David Skilling is not running for Lakewood City Council which means Christopher Arlen will be elected by default if no one else runs.
There are many reasons why someone else should run.
Many reasons why the residents should have a choice.
Christopher Arlen isn’t really who he says he is.
- First, his real name is Christopher Smith, not Christopher Arlen.
Here he is in 2005, the subject of criticism for cronyism in hiring, violating the bylaws, making back room deals and cutting staff to deflect charges of his own ineffectiveness.
This happened in the first 11 months he was there.
He was gone in another year.
Christopher Smith. Not Christopher Arlen.
See, http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/02.23.05/scap-0508.html
Here is reference to him as being replaced as the director of the Boulder County AIDS Project after just 11 months.
In his words, a “difficult and a poor fit”. 2007.
Christopher Smith. Not Christopher Arlen.
His description of his work history jumps from being fired in 2007, after only 11 months (his replacement went on to serve over 10 years), to 2014 when he “started the Soft Skills Company.”
And apparently changed his name to Christopher Arlen.
He does mention working as a limousine driver during that 7 year gap. Perhaps that is where he met Adam Paul.
- He wants you to believe he is a unifier. An expert in bringing people together and forging strong healthy relationships.
Here is what he wants you to believe:
Yet, here are just a few examples of his polarizing and divisive behavior in front of the Green Mountain Water and Sanitation Board:
He doesn’t like Solterra residents very much either and seems to like to pit one resident against another.
Here he is “liking” a Facebook post initiated by B K Evans that mocks and makes fun of Solterra residents:
- He wants you to believe that he is an expert in land use law, Title 32, the Open Meetings Law, the Green Mountain Bylaws and running board meetings.
He claims a majority of the board cannot amend their own bylaws.
He claims, without citing any authority or experience, that the Water and Sanitation District (apparently as well as City Council) is “just a toaster – an appliance” obligated to simply follow the direction of the developers.
In the context of the Big Sky IGA, he believes Green Mountain never had the right to terminate the Big Sky IGA and should enter into a new one with Big Sky as soon as possible.
See, https://rooneyvalleynews.com/source-of-green-mountain-recall-you-are-just-a-toaster-an-appliance/
(Since the above blog was published Mr. Smith has deleted most of his own posts on two Facebook sites related to Green Mountain)
(Note that the Big Sky IGA issue was known since at least August, 2018. Mr. Smith did not start attending meetings until over two years later, October, 2020. Instantly he was a self appointed expert and preached at length to the board on all their defects and what they needed to do to fix them.
Perhaps his involvement with Green Mountain was simply a strategy to attract attention to himself and his campaign for City Council. It certainly worked. His contributions from the recall committee flowed during that time.)
Despite Mr. Smith’s liberal sharing of all his judgmental evaluations and personal attacks on the board, it is now clear that his preaching was bad advice based upon the lack of knowledge, the lack of experience and the lack of awareness to recognize that one should stop talking when one doesn’t know what one is talking about.
Green Mountain Board now has independent counsel with expertise in Title 32 and working with boards.
The Bylaws expressly state they can be amended at any time by a majority of the board members. It is a common provision in the bylaws.
As demonstrated during the last meeting, every single lecture from Mr. Smith (aka Arlen) about Title 32, the Open Meetings Law, the Bylaws and how the Board should run its meetings has been exposed as simply wrong. Factually. Legally. Managerially. Wrong.
To be sure, Mr. Smith has led an interesting life. He has experience in working with youth and gay men at a time when AIDS was a killer (he himself admits to being a survivor of a “reckless and risky life style” at that time) and ultimately working to promote HIV testing and AIDS prevention. He is a passionate defender of Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQ community. All extremely important. All issues many of us have experience with and are also passionate about.
But he is not who he represents he is.
Maybe Christopher Smith is still the right person to represent residents in Skilling and Franks’ Ward 4 since Mr. Skilling is not running.
Perhaps his experience with BLM, LGBTQ, HIV and AIDS prevention are reasons alone for him to earn a seat on the City Council.
But, there should always be a choice.
And we should always know who we are voting for.
Here are additional references for information on Mr. Smith:
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/02.23.05/scap-0508.html
https://arvadapress.com/stories/christopher-arlen-lakewood,312072
http://voyagedenver.com/interview/meet-christopher-arlen-soft-skills-company-lakewood/
And the public comment section of every Green Mountain Water and Sanitation board meeting since October, 2020:
https://www.greenmountainwater.org/RelId/656354/ISvars/default/Board_Meetings.htm
See also,
Lakewood Democratic Party – Pro Citizens on Social Issues – Anti-Citizens on Development Issues
John Henderson
Thanks for providing this, John. I hate to say I wish I had more time to pay attention to the these issues in my neighborhood and am certainly glad people like you are able to share.