| 09/20/2007 |
| Moon unfazed by three-way battle |
| Peter Jones , Staff Writer |
In an unprecedented move in Centennial, maverick former council member Betty Ann Habig has challenged her onetime colleague and is charging the council with financial irresponsibility. Meanwhile, first-time candidate Ron Phelps is also vying for Moon's seat on a platform that bluntly questions the status quo. The heated battle contrasts with the relative calm in Ward 2, where a newcomer is the only candidate; Ward 3, where two first-time hopefuls are running a low-profile race; and Ward 4, where incumbent Todd Miller is running unopposed. Moon's situation is complicated by the literal luck of the draw. Unknown Phelps has received the coveted top line on the ballot, and Habig, who has name recognition but is controversial among civic and political activists, has second placement. Moon, the incumbent endorsed by most of his fellow council members and Sheriff Grayson Robinson, among others, has been relegated to the bottom line. Top ballot placement is coveted among candidates. In Centennial's 2005 election, every top-line designee - from mayor to city clerk - won. Given the dynamics of human nature, an unknown candidate and a controversial former councilmember, many think Ward 1 is the race to watch this year in Centennial.
Moon, who has represented Ward 1 at the council's Monday night meetings for nearly four years, is not taking the challenges to his incumbency personally. "I've got to overcome the name recognition of one opponent, whether it's good or bad," Moon said. "I've got to maintain my name recognition and overcome the position of the newcomer on the top of the ballot. But I'm going to run my campaign the same way I'd run if I ran unopposed. I'm going to stick to what I'm doing, present the issues that I see and the plans that I have, and the things that I intend to do. If people like that, great, they'll vote for me. If they don't, I'll watch 'Monday Night Football.'" During his first term, Moon earned a reputation as a pragmatic official with a no-nonsense attitude and a penchant for the quick quip. In recent discussions on revamping Centennial's sign ordinance, he suggested a straightforward approach. "We [should] keep it very, very simple - no signs within this boundary," he said. "If you want to put it up on your fence, if you want to wear them on your head, go right ahead." When the council debated how to fill a vacant city treasurer post and whether an appointed treasurer should be entitled to the later benefits of running in an election as an incumbent, Moon urged his colleagues to cut the debate short. "Let's face it, folks. We're at the bottom of the political food chain here. So let's don't spend a whole lot of time on this," he said. The incumbent's proudest accomplishment on council has been the creation of a full staff to run the "virtual city," which relies on contracts for many city services. Moon's goals for the next four years are tied to the move toward home rule. In November, voters will decide whether to create a city charter that would, if eventually approved, grant the city significant autonomy under the state constitution. "We have to get home rule because that will drive economic development and the visioning process," the council member said. "These were all things I set out to do when I first ran. We're moving right along with economic development and the city is growing." Moon thinks the city should re-evaluate its contractual relationships with Arapahoe County. City and county officials have recently sparred over their contracts, especially the one that provides public works services in Centennial. "When we first incorporated, we had city contracts by default," Moon said. "We've grown to the point now where we need take some of this on our own. The county would take our contract and they would contract to somebody else. It seems to me we can contract with people they contracted with and cut out the middleman. If we do that across the board, that's better stewardship of the tax dollar." Before co-founding his business and entering city government, Moon served 24 years in the U.S. Air Force. He flew air-to-ground combat flights during the Vietnam War. As a black officer stationed in Selma, Ala., in the 1960s, the candidate generated war stories of a different kind on the frontlines of racial tension in the South. "The commander would ask me, 'What did you do this weekend, Vorry?'" Moon remembered. "There weren't many places for me to go to in town. At the time, you had to have a membership to go into the clubs. A couple of kids went in and got memberships in my name and then wanted me to go in. I said, 'Are you crazy?'" Hannibal Cox, Moon's Air Force mentor, was portrayed by Laurence Fishburne as Hannibal Lee in "The Tuskegee Airmen," a movie chronicling the first black fighter pilots to serve in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Moon later served as a drug-education field officer in Bangkok, Thailand, before transferring into the "soft skills" area of communications training. The Florida native moved to Centennial in 1992 and eventually co-founded a business that specialized in teaching communication skills to such clients as NASA and Lockheed Martin. "I wasn't born here, but I got here as fast as I could," Moon said. The retiree says after having flown combat missions in Vietnam, the prospect of a fiery three-way council race does not faze him. "If Betty Ann wants to harp on some things she harped on a long time ago, most of them are OBE - overcome by events," he said. "Ron says he wants to get in and fix the budget. We've got one of the best budgets we've ever had. Being shot at is an experience. Nobody's going to die from this." Contact Peter Jones at 303-566-4109 or pjones@ccnewspapers.com. | |||||||
