article for a 501(c)4 organization called Longmont Investing for Tomorrow (LIFT) The organization is a collection of various business interests in Longmont who have grown frustrated with the direction of their city government and many of their anti-business and anti-development policies. This particular article expresses the frustration LIFT has with the city over that lack of progress of redevelopment of the Longmont's only mall.
9 items total
Articles I have written
June, 2009
July, 2009
August, 2009
January, 2010



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