| NEWS BLOG |
| Loveland, July 16, 2012 The recent resignation from Loveland's City Council by Cathleen McEwen opened not only her council seat from Ward IV but also the position of Mayor Pro-Tem. Acting like a Vice-Mayor, the Mayor Pro-Tem is elected from among the 8 council members to preside over council meetings in the mayor's absence while also attending ceremonial events like ribbon cuttings when the mayor is unavailable. Ward IV Election Loveland voters in Ward IV will select a replacement to serve the last year of McEwen's four year term on the city council that began in November of 2009. The same night of McEwen's swearing-in on November 17, 2009 the council was unable to find consensus on a Mayor Pro-Tem and so postponed the vote to a later meeting where McEwen was elected by her colleagues to serve as the city's Mayor Pro-Tem. Councilman Ralph Trenary, who also represents Ward IV on Loveland's Council, is currently searching for candidates to run for the open seat while LovelandPolitics has learned both former rivals to Trenary's 2011 council run (former Mayor Pro-Tem Dave Clark and John Buck) are considering a run for McEwen's vacated Ward IV seat on council. Daryle Klassen: Next Mayor Pro Tem LovelandPolitics has learned a near majority of the council agreed already to elect Klassen Mayor Pro-Tem. The council is likely to take the vote this evening during their regularly scheduled council meeting. Daryle Klassen was elected to Loveland's City Council to represent Ward 1 on November 7, 2006 after Councilman Ron Weaks resigned to take a new job in Washington State. Klassen was later re-elected to a four-year term in 2009 that expires in November, 2013. Klassen has indicated he will not seek another term in 2013. A longtime fixture in the community, Klassen was born and raised on a Mennonite farm in Hillsboro, Kansas. Klassen hails from the German Mennonites who left Russia after living there for over 100 years under a promise by Kathrine the Great to exempt them from military services and live in their own community in 1760. When Russian Czar Alexander II decided to abolish the pact, the community moved to Holland where they procured ships to take them to the United States. Klassen's family eventually landed in Kansas by the late 1800's to take advantage of the homestead act. (see story online) Born in 1934, Klassen was raised in the traditions of his Mennonite community that survived Germany, Russia and Holland. The young baritone farmer split from the long held family farming tradition to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech and journalism at the University of Wichita. Already working in radio since the age of 18, Klassen followed a career in broadcast journalism after leaving college. After becoming a successful radio broadcaster, Klassen moved to the small town of Loveland, Colorado in the early 1970's when residents numbered fewer than 17,000. Klassen later purchased KLOV AM/FM stations in Loveland which he operated for many years. During that time a number of young broadcasters hired and trained by Klassen later became well known radio personalities in larger media markets in Denver and around the country. Because he made his living through the advertisements of local retail businesses, Klassen feels a deep kinship and loyalty to this community even today. He is a proponent of an Internet tax to protect local retailers and frequently an advocate of lower taxes and regulations on those businesses to ensure a healthy business environment in Loveland. |
LovelandPolitics
| Loveland's Independent News Source |
| Loveland's Next Mayor Pro Tem Daryle Klassen already the choice of four on council |
| Senior Councilman Daryle Klassen |
Loveland, July 18, 2012
Loveland's City Council vote for Mayor Pro-Tem tied along partisan lines Tuesday night with two candidates
(Councilors Daryle Klassen and Ralph Trenary) each receiving 4 votes of the eight member council.
As indicated in the story below from Monday, Daryle Klassen did have 4 votes but was unable to pick-up one more vote
needed to secure the position. Mayor Cecil Gutierrez supported his former campaign manager and local Democrat
Party activist Ralph Trenary over Klassen causing a split in the council making the Mayor Pro Tem vote a partisan
divide of the Loveland City Council.
Mayor Gutierrez along with Councilors Joan Shaffer, Phil Farley and Ralph Trenary (all Democrats) voted for Trenary
while Councilors Hugh McKean, John Fogle, Chauncey Taylor and Daryle Klassen (mostly Republicans and one
independent) voted for Daryle Klassen to be the city's Mayor Pro Tem.
