In April 2024, Colorado People’s News published an Op-Ed about my deep concerns with Rebekah Stewart’s ability to represent State House District 30.  I served on Lakewood City Council with her from 2021 to 2023, both of us representing Ward 3.  In my previous article, I focused on what appeared to be Stewart’s outrageous retaliatory actions against her constituents and co-workers.

I believe that Stewart is largely responsible for putting an innocent woman (Desiree Gonzalez, who had NO prior criminal record) in jail for a year because Gonzalez was critical of City Council. Recently, Gonzalez had to endure a lumpectomy of her breast because of lack of medical care during that incarceration and her dog died because she was not able to care for him from jail.

I feel that the vitriolic statement Stewart made to the District Attorney about Gonzalez was unprofessional, defamatory, and reckless.  And because of such statements, Gonzalez lost an entire year of her life. https://coloradopeoplesnews.com/2024/03/03/op-ed-please-do-not-vote-for-rebekah-stewart-for-colorado-state-house-district-30/.  ¹ 

I hope that the first Op-ed will help people understand my view of Stewart’s true character toward people she works with, and how heartless she can be.

Now I will focus on my opinions about Stewart’s lack of competence as a legislator, her questionable donor history, and her lack of genuine progressive views.

Stewart proudly touts the fact that she beat an incumbent in the Lakewood City Council race in 2021.  But she does not tell the entire story.  It appears that special interests propelled Stewart into her office with significant expenditures that many refer to as “dark money”.

In 2021, it appears that Stewart received $26,374 in donations to her official campaign. Her corporate donors included the maximum permissible donation of $400 from Colo. Home Builders Assoc. (operating as Metro Housing Coalition), $400 from the Apartment Association of Denver, $500 from the pipefitters and $400 from communication workers. She received a $400 donation from a Rooney Valley developer (Rod Mickleberry of Cardel Homes) which apparently was returned, and $400 from Confluence Real Estate’s Tim Walsh.

In addition – The effectiveness of her election campaign was more than doubled when an outside Independent Expenditure Committee (IEC), “Friends of Rebekah”, raised $30,831 from two development supporters – Colo. Home Builders Assoc. (operating as Metro Housing Coalition) gave $7,500 {almost as much as the entire opponent’s campaign ($8,670)}, and $23,331 from the National Association of Realtors out of Chicago!

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[1] I was able to obtain Stewart’s statement to the Jeffco D.A. directly from the Jefferson County Court file.  It should be noted that D.A. Alexis King’s Office falsely claimed to the Court to have interviewed all City Councilors regarding Gonzalez.  That is not true.  Only the 7 who went along with the desired narrative were asked for a proper interview.  The 4 who did not agree that Gonzalez threatened Council were NOT properly interviewed, if at all.  In fact, the District Attorneys attempted to pressure one Councilor not to drop charges, which reeked of witness tampering.  This political witch hunt, done for political allies, should be investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice.  Gonzalez is set for trial in September in Jefferson County.  Hopefully Stewart will have to testify under oath because she should have to explain her false statements.

The total of Stewart’s campaign and her supporting IEC was $57,205 – or about 6.6 times as much as the incumbent. This amounted to $12.15 per vote she received versus the $2.71 spent on each vote for her opponent.  Therefore – it was not so much that Stewart had some amazing ability to win a campaign.  What she had was a lot of money; corporations and/or developers apparently buying her vote. 

It should be noted that the National Association of Realtors admitted in 2021 to their part in keeping People of Color out of neighborhoods like the ones in Lakewood that Stewart represents.  On December 21, 2021 (the month after Stewart won City Council with their help), the N.A.R. issued a formal apology for DECADES OF RACIST POLICY THAT EXLUDED NON-WHITE PEOPLE FROM OWNING HOMES. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-12-21/real-estate-agents-want-to-fix-housing-discrimination-but-keep-their-commission; https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/realestate/real-estate-industry-racial-reckoning.html.

“In the 1930s they [N.A.R.] provided the raw neighborhood intelligence, using starkly racist language about ‘negro-blighted’ districts and the ‘infiltration of undesirable racial elements,’ that aided in the creation of the infamous redlining maps denying federally backed loans to people of color.”  See Bloomberg article link above.  And oh – Stewart was all about blighting neighborhoods while on Council – almost always voting for the developer’s interests instead of neighborhood interests.  She never responded when I asked her why the N.A.R. gave her so much money.

