Congresswoman Markey will be having a Campaign Office Opening this Friday.
Come join them for food, drink, and Hope!
What: Fort Collins Office Opening
When: 7:00pm, Friday, May 28th
Where: 419 Canyon Avenue, Suite 200
Fort Collins, CO 80521
On a more somber note, tonight I received note from Angelique Layton that her
longtime friend, Ivan Meek, passed away today. Ivan and Angie are not only LAD members;
Ivan made a great presentation to LAD at my first meeting as President in
January of 2007. The presentation still resonates in my head because it
exemplified the kind of person Ivan was to me. It was a bi-partisan
presentation filled with facts, figures, and other nerdy statistics. However,
what underpinned it all was the desire to make sure EVERYONE’S vote counted.
Ivan was a template for integrity (and not only because served as a board member
for Coloradoans for Voting Integrity). His stoic exterior almost betrayed his
fiery fervor for Election Reform and justice of all kinds. I remember him
patrolling the State Capital in Denver on Governor Ritter’s Inauguration bending
Sen. Brandon Shaffer’s ear on voting issues. All the while, he was good-natured
and polite, listening to Sen. Shaffer as to when Ivan could make his pitch to
the Senator. The pitch was made. Trust me. “No” was not an option.
At first glance, his grimacing exterior would lead you to believe that he was
unhappy. It’s not that he was unhappy; it’s just that he was always
thinking. Thinking of ways to make a more just world,
thinking about how to approach the next legislator, thinking about what YOU were
saying. His slight frown always had a smile curling at the edges. His
gravel-toned voice had warm tinge that showed he cared about his common man (and
woman). Just this March, he wrote a letter to the Daily Camera about his 80
year old neighbor that missed out on her chance to vote because of mail-in
ballots.
http://camera-letterstotheeditor.pmpblogs.com/2010/03/18/ivan-c-meek-no-all-mail-elections/
Ivan’s presentation to LAD included a great speakers from Longmont.
This presenter and Ivan worked as election judges in 2008. They
were working on the ballots late one night, and on their way home they turned
around to go back to the County Clerk’s Office. They knew there were voting
inconsistencies that needed the Clerk to address. And the Clerk did address
them (remember that thing I told you about not taking “No”?). We could be sure
2008’s results were more accurate because of these two men. People asked me
why this Longmont presenter was not an LAD member. I told people Ivan’s
friend and colleague was a Republican. Ivan did not put politics before
principle.
Regardless of whether you knew him or not, the issues he fought for are still
omnipresent. We still need to count votes correctly. His passing means there
must be a passing of the torch. There will never be another Ivan, so we must
stand together to bring his ideals to reality. Go to Coloradoans for Voting
Integrity http://www.cfvi.us/?q=node/1 when you get a chance.
Lastly, I have a personal admission to make. I knew about a month ago that Ivan
was not doing well. I knew that might not have another opportunity to talk to
him and I missed it. A lot of people talk about doing things if “time
allows” … as if time controlled our actions. Allow some “time” this
week to email or call a friend you haven’t spoken to but keep meaning to.
Tonight I am emailing one of my old college buddies who I haven’t spoken to in
years. Just to say “hi.”
Below is a youtube link to a Denver Post interview of Ivan Meek. Keep him and
his family in your thoughts. The services will be at the Louisville United
Methodist Church in the next few days. I will keep people updated on
www.longmontdems.org as to the details.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbKXuQKQ2-I&feature=player_embedded
