LovelandPolitics
| Loveland's Independent News Source |
Loveland, December 31, 2016
Loveland voters will see two municipal elections in 2017. The first will be on April 11 to elect a
replacement for Hugh McKean who vacated his seat on Loveland's City Council representing
Ward III after being elected to the State Legislature last month. This special election will be to fill
the remaining 7 months of McKean's four year term.
The second municipal election will be held on November 7, 2017 to elect four members to the
nine member city council along with the mayor. Councilors up for re-election in November are
listed in the column to the right of this story. Each city council position elected in November 2017
will serve until 2021 (four year terms) while the successful candidate for mayor will be elected to
a two year term ending in 2019.
Already two potential candidates to represent Loveland's Ward III beginning in April have pulled
papers to qualify from Loveland's City Clerk.
Two Very Different Candidates Show Intentions of Running
Former Navy Captain and active Chamber of Commerce member Steve Olson has taken out
nomination papers from Loveland's City Clerk along with interim Pastor at the First United
Presbyterian Church on 4th Street in Loveland.
Olson's background is in finance and he provides a "B2B" service for companies looking to out
source some of their financial administration to save costs. Olson already has the backing of
Loveland Councilman Don Overcash who describes him as a fiscal conservative.
Dotson, who served in the U.S. Army, is a full-time minister and political activist. Dotson has
indicated he will resign from Loveland's First United Presbyterian Church if elected but hasn't
explained how he will support himself on a $600 month income provided to members of the city
council. Mayor Gutierrez indicated he wants to appoint someone to the seat until the election but
never revealed whether that candidate is Dotson.
Dotson's Political Activism
Dotson regularly tells people he is from "Lake Woebegone" which is a fictional town created by
NPR's Garrison Keillor for the long running radio show Prairie Home Companion. Locally,Dotson
became involved in a failed ballot measure to raise county taxes to pay for a mental health facility
during the last election but his time either working or residing in this community counts just under
a year.
The Loveland Reporter-Herald published an announcement on January 28, 2016 that the First
United Presbyterian Church in Loveland hired Dotson as their new interim pastor earlier that
same month. Doston lists a number of churches around the country where he also served for
relatively short periods of time mostly as "interim pastor" along with three overseas assignments.
Dotson attends rallies around the country in opposition to firearms and also attends funerals of
victims of violent crimes. He maintains a YouTube channel where he plays recordings of his
singing and preaching as the narrative to political cartoons and messages antagonistic to the
NRA (National Rifle Association) in his videos. (link to Dotson's Youtube channel)
According to a 2005 article in the San Diego Tribune, Dotson claimed he was mentored by the
controversial Anne Lamott while in seminary as he stood in-line at a Beverly Hills bookstore with a
crowd of fellow Lemott fans.
Lamott, Dotson's mentor, is described by Christianity Today reporter Agnieszka Tennant as "a
foul-mouthed, bulimic, alcoholic drug addict. One week after having an abortion, she
surrendered to Him in her very own version of the sinner's prayer, punctuated with the f-
word." Lamott is a self-described "hardcore liberal" whose religion appears to follow her politics
instead of the other way around.
Writing for Momecrats.com, Lamott once described a gentleman next to her on an airplane as a
typical Christian because he was reading,“hard-core right-wing paranoid anti-Semitic
homophobic misogynistic propaganda.” The modern Presbyterian church (there are many
different divisions) has taken a severe turn to the left even divesting any church funds from
companies that do business with the Government of Israel.
Adopting the language of his mentor, Dotson refers to Caucasian Americans as "Euro-
Americans" while preaching the oppression of white privilege in an apparent attempt to place
blame for the poverty and violence in minority communities upon middle class white Americans.
In fact, Dotson is so convinced the United States is "oppressed by the sword" when referring to
police involved shootings, he asked during a rally at the United Nations for foreign diplomats to
pray for American victims of "gun violence" according to a quote in the January 2014 edition of
the Presbyterian News Service,
“Usually we are asked to pray for an end to the violence in places like Syria, Iraq and
Somalia,” Dotson said. “For us to ask diplomats from these and other countries to pray for
us (here in the States,) represents a paradigm shift of humility for the United States.”
In August of 2015 the Albuquerque Journal published a letter to the editor by Rev. Howard
Dotson attacking Donald Trump on his stand on illegal immigration,
"...Trump’s more recently proposed draconian and inhumane solutions to the immigration
situation.
There is a moral fork in the road, and its time for GOP leaders at every level of government
to choose. Are you going to follow Donald Trump’s circus act or will you speak up for the
plight of millions of fellow human beings that persists in the midst of media sound bites
and talking points."
While Dotson and his mentor's radical national agenda is well documented, whether he will insert
these issues into his council campaign remains to be seen. Making Loveland a sanctuary city or
banning all firearms (even for the police) are not issues any previous candidate from Ward III
used to get elected.
Loveland voters will see two municipal elections in 2017. The first will be on April 11 to elect a
replacement for Hugh McKean who vacated his seat on Loveland's City Council representing
Ward III after being elected to the State Legislature last month. This special election will be to fill
the remaining 7 months of McKean's four year term.
The second municipal election will be held on November 7, 2017 to elect four members to the
nine member city council along with the mayor. Councilors up for re-election in November are
listed in the column to the right of this story. Each city council position elected in November 2017
will serve until 2021 (four year terms) while the successful candidate for mayor will be elected to
a two year term ending in 2019.