In my years on the dais with Stewart, I constantly attempted to draw attention to issues of civil rights, equity, inclusivity, police brutality, police reform, and discrimination.  I asked for a citizen review board for Lakewood and asked to expand the successful Denver STAR program to our city (Support Team Alternative Response treating mental health and substance abuse calls with compassion rather than use of force).  Never once did Stewart support my efforts or vote with me regarding these issues.  She often rolled her eyes when I brought up civil rights and the Constitution.  I kept thinking – I thought this person was supposed to be a progressive! On one particular occasion I recall Stewart publicly stating that she could empathize with People of Color being discriminated against because… – wait for it – she used to be the only white girl growing up on the Hawaiian Islands.  Seriously.  That’s what she said.  It’s stunning to hear a white person of privilege (privilege gained through colonialism of Hawaii, no less) compare herself to a Person of Color in America.

It should be noted that Stewart does not hail from Colorado or from Lakewood.  She does not have a complete understanding of this state or this community, in my opinion. 

When I attempted for two years in a row to get the City of Lakewood’s Municipal Court and police department to produce a breakdown of how many Blacks and Latinos were arrested in the city as compared to whites – I was shot down.  The City lumps Latino arrests in with whites – therefore completely concealing any real numbers regarding discrimination against Latinos.  See Email from Court Administrator Below – White and Hispanic defendants were lumped together for 91% of Summonses (5,584 for Jan to Oct 2022) because the City claims “Colorado Crime Information Center does not categorize Hispanic as a race” (also note that Black people had 6% of summonses though they make up only 1.6% of Lakewood’s population).  I voted against a raise for the City’s Chief Judge Nicole Bozarth and City Manager Kathy Hodgson because I felt they were not helping to correct this issue.  Stewart did not back me even though we both represented a ward which contains much of the Latino population in the City.  Her only response was to vote to give a raise to the judge and the city manager responsible for this travesty

Along those lines, in 2022 the City set forth the annual City of Lakewood Community Survey, asking what people thought about various City related issues, including how well the Lakewood Police deal with “treating residents of different backgrounds fairly”.  See the 2022 Lakewood Community Survey re: Police below.  When I discovered the survey was not given to even one Black person and was taken by 89% White/Caucasians – I had a lot of questions about its validity.  Especially when opining about how police treat people of color.  See the Demographics of Survey below.  Stewart failed to back me and had zero questions about this issue.

During budget discussions in October of 2022, I became aware of the pitiful demographics regarding lack of inclusivity in hiring in Lakewood.  I asked for a demographics break down and discovered there were only FOUR full time African American women and only 35 Latinas working for the entire City of Lakewood (the fifth largest city in Colorado), and that 83% of employees in Lakewood are white.  I was appalled and asked a lot of questions.  See the City of Lakewood Employee Demographic Breakdown and the Employee Demographics in Budget documents below.  Stewart again did not support me or ask any questions of her own.  Staff could do no wrong, in her world.

In June of 2022, I asked City Manager Kathy Hodgson to hire an African American or Latina female chief of police.  She chuckled and sarcastically responded, “they would have to be qualified.”  When I expressed my opinion at a Council meeting that this was a racist remark – Stewart did not back me up.  She voted for every salary raise and bonus Hodgson wanted, even when she selected all white finalists for the chief position and hired a male chief.

Week after week, Stewart remained silent as former Mayor Adam Paul targeted me for constant bullying and abuse that was so out of hand he once threatened my family member while on the dais.  Stewart appeared tone deaf to the plight of the Woman of Color elected official who is expected to be silent while being insulted and humiliated by white male counterparts.  If a Woman of Color defends herself, her qualifications are questioned, she is labeled “difficult” for speaking up, and she is attacked even harder.  Not once did Stewart stand up for me.  Not one time.  In fact, there were times she engaged in that mob behavior – attempting to bully the Woman of Color off of Council herself. 

I was excluded from the City Council annual retreat for years, as the mayor would choose dates when I could not participate due to my family status as a single mother.  The year Stewart had a leadership role, she joined in the exclusion by refusing a virtual option.  When that didn’t work (because Councilor Olver, a male, stood up for me), Stewart and her “Mean Girls Club” on Council were dissatisfied.  Councilor Jeslin Shahrezaei did something that put my family’s safety at risk.  And Stewart went along with it without saying a word.

