Serving Lakewood, Wheat Ridge and beyond
WEEK OF APRIL 3, 2025
VOLUME 41 | ISSUE 35
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Lakewood City Council Special Election: Ken Cruz wins Ward 3; Bill Furman wins Ward 4
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BY NATALIE KERR SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
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WESTMINSTER DDRC event aims to bolster support for people with disabilities Spring into Awareness’ aims to help advance the wellbeing of people living with disabilities
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The Developmental Disabilities Resource Center will host its Spring Awareness event from 5-7 p.m. April 8 at the Lakewood Fairfield Inn/Denver West Federal Center. COURTESY OF DDRC
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vided by Flights Wine Cafe, Ballmer Peak Distillery and Nicolo’s Pizza. “There’ll be a lot of opportunities for connections and conversation, meeting other people who are either like-minded or interested in the idea of how to build community, how to be inclusive, and in particular, being inclusive of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” Majeune said. The DDRC celebrated its 60year anniversary last year, having been established in 1964 by parents who were struggling to access education for their children. Children and adults were often placed in segregated school and work environments, and families were often pressured to institutionalize their loved ones if they had an intellectual or developmental disability.
With the final unofficial results posted, it appears Ken Cruz has won a seat on the Lakewood City Council in Ward 3, and Bill Furman has won the Ward 4 seat in the March 25 special election. After the final slate of ballots was tallied, in Ward 3, Cruz was ahead by more than 700 votes over his nearest competitor, Pete Roybal. For Cruz, the main pillars of his campaign were helping small businesses, getting more people engaged with local government — particularly younger people — and making a better effort to help people experiencing homelessness. “I think the biggest thing, what I told a lot of people tonight, is it’s not just a win for me. It’s a win that’s about the people,” Cruz told the Jeffco Transcript after results came in Tuesday night. “I wanted to make sure this campaign was not about me as an individual ... but to make sure that people are seen, heard and valued.” Cruz said he wants to work with Lakewood’s Economic Development Division to collect more data that would help businesses, particularly minorityowned businesses. “It’s one thing if we’re trying to be inclusive and businessfriendly, but if we don’t have systems to collect accurate data, then we’re already behind the game,” Cruz said. “With the restaurant exodus in Denver, Lakewood has a real opportunity to open the door and create incentives, not just for restaurants.” Cruz said he wants to bring his experience as an HOA president to connect more people with local government. In his HOA role,
As the March celebration of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month comes to a close, the Developmental Disabilities Resource Center is hosting its Spring into Awareness event to continue celebrating and supporting people with different abilities all year. “While this event is being held in April, it’s important to remember that working for inclusion is something that needs to happen throughout the year, not just end at the month,” DDRC
Communications Director Michele Majeune said. From 5-7 p.m. April 8 at the Lakewood Fairfield Inn/Denver West Federal Center, participants can find opportunities to network with business leaders, resource providers and other like-minded individuals to help advance the goals and wellbeing of people living with disabilities. There will also be brief remarks from the event hosts, light bites and refreshments and door prizes. The venue is fully ADA-accessible, with entrance ramps and handicap spaces, although there will not be sign language interpretation provided at the event. The event is a collaboration between the DDRC, the West Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Fairfield Inn. Fairfield is covering the costs of the event. Food and beverage will be pro-
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