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Official publication of the Colorado Press Association / coloradopressassociation.com / Vol. LXXXVI, No. 3
March 2015
A fight for openness Arvada resident who sued his city wins CPA’s ‘Friend of the First’ award By Jeffrey A. Roberts CFOIC Executive Director Russell Weisfield, whose lawsuit over the use of secret ballots by the Arvada City Council led to a change in the state Open Meetings Law last year, won the Colorado Press Association’s “Friend of the
First” award, during the CPA’s annual convention in February. The Arvada resident sued his city in January 2014, alleging that council members ignored a 2012 statute when they voted four times by secret ballot to eliminate candidates for a vacant council seat. A judge in Jefferson County dismissed the lawsuit, not because the case lacked merit, but because she determined that Weisfield lacked legal standing to file suit. Why? Because he couldn’t show that he had been personally harmed by the secret procedure that selected the eventual winner, Jerry Marks.
While acknowledging that Arvada “may have violated the secret ballot provision” of the law, the judge noted that Weisfield wasn’t among the finalists for the council vacancy and he never claimed that Marks was “failing to adequately represent his interests” as a resident of Arvada’s council District 1. The Colorado General Assembly moved quickly in the aftermath of the decision, approving HB 14-1390 without a single “no” vote. The measure, signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper last June, ensures that anyone has legal standing to
challenge violations of the Open Meetings Law, also known as the Sunshine Law. Weisfield has appealed his case, arguing that he was, in fact, injured because the City Council never remedied its violation of the statute. The Friend of the First award recognizes a Coloradan “who is a passionate advocate of First Amendment rights, freedom of the press, and open government.” Weisfield couldn’t attend the awards luncheon at the CPA’s annual convention in Denver, but he prepared a statement for the event:
“I am honored that the Colorado Press Association would think of me for this award and regret that I cannot appear in person. My hope when the City Council began filling its vacancy was that the process would be utterly transparent. My goal in challenging that lack of transparency was to learn basic facts, such as how my elected officials voted. I continue to be amazed that I am met with great opposition in trying to learn these things. Such opposition contributes to a mistrust of government,
OPENNESS, Page 11
‘If not us, who?’ Editor’s note: The following is from Keith Cerny’s speech to kickoff part of the awards ceremony at the recent annual convention. You’re not here tonight to listen to speeches, unless it involves awards, so I’ll be brief. For those of you who haven’t been in on a series of meetings this long, now snowy weekend, I thought I’d give a brief recap of what’s gone on with CPA and SYNC2 Media in the last twelve months. It’s been rather uneventful since we only hired a new CEO, and thank you Jerry Raehal and your staff for keeping the fire burning and reminding us that we’re far past due to be BACK in BLACK, Keith meaning Cerny profitable. And we sold our historic Valley Courier downtown building due to rising maintenance costs and real estate taxes, as well as utilities, and moved into rental space that we only now started to pay rent for. We have around three-quarters of million dollars earning interest right now, at probably 20 percent — just kidding, but it will help ensure that our organization can remain viable for several years to come. And speaking of that, we can’t continue without the support of you and your publishers and owners. Even though our membership
CERNY, Page 11
Photo by Thomas Cooper, lightboximages.com
Parting gift Colorado Press Association/SYNC2 Media outgoing chair Bryce Jacobson looks at one award while holding his special parting gift during the annual convention’s Innovation Luncheon. Jacobson received an Etch A Sketch as part of his parting gift.