LovelandPolitics
| Loveland's Independent News Source |
Loveland, November 13, 2017
Despite tens of thousands of dollars being spent on behalf of Mayor Pro Tem John Fogle in the final
week of Loveland's recently concluded election, outsider and council critic Jacki Marsh won nearly
50% of the vote in a three candidate toss-up for mayor. The humiliating defeat for heir apparent
Mayor Pro Tem John Fogle comes after he was backed by Mayor Cecil Gutierrez, Loveland's
Chamber of Commerce and most importantly developer McWhinney; the suspected source of big
money that poured into Loveland's municipal election from Southern California.
Fogle wasted no time following his defeat last week to try and block Marsh from assuming the
duties of Loveland's outgoing Mayor Cecil Gutierrez. Within 48 hours of losing the election to now
Mayor Elect Marsh, Fogle shot out an email to staff and colleagues (excluding Marsh and the other
newly elected council members) trying gather support to strip Mayor Elect Marsh of the committee
assignments enjoyed by Gutierrez currently (see full email exchange below this story). Fogle wrote,
"....Jeff Swanty, has asked that if possible Mayor Gutierrez's seat on the board be replaced with an
experienced councilor to maintain the high function of that important safety service. Since LFRA
has only 5 board members, attendence [sic] is very important."
Fogle attempted to paint his opponent Marsh as unreliable during the recent campaign due to her
resigning from a downtown committee appointment and alludes to his same failed campaign
theme in his email by claiming attendance (misspelled in his email) is very important, therefore a
reason the newly elected mayor should not sit on the committee.
The upset for monied special interests who may have become accustomed to controlling the
outcome of local races may also influence how a number of members on Loveland's city council now
vote in the future. While Mayor Cecil Gutierrez was swept into local office a decade ago on the
promise of reform and "transparency" in city hall, he quickly settled into the comfortable seat of
special interest backed incumbency. Last Tuesday's election upset the apple cart on the
conventional wisdom that accepting McWhinney support and resources would be an easy ticket to
public office for nearly anyone.
While the council splits mostly on partisan lines for leadership roles and general political issues,
both Marsh and Fogle introduce some element of surprise as neither appears to associate with just
one political party in local politics. Fogle busted the Republican majority of previous councils by
supporting Gutierrez and the Democratic members while he quietly sought support from fellow
Republicans using offensive emails about Democrats (see 9 News Report).
Contrary to a majority of Loveland's current council, Marsh has been critical of "crony-capitalism"
which ironically both major political parties in the United States also oppose yet locally it is heavily
defended and supported by both Democrats and Republicans on Loveland's City Council.
Largely a staff driven city council, most current councilors have no experience deliberating from
the dais and debating decisions in public. Instead, meetings have been largely choreographed for
public consumption while the final vote negotiated on controversial matters among staff and the
members prior to public meetings.
Inexperienced City Council May Help Clark Become Next Mayor Pro Tem
Dave Clark, who served in the early 2000's before being defeated by Ralph Trenary, returned to
Loveland's City Council in 2012 making he and Councilman Fogle (elected in 2011) the two most
senior members of Loveland's City Council. All but these two have served two years or less making
Loveland's current council the most inexperienced in decades.
Tuesday's (Nov. 14) council meeting promises to be interesting as the new council will be sworn-in
and must vote on the new vice-mayor (Mayor Pro Tem). Since Fogle appears to have offended both
the Democrats who backed his run for mayor and disappointed the McWhinney's he cannot hold
the title any longer. Two potential names mentioned have been Councilman Dave Clark, who has
already served in that role, and possibly Councilman Don Overcash.
Please feel free to post your comments on our news blog
Despite tens of thousands of dollars being spent on behalf of Mayor Pro Tem John Fogle in the final
week of Loveland's recently concluded election, outsider and council critic Jacki Marsh won nearly
50% of the vote in a three candidate toss-up for mayor. The humiliating defeat for heir apparent
Mayor Pro Tem John Fogle comes after he was backed by Mayor Cecil Gutierrez, Loveland's
Chamber of Commerce and most importantly developer McWhinney; the suspected source of big
money that poured into Loveland's municipal election from Southern California.
Fogle wasted no time following his defeat last week to try and block Marsh from assuming the
duties of Loveland's outgoing Mayor Cecil Gutierrez. Within 48 hours of losing the election to now
Mayor Elect Marsh, Fogle shot out an email to staff and colleagues (excluding Marsh and the other
newly elected council members) trying gather support to strip Mayor Elect Marsh of the committee
assignments enjoyed by Gutierrez currently (see full email exchange below this story). Fogle wrote,
"....Jeff Swanty, has asked that if possible Mayor Gutierrez's seat on the board be replaced with an
experienced councilor to maintain the high function of that important safety service. Since LFRA
has only 5 board members, attendence [sic] is very important."
Fogle attempted to paint his opponent Marsh as unreliable during the recent campaign due to her
resigning from a downtown committee appointment and alludes to his same failed campaign
theme in his email by claiming attendance (misspelled in his email) is very important, therefore a
reason the newly elected mayor should not sit on the committee.
The upset for monied special interests who may have become accustomed to controlling the
outcome of local races may also influence how a number of members on Loveland's city council now
vote in the future. While Mayor Cecil Gutierrez was swept into local office a decade ago on the
promise of reform and "transparency" in city hall, he quickly settled into the comfortable seat of
special interest backed incumbency. Last Tuesday's election upset the apple cart on the
conventional wisdom that accepting McWhinney support and resources would be an easy ticket to
public office for nearly anyone.
