The Colorado Court of Appeals has reinstated a lawsuit filed by an Arvada resident who said the city’s use of secret ballots in filling a council vacancy violated state law.
In a 3-0 ruling, an opinion written by Chief Judge Alan Loeb said Colorado’s open meetings law, along with legislative intent, clearly showed plaintiff Russell Weisfield had a “legally protected interest in having his City Council fill its vacancy in an open manner that complies with the statute.”
filed by Weisfield came in response to the Arvada City Council using secret ballots to winnow a slate of candidates down to one to fill a vacant seat left by District 1 Councilwoman Rachel Zenzinger after she was called to serve in the state Senate.
With one candidate left standing, the council then openly voted to appoint Jerry Marks.
that while “the voting procedure may have violated the secret ballot provision” of Colorado’s Sunshine Law, Weisfield himself did not have standing to sue because he wasn’t personally injured by the council’s hidden votes.
The ruling prompted scathing criticism from across the political spectrum and led to a bill passing through the General Assembly with no opposition that ensured anyone could legally challenge violations of open meetings law.
Gov. John Hickenlooper signed the measure into law in June 2014.
The initial lawsuit asked for Marks to be removed from the District 1 seat and another election held. Marks’ appointment expires in November.
Weisfield’s attorney, Elliot Faden of the law firm Schlueter, Mahoney & Ross, declined to comment on the ruling as other details of the case are still making their way through court.
“The city attorney is reviewing the case and will be discussing with the City Council at a later date,” Arvada communications manager Maria Vanderkolk said.
Austin Briggs: 303-954-1729, abriggs@denverpost.com or twitter.com/abriggs