The vote for Mayor Pro Tem was added to the council's meeting agenda as a last minute item after Gutierrez privately
indicated he could support Klassen giving him the votes he needed to succeed. However, longtime Gutierrez friend and
backer Councilman Ralph Trenary was unwilling to concede thus forcing the Mayor to preside over a largely partisan
and split vote. Exactly what the Mayor had hoped to avoid.
A number of Democrats on Loveland's City Council are still angry with Klassen for appearing on Fox News in Denver
to protest a controversial art exhibit in the Loveland Museum. Mayor Gutierrez, Joan Shaffer and Ralph Trenary
defended the use of city funds to promote and display illustrations of Jesus Christ in lude and pornographic poses.
Gutierrez, Shaffer and Trenary were defenders of the city's promotion and endorsement of the exhibit thus trading
angry words with Klassen during a public council meeting that LovelandPolitics learned apparently haven't been
forgiven.
One city staffer familiar with the Mayor Pro Tem discussions, indicated City Manager Bill Cahill believed the matter was
settled when placing the vote on Tuesday night's agenda. Only later did Cahill learn Shaffer and others decided they
could not support Klassen (regardless of how the Mayor would vote) given his outspoken defense of the Christians
protesting the exhibit during the art controversy now over a year ago that brought unwanted national media attention to
Loveland's art programs. Mayor Gutierrez, put in a corner, ultimately backed his former campaign manager over
Klassen.
Shaffer previously sought the position of Mayor Pro Tem but given her current distraction of a messy divorce with her
husband, Mark Shaffer, who is also a candidate for Colorado House District 51, likely decided not to pursue the position
this time and focus on her domestic legal dispute for financial support from her husband.
Loveland's City Council vote for Mayor Pro-Tem tied along partisan lines Tuesday night with two candidates
(Councilors Daryle Klassen and Ralph Trenary) each receiving 4 votes of the eight member council.
As indicated in the story below from Monday, Daryle Klassen did have 4 votes but was unable to pick-up one more vote
needed to secure the position. Mayor Cecil Gutierrez supported his former campaign manager and local Democrat
Party activist Ralph Trenary over Klassen causing a split in the council making the Mayor Pro Tem vote a partisan
divide of the Loveland City Council.
Mayor Gutierrez along with Councilors Joan Shaffer, Phil Farley and Ralph Trenary (all Democrats) voted for Trenary
while Councilors Hugh McKean, John Fogle, Chauncey Taylor and Daryle Klassen (mostly Republicans and one
independent) voted for Daryle Klassen to be the city's Mayor Pro Tem.
The vote for Mayor Pro Tem was added to the council's meeting agenda as a last minute item after Gutierrez privately
indicated he could support Klassen giving him the votes he needed to succeed. However, longtime Gutierrez friend and
backer Councilman Ralph Trenary was unwilling to concede thus forcing the Mayor to preside over a largely partisan
and split vote. Exactly what the Mayor had hoped to avoid.
A number of Democrats on Loveland's City Council are still angry with Klassen for appearing on Fox News in Denver
to protest a controversial art exhibit in the Loveland Museum. Mayor Gutierrez, Joan Shaffer and Ralph Trenary
defended the use of city funds to promote and display illustrations of Jesus Christ in lude and pornographic poses.
Gutierrez, Shaffer and Trenary were defenders of the city's promotion and endorsement of the exhibit thus trading
angry words with Klassen during a public council meeting that LovelandPolitics learned apparently haven't been
forgiven.
One city staffer familiar with the Mayor Pro Tem discussions, indicated City Manager Bill Cahill believed the matter was
settled when placing the vote on Tuesday night's agenda. Only later did Cahill learn Shaffer and others decided they
could not support Klassen (regardless of how the Mayor would vote) given his outspoken defense of the Christians
protesting the exhibit during the art controversy now over a year ago that brought unwanted national media attention to
Loveland's art programs. Mayor Gutierrez, put in a corner, ultimately backed his former campaign manager over
Klassen.
Shaffer previously sought the position of Mayor Pro Tem but given her current distraction of a messy divorce with her
husband, Mark Shaffer, who is also a candidate for Colorado House District 51, likely decided not to pursue the position
this time and focus on her domestic legal dispute for financial support from her husband.
| Councilman Ralph Trenary |