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Editor’s note: The Broomfield Enterprise’s earlier coverage did not address some election-related claims on a controversial door hanger. This story takes a look at additional claims. Controversial messaging surrounding Broomfield’s City Council elections have been distributed in the city, and the material includes misleading information. Pictures and screenshots of the materials sent to the Broomfield Enterprise oppose incumbent candidates Guyleen Castriotta for mayor, Austin Ward for Ward 2 and Todd Cohen for Ward 5, as well as Ward 1 candidate Julie Twiss, Ward 3 candidate Sarah Braun and Ward 4 candidate Sean McKenzie. The materials include a statement that they were paid for by Silent Majority Speaks, which is registered as an independent expenditure committee in Broomfield. The registered agent for the committee, listed as Stacey Casteel, has not responded to requests for comment via publicly available email and phone contact information. The candidates not mentioned by the material, including mayoral candidate Kimberly Groom, have denied knowing more about Silent Majority Speaks, and criticized the material. “Such a shame, disgrace and not representative of anyone from Broomfield,” Groom said on Oct. 13. “I just saw these yesterday.” Ward 2 candidate Colin Dielmann has said in an email statement: “After talking amongst the other candidates, we have had no idea where this is coming from and are not participating in these vigorous attacks. We want a clean, fair and honest campaign in Broomfield.” Dielmann’s statement also said they “hope that they stop meddling in Broomfield’s elections.” A look at claims Among the materials are door hangers left in multiple Broomfield neighborhoods including Eagle Trace and in Ward 5, according to current council members. Among the claims are that council members have been recalled with Castriotta “at the helm,” but the only recall attempt during her mayor term did not succeed. Additionally, candidates targeted by Silent Majority Speaks’ material take issue with the claims that City Council “lost” Ikea and Trader Joe’s. According to an email from City and County Manager Jennifer Hoffman, state liquor license setbacks precluded Trader Joe’s from moving forward, as another liquor establishment was in the state-required setback range. Later, Trader Joe’s did consider purchasing the property and waiting for a potential change in state law, related to store wine sales, Hoffman said. Trader Joe’s was in a pre-development process for a site on 120th and put in a bid for the land, but the private property owner chose to sell to a different entity, Hoffman said. Ikea bought land in northern Broomfield in 2016 and City Council approved a site development plan from the company in October 2017, according to Hoffman. Castriotta said that since her tenure as a council member began in November 2017, the council has not made any decisions regarding Ikea. “In the eight years I’ve been on council, we’ve never (had a decision in front of us) on Ikea,” Castriotta said. “How can I be responsible for losing something that was never here?” Ikea did not submit building permits for the land, and high building costs and increased interest rates after COVID arrived caused a shift in its business model, Hoffman said. The company is pursuing “adaptive reuse/renovation of retail spaces” like smaller-box retail and closed grocery stores instead of building new large stores, Hoffman said, and has indicated that they plan to sell the land they own in Broomfield. Hoffman said Broomfield does not currently have any vacant box stores. She added that the former Safeway store off of 120th Avenue and Main Street is “tied up under the agreement” with the developers behind the Broomfield Town Square development, and is slated to be part of the project. On 1stBank Center A door hanger also implies that Castriotta and the council are responsible for the failure of the 1stBank Center. The building, then the Broomfield Event Center, originally opened in 2006. None of the elected officials mentioned on the hangers were on the council at the time of the center’s approval or construction, according to the city’s record of past elected officials. The decision was made to close the event center in 2023 and the council, including Ward and Cohen, voted unanimously. In Broomfield, the mayor does not participate in council voting except to break a tie. The decision to close the building was made for multiple reasons, Hoffman said, including recognition of the continuing expenses, required maintenance and reinvestment and the decision of Peak Entertainment LLC to not continue as the event center’s operator. The decision to demolish the building was also unanimously approved. City staff explored other options for the building, but none were determined to be viable, Hoffman said. She added that the decision to demolish the closed event center ultimately saved the city money in operating costs, cumulative debt payments, and building capital maintenance and repair. Talking attendance Silent Majority Speaks online content claims that Ward “rarely attends” in person and spends a “considerable amount of time in California.” Ward confirmed that he attends Santa Clara University for law school, an institution he said he chose due to its flexibility in allowing him to continue living in Colorado and serving on the council. Ward said he goes to California for school three days each month, and any claims that he spends more time there than Colorado are untrue, he said. He also said he has attended one City Council meeting remotely since August due to being in California. “Especially in today’s environment, understanding what’s true and what’s not true and abiding by the truth is so important,” Ward said. “We can’t come to a reasonable conclusion when people aren’t playing with the same set of facts, and that is going to have real consequences.”
