| 11/14/2007 |
| Habig and Anderson elected in contentious races |
| By:Peter Jones , Staff Writer |
As a
culmination to races affected by controversy, former Ward 1
Centennial City Councilmember Betty Ann Habig will return to the
council after a two-year absence and first-time candidate Patrick
Anderson will be the new councilmember in Ward 3.
The contentious Ward 1 race reached its nail-biting end Tuesday when Habig defeated onetime colleague Vorry Moon by a margin of 51 to 39 percent. A third candidate, Ron Phelps, took 10 percent of the vote in what many called the race to watch in Centennial. Habig declined comment for this story. In the wake of recent coverage of her campaign and a criminal investigation of her campaign literature, the councilmember-elect has said she will no longer consent to interviews with the Centennial Citizen. Phelps withdrew from the race last month, but later rescinded the decision. Though he endorsed Habig, saying the two risked splitting the vote among fiscal conservatives, his announcement that he would stop campaigning came on the same day many residents received their mail-in ballots with Phelps' name on the top line. Habig, a maverick former councilmember, did not seek re-election in 2005 to make unsuccessful bids to serve in the state legislature. Her return to city politics was met with skepticism from many current councilmembers. The former official ran on a platform of challenging the status quo and the fiscal responsibility of the current council, almost all of whom had endorsed Moon, a strong proponent of home rule. Moon said he was disappointed by the results, but accepted the outcome. "Voters have spoken," he said. "I'm a wee bit surprised. I'm not eaten up by it. But it appears to me that it was not the nonpartisan race that I thought it was. I imagine she relied on her partisan backing. My backing wasn't partisan. It wasn't bipartisan. It was tripartisan - Democrat, Republican and unaffiliated." Moon is a Democrat. Habig had sought state office last year as a Republican. During her tenure as a founding councilmember, Habig was as known for her tenacity as she was for her self-styled and often contentious approach. She alienated many in her own party during her quests for the state legislature. Although many councilmembers had been perplexed by Habig's return to city politics, Moon thinks officials will be able to sort out their differences. "They'll just have to spend a little time ether trying to work with her or cutting her out of the pattern," he said. "I expect the people on the council will do just what they've always been doing, voting on issues. I think the city might have a little problem, but it's nothing that can't be overcome." Habig had sparred with her fellow councilmembers on a number of issues over the years, most notably during Centennial's controversial debates over the regulation of sexually oriented businesses. She twice voted against the city budget due to the council's refusal to reduce a public utilities' franchise fee. Last month, the 18th Judicial District launched a criminal investigation of Habig after a citizen accused her of recklessly disseminating false campaign information in violation of state law. Mayor Randy Pye and others on the council had openly contradicted Habig's claims, especially her assertions about the city manager's salary. The ongoing investigation by the staff of District Attorney Carol Chambers has since been referred to a board of Colorado district attorneys. Habig eventually removed the controversial claims about city spending from her literature. In Ward 3, Anderson defeated another lightning-rod candidate, George Shen, by a margin of 76 to 24 percent. Shen's campaign had been hindered by recent revelations of his guilty plea to a misdemeanor harassment charge. Anderson, who directed Democrat Angela Engel's unsuccessful campaign for the state House last year, interprets his win as proof that Centennial residents have been paying attention. But he concedes that his landslide win was more attributable to votes against Shen than votes favoring his own candidacy. "It shows that the voters are engaged and are looking at the candidates for their character," he said. "That's encouraging to see and now it's just exciting to think about the responsibility that comes along with winning. To be honest, I think it was more to do with [Shen's] actions over the past year, so now I think I do need to go out and prove that I am a quality candidate, that I can represent Ward 3 and Centennial." Shen, 23, was sentenced to two years' probation this year and was ordered to receive mental health treatment and stay away from his ex-girlfriend. According to a court affidavit, Shen followed the Highlands Ranch woman in several public locations last year and brought seven guns and ammunition to her home. In May, the candidate pleaded guilty to a Class 3 harassment charge as part of a plea deal. According to Pye, at least one current councilmember requested added security at council meetings if Shen were elected. Current Ward 2 Councilmember Bart Miller and Ward 3's Andrea Suhaka were subject to term limits. New councilmembers will be sworn-in in January. Contact Peter Jones at 303-566-4109 or pjones@ccnewspapers.com. |
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