Two Dacono residents have thrown their hats into the ring as candidates for Dacono City Council in an upcoming recall election. They’re challenging two sitting councilmembers who face allegations of violating Colorado’s open meetings law.
Dacono residents will vote in June on the recall of councilmembers Jackie Thomas and Jim Turini. Thomas and Turini were two of a group of four councilmembers, also including Kathy Wittman and Danny Long, whoabruptly fired longtime City Manager AJ Eukert in February and were subsequently investigated by the state for their actions. Voters did not attempt to recall Wittman because her term ends in November, and Danny Long had not yet been on the council long enough to be eligible for recall when the recall petitions were filed, per the town charter.
The group of four councilmembers hasbeen disruptive in recent council meetings when the topic of the state investigation or the recall election has come up, shouting over fellow councilmembers and going so far as to walk out mid-vote to prevent the passage of recall-related motions they opposed.
Two residents came forward to announce their candidacy by the recall election filing deadline on April 25. One of them is Tony Cummings, a Dacono local who petitioned to recall Thomas and Turini in March and had no trouble collecting enough signatures to move the special recall election forward. He set his sights on one of the challenged seats, saying he wants to restore transparency and a rational process to the council.
“We may not always agree on certain things, but that's the democratic process. You're allowed to agree and disagree,” he said. “In the end, it's what's best for the city and what's best for the citizens.”
Cummings said he would use his council seat to bring more growth and development to Dacono, a goal Thomas and Turini have also both shown support for as councilmembers.
But Cummings was quick to set himself apart from his opponents.
“The government should be open and transparent,” he said. “The fact that you don't have an open and transparent government - it tells you one of two things: Either people don't know the law, or they are intentionally violating it. Both are unacceptable.”
A second recall challenger, Michelle Rogers, also recently announced her candidacy. Rogers is a small business owner, a self-described policy nerd, and a stickler for the rules.
“It's been frustrating as a citizen,” she said of recent events involving the city council.
She remembered wondering what the four city councilmembers were thinking when they unexpectedly terminated the city manager without discussion in an off-agenda motion at a meeting in February.
“What's your story? What's your reason? Why did you do it? You had the vote. Why did you do it in a way that broke the rules? Because you could have done it legally. Nobody would talk about it,” she said.
What Rogers viewed as a disregard for basic rules on the part of the four councilmembers inspired her to run for a seat. She wants to restore order and integrity to the local government.
“There's just no room for our leaders to not follow the rules,” she said. “We can't be a strong city, we can't attract great businesses if our leaders aren't doing what they're supposed to do."
Rogers also echoed the desire for more local growth - in particular for small businesses serving local families.
The special recall election is set to take place on June 27. Mail-in ballots will be sent to all active registered voters in Dacono starting June 5.
