Northglenn Races

A City In Need Of A Facelift
Northglenn is the oft forgotten North Metro city that is completely locked in by neighboring communities. It has enormous potential with its proximity to Denver and access to major transit arteries. But the city doesn’t have many jobs nor does it have much of the new retail development sprouting up throughout the North Metro area. A lot of tough decisions need to be made in the coming years; without strong leadership willing to spend public money to fix everything from roads to empty shopping centers, Northglenn will slide further behind its North Metro counterparts.

Ward I
Sheri Paiz over John Thomas, Raymond Lynch* and Sean Reif*
You do not have to tell Sheri Paiz what the issues facing Northglenn are. The incumbent is well aware. Every community around the landlocked city is growing, meaning lucrative sales tax revenues are slipping away. But she knows there is not one solution to fixing that problem. She doesn’t like putting all the city’s eggs in one basket, so to speak. Improving the marketplace at 104th and I-25 is one project to focus on. Making a shopping center that becomes the city’s downtown and interacts with Eb Rains Jr. Memorial Park at 120th and I-25 is another. Fixing the aging housing stock with the controversial Northglenn Neighborhood Development Corporation (a subsidized program that helps residents remodel their homes) is another. The list goes on. Basically, the future is bright if Paiz and others aggressively take on the blight and aging infrastructure.

Ward II
Joseph Brown over Joyce Downing* and Pat Smith*
Calling this race proved tricky as only one candidate returned our queries for endorsement interviews. We simply cannot endorse a candidate who can’t make time for a quick media interview. So Joseph Brown wins our endorsement by default. That’s not to take anything away from Brown, a longtime resident who feels it’s about time he gets involved with Northglenn government. While he may be a little on the green side when it comes to city politics, he has a firm grasp on what would make Northglenn a better place to live. He took part in the city’s Citizen’s Police Academy, is one of the few candidates who seems to understand that getting a light rail station in city limits could be a good thing, and truly hopes the recreation center initiative passes this election. Basically, Brown is the good neighbor everybody wants next door, and we think that’ll make for a good voice on council.

Ward III
Dave Usechek over Ervin Baker and Mark Esparza*
If Dave Usechek has that familiar look to him, it likely means you’re a college football nut. He’s served as a Division I official for a number of years. But that has nothing to do with why we like him. The former city council member (1981-86) worries that the current city council is not working well together, resulting in a voting block that is hard to overcome. The long-time educator wants to break that so the right decisions for long-range planning can be made. Incentives are a key component of luring new development, but he’d like to see them in the form of rebates instead of cash up front. Usechek is adamant against going to voters to extend a half-cent sales tax that covered water bonds and is set to expire—there’s an upswell of support for trying to continue it to beef up the city’s budget. Since Northglenn already has one of the highest metro-area sales taxes, lowering it may help lure new business.

Ward IV
Rosie Garner over Gene Wienke
To fix some of Northglenn’s budget problems in the long-term means taking aggressive measures to jumps tart the city’s retail tax base. Since Northglenn is landlocked, it’s stuck looking within city limits to find more revenue sources. Rosie Garner understands this, which is why she says it was worth the lumps she’s taken politically since backing the city’s $10 million purchase of a large swath of land at 120th and Grant. Many didn’t like the move, saying the city was going too far in luring development. But it’s now in the driver’s seat for shaping the development that will be known as The Shops at Webster Lake. Garner wants to continue aggressive measures under the purview of an urban redevelopment authority to help fight blight in Northglenn and foster development around FasTracks when it brings train service from Denver in a few years.

Yes on ballot question 1
Recreation center
Building a brand new, state-of-the-art recreation center with a property tax increase is a great way to build community buy-in, which is something Northglenn desperately needs. Without civic pride, it will be virtually impossible to fix aging neighborhoods and rid Northglenn of blight. So the cost of $197 annually for a $250,000 home seems like a bargain. This would build a rec center with a dedicated space for seniors, a performing arts theater, athletic facilities and community meeting rooms. It will be a huge upgrade from the aging center in Northglenn right now.?