While the council splits mostly on partisan lines for leadership roles and general political issues,
both Marsh and Fogle introduce some element of surprise as neither appears to associate with just
one political party in local politics. Fogle busted the Republican majority of previous councils by
supporting Gutierrez and the Democratic members while he quietly sought support from fellow
Republicans using offensive emails about Democrats (see 9 News Report).
Contrary to a majority of Loveland's current council, Marsh has been critical of "crony-capitalism"
which ironically both major political parties in the United States also oppose yet locally it is heavily
defended and supported by both Democrats and Republicans on Loveland's City Council.
Largely a staff driven city council, most current councilors have no experience deliberating from
the dais and debating decisions in public. Instead, meetings have been largely choreographed for
public consumption while the final vote negotiated on controversial matters among staff and the
members prior to public meetings.
Inexperienced City Council May Help Clark Become Next Mayor Pro Tem
Dave Clark, who served in the early 2000's before being defeated by Ralph Trenary, returned to
Loveland's City Council in 2012 making he and Councilman Fogle (elected in 2011) the two most
senior members of Loveland's City Council. All but these two have served two years or less making
Loveland's current council the most inexperienced in decades.
Tuesday's (Nov. 14) council meeting promises to be interesting as the new council will be sworn-in
and must vote on the new vice-mayor (Mayor Pro Tem). Since Fogle appears to have offended both
the Democrats who backed his run for mayor and disappointed the McWhinney's he cannot hold
the title any longer. Two potential names mentioned have been Councilman Dave Clark, who has
already served in that role, and possibly Councilman Don Overcash.
Please feel free to post your comments on our news blog
| Loveland's New Mayor Already Under Attack |
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| Voting Divide of Loveland's City Council Rep. Dem. Swing |
| From: Jacki Marsh <rabbask@yahoo.com> To: City Council <ccouncil@cityofloveland.org>; Steve Adams <steve.adams@cityofloveland.org> Sent: Sunday, November 12, 2017, 5:19:47 PM MST Subject: Fw: Fwd: Special Meeting November 14th Hello All, In my opinion, newly elected Council Members, Kathi Wright, Jeremy Jersvig and myself as Mayor Elect should be included in emails which pertain to ongoing and to future business to come before City Council. Steve - tomorrow could you please point me to documents which pertain to assigning Council Members to Boards and Commissions. I would hope the process doesn't change based on who won or lost the Mayoral race. Thank you, Jacki Marsh Mayor Elect ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Ward I - Troy Krenning <Troy.Krenning@cityofloveland.org> To: rabbask@yahoo.com <rabbask@yahoo.com> Cc: Temp CCMAIL <TEMPCC@cityofloveland.org> Sent: Sunday, November 12, 2017, 12:01:53 PM MST Subject: Fwd: Special Meeting November 14th Mayor-elect, For your information. As you can see Mr. Fogle would like to NOT have the mayor sit on the Loveland Fire Rescue Authority. My opinion is that it might be time for a few new voices to be on that particular board. Mr. Swanty was a contributor to the failed Fogle mayor run and so I’m sure Mr. Swanty would like to keep his pal John Fogle on the board. I would think you and Jeremy Jersvig would be refreshing new voices on the LFRA board. Also, the soon to be ex-mayor sat on the airport authority. Again, that is a board I would encourage you to sit on as you have expressed interest in seeing big things happen at the airport. With the Brands soon to be coming online the possibility for big things to happen out there is possible. But it will require new vision. Mr. Fogle likes to use his position on various boards to try and sway Council opinion by often reporting that his various boards “overwhelmingly” support some position that Mr. Fogle himself champions. As was learned with the County Building experience, Mr. Fogle reports half truths to the board, gets them to make an uninformed decision and then reports to the Council that the board “fully supports” the uninformed position. I have observed Mr. Fogle using this tactic with the Fire Authority and Historical preservation committee. Troy Krenning Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: From: Ward III - John Fogle <John.Fogle@cityofloveland.org<mailto:John.Fogle@cityofloveland.org>> Date: November 9, 2017 at 7:58:18 AM MST To: Ward IV - Don Overcash <Don.Overcash@cityofloveland.org<mailto:Don.Overcash@cityofloveland.org>>, Mayor - Cecil Gutierrez <Cecil.Gutierrez@cityofloveland.org<mailto:Cecil.Gutierrez@cityofloveland.org>>, Steve Adams <Steve.Adams@cityofloveland. org<mailto:Steve.Adams@cityofloveland.org>> Cc: City Council <CCouncil@cityofloveland.org<mailto:CCouncil@cityofloveland.org>>, Temp CCMAIL <TEMPCC@cityofloveland. org<mailto:TEMPCC@cityofloveland.org>> Subject: Re: Special Meeting November 14th Steve, Please also remember to add an item and some time for council to discuss Commitee and Board assignments. Mayor Gutierrez has been taking care of this task, but the rules state it is a council duty, and I for one want to have council take care of this process going forward. By rule of four, I ask other councilors to respond on making sure this duty is discussed on the 14th. It is my understanding that the only 'automatic' assignment is that of the Mayor being on the PRPA board per their charter, please verify this for our discussion. The chair of LFRA, Jeff Swanty, has asked that if possible Mayor Gutierrez's seat on the board be replaced with an experienced councilor to maintain the high function of that important safety service. Since LFRA has only 5 board members, attendence is very important. LFRA charter requires two councilors plus the City Manager as members. Thanks John Fogle |
| Mayor Elect Jacki Marsh |