Passage of Initiative 200 on July 2 officially positioned the citizens of Lakewood at the development-process decision table, enabling them to join with the Lakewood City Council in determining what the City will look like in the future and how livable it will be. Substantial opposition was mounted against 200’s passage (understatement!). This same opposition is of course still present  in the community. Might 200’s intent be in jeopardy based on the outcome of the Nov. 5 city elections? Absolutely! The current City Council has six councilors favoring more moderate development and 5 preferring unfettered growth. It is vital in the November city council elections that Lakewood citizens reaffirm their approval of 200 by their selection of more moderate growth candidates as opposed to those who do/may favor unfettered growth. Since the candidates’ biographies in the voter’s guide within the October 2019 Looking@Lakewood may not uniquely identify their position on development, I recommend Ramey Johnson for mayor with Ward councilors as follows: Ward 1, Charley Able; Ward 3, Anita Springsteen; Ward 4, Barb Frank; and Ward 5. Chad Gardner.
Larry Harrison,
Lakewood