WEEK OF JANUARY 30, 2025
VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 31
FREE
Arvada does not select a city manager from the three finalists None of the finalists won over city staff and council BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Middle school students have until Feb. 4 to submit their application essay.
COURTESY ARVADA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Arvada Chamber of Commerce accepting application essays for the 2025 National Civics Bee Local middle schoolers have until Feb. 4 to send in their essays for consideration BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Every young history buff ’s favorite annual quiz-style competition is back, as the Arvada Chamber of Commerce will once again host the local portion of the 2025 National Civics Bee. The chamber began hosting the Civics Bee in 2023. Middle school students (6th, 7th and 8th grade) from public, private, charter and home schools in the Jeffco-area have until Feb. 4 to submit their 500-word essays, which make up the first round of the competition. From there, 20 finalists will compete in the local competition, slated
for May 1 at Revive Church. The top three finalists from the local competition will advance to the state level. Each state’s winner will then move onto the national finals in Washington, D.C., scheduled for this fall. This year’s first round essay topic asks students to “Identify a problem facing your community. How might a citizen solve the problem?” Arvada Chamber of Commerce President Kami Welch said the chamber wants to do its part to ensure that local students are working to understand their community and the systems that exist within that community.
VOICES: 8 | LIFE: 10 | CALENDAR: 13
“The Arvada Chamber is deeply invested in facilitating engagement with local policy and elected officials for our businesses and community,” Welch said. “The National Civics Bee is a unique opportunity for us to develop an active pipeline of civic engagement in Arvada and strengthen the way we all live, work, and learn together in the future.” Finalists from the local competition will receive prizes, including a $500 cash prize for the first-place winner of the Arvada competition. The winner of the state level of the competition will win $1,000. Interested students can apply for the National Civics Bee at arvadachamber.org/ nationalcivicsbee.
The Arvada city team will go back to square one in their search for a new city manager, as a months-long search to find a replacement for former City Manager Lorie Gillis ended with the city not selecting any of the three finalists for the job. After an open house on Jan. 21 saw finalists Michael Lamar, Brandy Reitter and Jason Slowinski meet with city staff members and the general public, leaders from the city team and city council held a final round of interviews the following day. After those interviews, it was decided that none of the candidates were quite right for the job. A contributing factor in the decision was a panel of five local city managers — Kathy Hodgson from Lakewood, Patrick Goff from Wheat Ridge, Scott Vargo from Golden, Heather Geyer from Northglenn and Jennifer Hoffman from Broomfield — who unanimously recommended Arvada continue their search. “Hiring the City Manager is one of most important duties the Council has. We have to get this right,” Arvada Mayor Lauren Simpson said. “We had the pleasure to interview three incredibly talented professionals, each of whom brought a lot of insight and integrity to this process. I genuinely liked and admired each of them. But it’s a bit like Cinderella and her glass slipper — it has to be just the right fit.” Now, the city will start its search over from the beginning. It is unclear how long that search will take. Arvada has been without a permanent city manager since July 2024, when former City Manager Lorie Gillis resigned from the city. Deputy City Manager Linda Haley has been serving in an interim capacity since then. Gillis was hired in 2022 to replace Mark Deven, who retired from the role after 11 years with the city. SEE FINALISTS, P2
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