A Black woman from our ward named Latonya Davis came into our Council meeting one night having lost her mother (Patricia Dilworth), who was found dead in a ditch on 6^th and Wadsworth after going missing in January 2023.  There were many questions about what occurred and why she felt the City of Lakewood had not conducted a thorough investigation.  I went with Ms. Davis to see where her mother was found and to examine every piece of evidence she wanted me to see.  Ms. Davis has now filed multiple federal lawsuits against the City and Lakewood Police Department.  What did Stewart do for Ms. Davis – her Ward 3 constituent?  Not one thing. 

As far as Stewart’s ability as a legislator – I honestly cannot remember a single piece of legislation that she initiated.  My review of ordinances and resolutions that we passed during those years seems to confirm this.  Stewart never communicated with me about legislation she wanted to pass.  In my opinion, she had no ability to work with people across the aisle or even those outside her comfort zone.  She had an “us vs. them” mentality.  Which was sad.  I was disappointed.  I thought that Stewart and I had many of the same ideals and goals.  But I feel she had decided to work against me before even attaining the office based on her opinions of me personally rather than the good of the community.

During my last couple of months on Council, citizens in our ward were rising up against a development at Belmar Park that would kill 69 mature trees, countless birds, and wildlife.  I was helping them to make their voices heard.  These folks wanted to preserve the Crown Jewel of Lakewood.  I put together a community meeting that Stewart did not attend.  I drafted a resolution and motion to simply ask that the developers adhere to the parkland dedication requirement in our ordinance rather than buying their way out of it.  Stewart failed to support the motion and failed to stand up to the developers and staff.  I feel she showed her true colors. 

Stewart claims to support sustainability and environmental issues.  But protecting the environment is not accomplished by destroying nature – as with Belmar Park.

At one Council meeting, I questioned staff on the fact that government and commercial buildings have no insulation, which is where much of our energy waste goes.  I got staff to admit City Hall has next to no insulation.  See https://coloradopeoplesnews.com/2024/04/08/colorados-state-capitol-lacks-insulation/.  Stewart failed to support me on this issue that is core to sustainability.

On a personal note, when I received the horrible death threat in March of 2022 (that I would be killed if I did not resign Council) and my house was broken into and purposely flooded to force my resignation – Stewart did not have one word of sympathy.  Instead she attempted to minimize what happened.

Stewart and her allies on Council often break the rules to silence other councilors who they disagree with.  The former mayor used to mute the councilors he disliked, which caused him to be called out by the CFOIC.  https://coloradofoic.org/lakewood-city-council-members-criticize-mayor-for-muting-their-mics-during-zoom-meeting/. Stewart never objected to this behavior. 

The new Council continues in these footsteps.  Councilor Shahrezaei made a motion to silence Councilor Olver in the middle of his council report at the April 22, 2024 meeting.  She stated, “We’re done with you Councilor Olver!”  Stewart went along with violating Olver’s First Amendment rights and Robert’s Rules and voted to end that meeting early in the middle of his comments. 

Why am I speaking out about this?  Why does it matter to me?  Because Stewart is not somebody who should lead us or who will stand up for what is right, in my opinion.

What has this world really come to that these are the people on the short list to run our state?  We can do so much better.

Please do not vote for Rebekah Stewart for State House District 30.  It is not a good choice for our state or our district.

Anita Springsteen, Esq.

Owner of Springsteen Law Firm, LLC (www.springsteenlawfirm.com) and Civil Rights Attorney

Vice Chair of Legal Redress for Rocky Mountain NAACP and President of Future Jeffco Chapter of NAACP (Opinions expressed here do not reflect those of RMNAACP)

Former Lakewood City Councilor for Ward 3

The views expressed in this piece are mine, individually.  They are not meant to represent the view of any organization with which I am affiliated.

¹ I was able to obtain Stewart’s statement to the Jeffco D.A. directly from the Jefferson County Court file.  It should be noted that D.A. Alexis King’s Office falsely claimed to the Court to have interviewed all City Councilors regarding Gonzalez.  That is not true.  Only the 7 who went along with the desired narrative were asked for a proper interview.  The 4 who did not agree that Gonzalez threatened Council were NOT properly interviewed, if at all.  In fact, the District Attorneys attempted to pressure one Councilor not to drop charges, which reeked of witness tampering.  This political witch hunt, done for political allies, should be investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice.  Gonzalez is set for trial in September in Jefferson County.  Hopefully Stewart will have to testify under oath because she should have to explain her false statements.