Already two potential candidates to represent Loveland's Ward III beginning in April have pulled
papers to qualify from Loveland's City Clerk.
Two Very Different Candidates Show Intentions of Running
Former Navy Captain and active Chamber of Commerce member Steve Olson has taken out
nomination papers from Loveland's City Clerk along with interim Pastor at the First United
Presbyterian Church on 4th Street in Loveland.
Olson's background is in finance and he provides a "B2B" service for companies looking to out
source some of their financial administration to save costs. Olson already has the backing of
Loveland Councilman Don Overcash who describes him as a fiscal conservative.
Dotson, who served in the U.S. Army, is a full-time minister and political activist. Dotson has
indicated he will resign from Loveland's First United Presbyterian Church if elected but hasn't
explained how he will support himself on a $600 month income provided to members of the city
council. Mayor Gutierrez indicated he wants to appoint someone to the seat until the election but
never revealed whether that candidate is Dotson.
Dotson's Political Activism
Dotson regularly tells people he is from "Lake Woebegone" which is a fictional town created by
NPR's Garrison Keillor for the long running radio show Prairie Home Companion. Locally,Dotson
became involved in a failed ballot measure to raise county taxes to pay for a mental health facility
during the last election but his time either working or residing in this community counts just under
a year.
The Loveland Reporter-Herald published an announcement on January 28, 2016 that the First
United Presbyterian Church in Loveland hired Dotson as their new interim pastor earlier that
same month. Doston lists a number of churches around the country where he also served for
relatively short periods of time mostly as "interim pastor" along with three overseas assignments.
Dotson attends rallies around the country in opposition to firearms and also attends funerals of
victims of violent crimes. He maintains a YouTube channel where he plays recordings of his
singing and preaching as the narrative to political cartoons and messages antagonistic to the
NRA (National Rifle Association) in his videos. (link to Dotson's Youtube channel)
According to a 2005 article in the San Diego Tribune, Dotson claimed he was mentored by the
controversial Anne Lamott while in seminary as he stood in-line at a Beverly Hills bookstore with a
crowd of fellow Lemott fans.
Lamott, Dotson's mentor, is described by Christianity Today reporter Agnieszka Tennant as "a
foul-mouthed, bulimic, alcoholic drug addict. One week after having an abortion, she
surrendered to Him in her very own version of the sinner's prayer, punctuated with the f-
word." Lamott is a self-described "hardcore liberal" whose religion appears to follow her politics
instead of the other way around.
Writing for Momecrats.com, Lamott once described a gentleman next to her on an airplane as a
typical Christian because he was reading,“hard-core right-wing paranoid anti-Semitic
homophobic misogynistic propaganda.” The modern Presbyterian church (there are many
different divisions) has taken a severe turn to the left even divesting any church funds from
companies that do business with the Government of Israel.
Adopting the language of his mentor, Dotson refers to Caucasian Americans as "Euro-
Americans" while preaching the oppression of white privilege in an apparent attempt to place
blame for the poverty and violence in minority communities upon middle class white Americans.
In fact, Dotson is so convinced the United States is "oppressed by the sword" when referring to
police involved shootings, he asked during a rally at the United Nations for foreign diplomats to
pray for American victims of "gun violence" according to a quote in the January 2014 edition of
the Presbyterian News Service,
“Usually we are asked to pray for an end to the violence in places like Syria, Iraq and
Somalia,” Dotson said. “For us to ask diplomats from these and other countries to pray for
us (here in the States,) represents a paradigm shift of humility for the United States.”
In August of 2015 the Albuquerque Journal published a letter to the editor by Rev. Howard
Dotson attacking Donald Trump on his stand on illegal immigration,
"...Trump’s more recently proposed draconian and inhumane solutions to the immigration
situation.
There is a moral fork in the road, and its time for GOP leaders at every level of government
to choose. Are you going to follow Donald Trump’s circus act or will you speak up for the
plight of millions of fellow human beings that persists in the midst of media sound bites
and talking points."
While Dotson and his mentor's radical national agenda is well documented, whether he will insert
these issues into his council campaign remains to be seen. Making Loveland a sanctuary city or
banning all firearms (even for the police) are not issues any previous candidate from Ward III
used to get elected.
| Interim Presbyterian Pastor Among Those Looking To Run For Loveland City Council |
| City of Loveland Municipal Elections For 2017 April 11 - Ward III, (balance of McKean's term until Nov) November 7, 2017 Office up for election: Incumbent Mayor: Cecil Gutierrez Ward I: Councilman Troy Krenning Ward II: Councilwoman Joan Schaffer Ward III: (Successful candidate from April) Ward IV: Dave Clark The City Council meets the first and third Tuesday of each month for regular meetings at 6:00 p.m. and the second Tuesday of each month for a study session at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 500 E. Third Street. Candidates must meet the following qualifications: 1) A registered Elector in the State of Colorado, City of Loveland and Ward III 2) Must have lived in Ward III for a period of at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the election;(If your residence has been annexed into Ward III within the last 12 months, please contact the City Clerk to see if you still meet the qualification, 970-962-2717) 3) Not have been convicted of: embezzlement of public funds; bribery, perjury, solicitation of bribery, subordination of perjury, or a willful violation of the City Charter. (a back ground check will be conducted). 4) Council members shall continue to meet the requirements throughout their term. |
| Gun control activist Howard Dotson looking to run for Loveland City Council |