Broomfield – With lurid rumors of affairs and campaign bullying flying around Broomfield, the City Council held a meeting Tuesday night.
It was about as salty as an episode of “The Joy of Painting.”
In a turn of events that seemed to disappoint only the assembled news media, the Broomfield City Council was entirely civil and businesslike in conducting its regular meeting. Items on the agenda included things like approving the 2006 budget and reviewing a proposed development’s site plan.
Eleven people spoke to the Council during the citizen comments portion of the meeting, and not one mentioned the recent rumors and controversy. None of the 11 Council members did either.
Councilman Clark Griep a mayoral candidate who has been at the center of the controversies, said that didn’t surprise him.
“I think it’s been great,” he said of the meeting’s workmanlike atmosphere.
The commotion began about a week ago when Griep said publicly that he had an affair with Mayor Karen Stuart about eight years ago. Both Stuart and Griep are married, and Stuart, who is running for re-election, has denied that such a thing happened.
Griep also said that, shortly after he announced earlier this year he was running for mayor, Stuart confronted him, threatened to tell his wife about the affair and accused him of spreading rumors that she was having an affair with another council member. Stuart, who declined to comment during a break in the meeting, has also denied that.
Bob Davis, a longtime Broomfield resident, said it was a good sign the council was able to separate such distractions from the tasks at hand. But, he said, that doesn’t mean Broomfield politics is now rid of the rumors.
“The undercurrent is out there,” he said. “But it won’t surface during meetings.”
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
