Mayor Julie Van Domelen

Redstone Review

LYONS – I just got back from a brief work-related trip (my day job) to Washington D.C. Although it was too early for the cherry blossoms, I’m always struck by the beauty and symbols of the city’s monuments and historic government buildings. When I left Lyons early in the week, it was not clear whether our local elections would be cancelled or not. At the time, only one candidate for mayor (me) and six candidates for the Lyons Board of Trustees had signed up. It seemed kind of extravagant to spend money on an election that would be a moot point.

As I looked out of the taxi window at the Lincoln Memorial, the white dome of the Congress and the National Archives where the original handwritten manuscripts of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution are displayed, I started to think about the bigger picture. I have spent much of the last 20 years traveling for work in countries that do not allow citizens to vote or where people have more recently won the right to vote and it is a big deal to them. It was not so long ago, actually only 90 years, since the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution gave women the right to vote in this country. As I thought more deeply about what it means to be able to vote, I grew more uncomfortable with the idea of canceling elections.

Fortunately, it looks like elections are on this year in Lyons. In addition to Kathy Carroll, Kirk Udovich, Sandy Banta, Ed Bruder, Kathy Jacobsen and LaVern Johnson, who submitted petitions to run for Trustee, Dave Gouge has filed an affidavit allowing folks to write in his name for Trustee. Even if it still does not seem like much of a race, it doesn’t matter. It is your civic duty to vote. If you don’t like your options, send in the ballot blank – you will still be counted as having voted. After all, that is the real point.

In the next few weeks you will have to pull double duty as a good citizen because it is also 2010 census time. The first article of the constitution establishes our democratic nation and mandates that a census be conducted every ten years. You may have heard about the importance of being counted because over $400 billion in federal funding is distributed based on population counts. Spending just a few minutes to fill out your census form will help ensure Lyons, Boulder County and the State of Colorado get their fair share of funding. But that’s not why it’s in the constitution and has been done every ten years since 1790. The census serves as the basis for our representational government, including numbers of seats in state and federal legislatures.

The United States Constitution is the shortest and oldest written constitution still in use by any nation in the world today. It is a model for many others and has stood the tests of time. But it is not just a piece of history; it is a set of instructions to all of us. You have two envelopes to fill out and submit in the coming weeks. Rescue them from the piles of bills and correspondence and please see to it that they make it to their destinations. Vote and be counted.

Sincerely,

Mayor Julie Van Domelen

The Mayor can be reached at juliev@townoflyons.com or stop by to chat in person at the following schedule of mayoral meet and greets between now and election day: Wednesday, March 17, 11:15 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Golden Gang St Patrick’s Day lunch, Walt Self Senior Housing Center; Friday March 19, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at On the Rocks Bistro; Thursday, March 25, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at City Chicks Food and Flicks.

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