At the May 15th Annual Community Forum, residents had the opportunity to vote (yes or no) on the question “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?”

Outcome of the Vote

The affirmative vote was below the required 66% threshold for a bylaw change, and so the name of Stapleton United Neighbors will remain Stapleton United Neighbors (SUN). Between 6pm and the end of the meeting (approximately 8:35pm), 452 valid ballots were collected. Of these, 261 (58%) voted yes, 189 (42%) voted no, and 2 (0.4%) were filed in abstention. Ballot validation was completed by 7 SUN board members, with double counting and select validation. One ballot deemed invalid was excluded.

SUN’s Role: Fostering a Vibrant Urban Community

Through the process leading up to the Tuesday vote, and with a strong turnout at the annual Community Forum, the community continues to demonstrate a strong passion for social equity. SUN remains dedicated to its purpose of providing a working forum for the residents of the Stapleton neighborhood to participate in pursuing the vision of this community by creating, developing, and fostering a vibrant urban community dedicated to social equity, environmental responsibility, and economic opportunity.

SUN will continue to operate with a 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.

Residents’ Role: Speak Out about Acts that Harm or Marginalize Others

As part of the process of thinking more deeply about issues around equity as a community, many stories have come to light of instances where community members have been the direct recipients of racist or demeaning language, or threatening actions based in harmful stereotypes. It is unknown whether occurrences here are more or less frequent than other places, but this should not happen anywhere, and especially here. It is the responsibility of every resident in this community to speak out if witnessing any acts that demean, harm, or otherwise marginalize others, regardless of how casual or how few people are within earshot. This often requires openness and education to better understand what and why certain acts may fall into this category. It is important that all persons recognize that it is their responsibility to call out offensive and inappropriate behavior.

Honoring Dr. Gregory Diggs

The presence of a key community partner, the late Dr. Gregory Diggs, was notably absent from the Annual Community Forum. One of the founding members of SUN, and more recently one of the leaders of the effort to remove the word Stapleton from SUN, Dr. Diggs had taken on the (self-titled) role of ‘agitator in chief’ in discussions around the name Stapleton, leveraging it to create a space to talk about race. The forum has come and passed, but keeping active the conversation around race and equity is essential for this community, and doing so is one way to honor Dr. Diggs’ memory.

• Participate in SUN and Attend Our Next Meeting
• SUN’s efforts span a wide range of community concerns. We hope you’ll join us in the areas of greatest interest to you:
• Promote social equity and celebrate diversity through the inclusivity committee.
• Ensure strong public schools and equity in education through our education committee.
• Make our community safer for all forms of transit, particularly walking and cycling, through our transportation committee.
• Help grow resident-led participation in the Sustainable Neighborhoods Program with the sustainability committee.
• Work with block captains across Stapleton through the block captain network.

Please attend the June 2018 meeting on June 19 at 6:30pm, Central Park Recreation Center.