Stop Jan Kulmann's abuse of Thornton City Charter

The City of Thornton, City Council, is attempting to change how Thornton is being governed without voter input!! This effort is spearheaded by Mayor Kulmann, who has exceeded her term limit per state statute. In Thornton, we have a city council/city manager form of government.

 

According to Colorado Constitution Section 11 limitations on terms: An elected official of any city shall serve no more than 2 consecutive terms in office if the terms are longer than 2-year terms. Terms are considered consecutive unless they are at least 4 years apart.

 

Thornton City Charter state: City Council consists of 9 members one of whom shall serve as Mayor.

 

A lawsuit was filed to clarify the term limit issue based on Ms. Kulmann's intent to exceed the term limit. The city paid outside council $35K to fight this lawsuit. The appeal is expected to cost Thornton Tax payers an additional $35K -- that is $70K spent with the purpose of changing our city's government through the court system and circumventing voter input.

 

The judge's order affirmed that the term limit is in fact 8 years as per Colorado Constitution, and that 'council consist of 9 members, one of whom serve as the Mayor' per Thornton Charter. Therefore Ms. Kulmann a COUNCIL MEMBER currently serving as mayor, and her term limit is 8 years (termed out of on 11/30/2021).

 

Ms. Kulmann goal is to change the City Charter so 'council member' and 'mayor' are two different positions, each with an 8 year term limit -- this effectively doubles the current term limit as per Colorado Constitution and City Code.

 

Not only does Ms. Kulmann seek to extend her paid time on council, the city attorney (serving at the will of Ms. Kulmann) allowed her to VOTE on whether to appeal the Judge's decision. As per City Code 2-191(l) “no Councilmember or board member shall vote on any question concerning the member’s conduct". As per City Charter 4.20 Conflict of Interest: "No member of the Council shall vote on any question in which the member has a financial interest, other than the common public interest, or on any question concerning the member’s own conduct." Ms. Kulmann should NOT have been allowed to vote on the appeal, as there is a direct connection to her own conduct and her financial interests (paid for her council position acting as Mayor).

 

Ms. Kulmann has already filed to run for Mayor in 2023 (another 4-year term) AND has also filed to run for Congress.

 

We as residents need to be actively involved in the appeal, as Ms. Kulman will otherwise likely be able to effectively change our form of government without voter input.

 

Please stand up for your city, for voter interest, and for a democracy in danger of being squashed by elected officials working for their own benefit, not in the interest of the greater public good.

 

The full amount raised through this effort (minus Go-Fund-Me fees) will go directly to pay the appeal attorney.