Historians discussed the life of Ben Stapleton and Denver and the west in the early 1900s to better understand our history. From left: Moderator Rebecca Hunt (professor, UC Denver), professors Albert Broussard (Texas A&M Univ.), Robert Goldberg (Univ. of Utah), and Geoffrey Hunt (Aurora Comm. College).
Vote (in person) to keep “Stapleton United Neighbors” or change to“Central Park United Neighbors.”
All Stapleton residents and persons who own residential property within the footprint of SUN are invited to attend the 6pm meeting on May 15 at the Cube, 8371 E. Northfield Blvd.
Why is Stapleton United Neighbors (SUN) having this vote?
Moderator Patty Limerick, State Historian
Starting at the August, 2017 meeting of Stapleton United Neighbors, a group that subsequently named themselves Rename Stapleton For All attended Stapleton’s organizational and advisory groups, including SUN, and spoke out against the use of the name Stapleton since Mayor Ben Stapleton had been a member of the Ku Klux Klan. The issue of renaming Stapleton and the discussions at those meetings were covered in every issue of the Front Porch from September, 2017 to January, 2018, as well as in the Denver Post, TV news, Denverite and other online news sources. The Stapleton Foundation and the Stapleton Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) changed their names; SDC (Stapleton Development Corporation) had already dropped use of the word Stapleton, opting for initials only.
Who decided the process for changing the SUN name?
At the December SUN meeting, 22 members (Stapleton residents, either owners or renters) requested a change in the bylaws to remove Stapleton from the name of the organization. The SUN bylaws, written when the organization was formed, state that if at least 20 people request a change in the bylaws, it must go to a vote of the members.
The Day of Reflection was held at Sam Gary Library.
Dropping the name Stapleton also required finding an alternative name for the organization. A decision was made to have a vote of the community at the annual SUN forum on May 15, allowing several months for the SUN board to choose a new name and have community discussions about the name Stapleton.
The SUN board decided to use a locator-type name. They chose Central Park since the road runs the entire north-south length of Stapleton, and the name reflects the well-known locations of the rail station, the rec center and a park in the community.
How will the vote take place?
Paper ballots will be available at the SUN meeting on May 15, which will take place at The Cube in Northfield. Adult owners and renters who live “in the footprint of SUN,” as defined in the SUN bylaws, are eligible to vote. This includes all of the Denver area of Stapleton, north and south of I-70, but not the part that is in Aurora, as SUN is a registered neighborhood organization of Denver. Votes can only be made in person at the meeting, and ballots will be available in the lobby of the Cube during the meeting, which is scheduled from 6pm to 8:30pm.
Charlene Porter, a Park Hill resident and author of books rooted in African American heritage.
The question on the ballot will be: “Should the name of the Registered Neighborhood Organization as reflected in Article 1, Section 1, of the Stapleton United Neighbors Bylaws be changed from Stapleton United Neighbors to Central Park United Neighbors?”
The affirmative vote of 66% of SUN members is required to change the bylaws. The ballots will ask voters to include their name, address and signature to verify residency, but all voting information will be held in confidence by the SUN board. Results of the vote will not be available immediately but by the next SUN meeting, if not sooner. Questions can be directed to StapletonUnitedNeighbors@gmail.com.
I attended SUN meeting on May 15 solely for the purpose of voting against the proposed name change. In preparing for attending I learned that I needed to download a “free” ticket in order to get into the meeting. Upon arrival, I soon learned that the need for a free ticket was total nonsense. No ticket takers were to be found. People were milling about waiting for ballots and then after the ballots arrived queued up to vote on this totally ridiculous and waste of time issue. Fortunately, there were enough people who attended the meeting to vote to maintain the current name.
Now that this current nonsense is over, maybe it is time to think about the entire process apparently dreamt up by the board. Less than 500 people showed up at this meeting out of thousands that live in SUN. The disenfranchisement of all the people based on the requirement that the vote be in person does not speak much for inclusivity — unless of course the intent or hope is to only include people who thought for some reason that this was a worthy topic of monumental proportions.
The following quotation from the SUN Board is indicative of the cluelessness which pervades part of this community who apparently have nothing better to do than foist their version of progressiveness on the rest of us.
“SUN will continue to operate with commitment to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our community on its mission to work for the betterment of the Stapleton neighborhood and the City and County of Denver by providing a forum for residents to discuss and resolve issues, facilitating a network of communication, and a means of acting on matters of importance to the community as a whole.”
This was not a matter of “importance to the community as a whole.” No one really cares what organization Mr. Stapleton belonged to decades ago. And apparently not enough people want to live in an area described as a street.
If the Sun Board wants to actually do something of importance in the community, I suggest taking on the issue of getting our streets repaired. The gaps in the asphalt streets thoughout the community will be something that comes back to haunt the community if something is not done soon. Your time will be much better spent on something of substance rather than one concerning who belonged to what organization at some time in their life.