Westsider 1
North Jeffco
POSTAL PATRON
November 29, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwestminsternews.com
North Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 12, Issue 47
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Hudak in a crunch Lawmaker weighing options in recall effort By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com
James Hondrogiannis is the owner of Goody’s Eatery in south Westminster, a breakfast and lunch restaurant that opened in early September. Photos by Ashley Reimers
Good eats at Goody’s By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews. com James Hondrogiannis has been in the restaurant business since age 6. The Westminster resident started out with simple jobs like washing dishes and busing tables, before graduating to manager at his father’s restaurant, the Parkway Café in Federal Heights. Now Hondrogiannis is putting all of that experience and knowledge to the test with the opening of his own place, Goody’s Eatery in south Westminster. “After growing up in restaurants, I always knew I would open my own,” he said. “It takes a lot of passion, but it’s worth it.” Everything made from scratch, including fresh-cut hash browns and homemade green chili, Goody’s Eatery is a breakfast and lunch restaurant. Located in the old Westy’s Café building at 3010 W. 72nd Ave., the interior has been completely transformed from the ground up. With help from his family, Hondro-
Corned beef hash and eggs is just one of many items on the menu at Goody’s Eatery, a breakfast and lunch restaurant in south Westminster. giannis designed the restaurant to be light and airy with a welcoming and cozy atmosphere. “When the building became available we really wanted to revitalize it for this part of Westminster,” he said. “The location is great with a lot of traffic, especially be-
ing down the street from the future light rail. It took a lot of work and a long time, but it feels really good to have a hand in it from the beginning.” Goody’s continues on Page 15
Holiday tradition brings community together Event began more than a century ago By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews.com
Elizabeth Price, last year’s Hometown Christmas honoree, lights the 65-foot Christmas tree. Courtesy photo
Since 1911, the Hometown Christmas celebration has brought people together for an evening of lights, caroling and Santa Claus. First celebrated after the city’s incorporation, the community event is a tradition marking the beginning of the holiday season. “In 1923 Doc and Laura Shipman planted a fiveand-a-half foot tree to serve as the hometown Christmas tree. Residents continued to decorate the tree until
World War II when outside lights were not allowed,” said Elaine Egan with the Westminster Historical Society. “The tradition was set aside until the Westminster Historical Society renewed it in 1987. The tree is now over 65 feet tall.” This year’s celebration will be 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, at Fireman’s Park, next to Westminster Fire Station No. 1, 3948 W. 73rd Ave. The pinnacle of the evening will be the Christmas tree lighting, which will be done this year by former mayor Nancy McNally. Egan said the first tree lighting honorees in 1987 were Holiday continues on Page 15
State Sen. Evie Hudak could be in a lose-lose situation, and she knows it. The Westminster Democrat acknowledges that if organizers behind a recall effort collect enough signatures to force a special election, there is only one sure-fire way that she will remain a senator. “The way I win is if they don’t get enough signatures,” she said during a recent interview with Colorado Community Media. “Other than that, I think you’re right, that I’m in a lose-lose situation if they get enough signatures. People will be angry if I were to resign. People would be angry if I were to be recalled.” Hudak refused to answer affirmatively if she will run in a recall election, if things go that far. “Obviously, people like you have forced me to contemplate,” she said. “The reason I can’t make a decision is because I don’t know if they’re going to have enough signatures. There are a lot of things in play. “Right now, I want to remain a senator. I think I’ve done a good job.” Hudak was asked whether it would send a bad message if a lawmaker steps aside from office, through the mere threat of a recall — without even fighting back in an election to keep his or her seat. “You’re expressing why it’s so difficult, and why I can’t give you an answer right now,” she said. Organizers have until Dec. 3 to submit 18,962 valid signatures of District 19 voters to the secretary of state’s office. Hudak’s district includes Westminster and Arvada. Hudak has run in tough elections before. She initially won her Senate seat in 2008 with 51 percent of the vote. Last year, Hudak was re-elected by a slim margin of 342 votes over her Republican opponent, and one where a Libertarian candidate received 6.5 percent support. Hudak is the third Democratic lawmaker to be targeted for recall. The other two, former Senate President John Morse of Colorado Springs and Sen. Angela Giron of Pueblo, lost their races. The group that is behind the recall effort, which calls itself Recall Hudak Too, has a laundry list of reasons why she should be recalled. Clearly, though, Hudak is being targeted over her support of gun legislation that was signed into law this year, and because she is a vulnerable Democrat whose loss in a special election could flip control in the General Assembly’s upper chamber to the Republicans. That’s why there has been chatter among state politicos that Hudak could end up resigning from office, a move that would allow another Democrat to hold that important seat. “At this time, I have no intention of resigning,” she said. “I hope I won’t have to make that decision.” Mike McAlpine, who is organizing the recall effort, did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this story. Learning from recent recall efforts Hudak and her campaign manager Chris Kennedy say they learned from what happened in Colorado Springs and Pueblo. “I don’t think we knew how serious it was and how capable these guys were,” Kennedy said. He said because of that, the Hudak campaign has sent volunteers door-todoor, as well as positioning volunteers in areas where petition gatherers are attempting to collect signatures. The actions of volunteers on both sides of the recall attempt have been the story within the recall story, as efforts on the part of some groups have stirred controversy. The Democracy Defense Fund, A pro-Hudak group — one that the senator says she is not affiliated with — has directed robocalls that warn District 19 voters that some of the recall petition gatherers have criminal backgrounds. “We’re trying to get the message out, why it would benefit people in the community not to sign the petition,”
Hudak continues on Page 15
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