Posted on 03/23/2005 7:41:42 AM PST by GSWarrior
Estes Park - Voters on Tuesday night recalled a town trustee over his refusal to stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance before board meetings.
The vote to boot David Habecker, 59, off the town board was 903-605. Voters also chose 60-year- old businessman Richard Homeier to replace him.
The recall election garnered state and national attention. Habecker, an agnostic, claimed saying the phrase "under God" in the Pledge violated the separation of church and state.
Habecker, a hotel owner, said the vote was upsetting.
"All the things I was taught as a child about this country, including religious tolerance, liberty and freedom, don't ring true today," he said.
Homeier, who voted against Habecker, said many residents did not appreciate Habecker using his position on the town board to voice his political views. "A majority of voters no longer felt he was representing them," Homeier said.
More than 200 people signed a petition for the recall.
The town sent out 321 absentee ballots, well above the usual 60 or so issued in municipal elections, said Town Clerk Vickie O'Connor.
Voters who cast ballots at city hall Tuesday agreed Habecker's stance had split the community of about 7,000.
"This has become very emotional for this town," said Ann Neering, an Estes Park resident since 1978.
She voted for Habecker's recall, saying it was a simple "black-and- white" issue.
"If you don't want to say the Pledge, you should leave the country," Neering said. She agreed with recall proponents that Habecker was using his public position to voice his personal political agenda.
"A lot of people who have lived here for a long time have traditional beliefs, and this just doesn't jibe with those," she said.
Others said Habecker should have simply stood up and not said the Pledge rather than just sit at the trustee table, but his lack of tact should not be grounds for a recall.
"He should have considered the mores of a small community like ours and done things more civilly," said resident Betty Dutton. "But that's no reason to want him out."
"He has the right not to say the Pledge," added voter Susan Hill.
Habecker served two terms on the town board in the 1980s. He was elected to fill a board vacancy in 2000 and was elected to a four-year term in 2002.
The town board started saying the Pledge before each meeting last May. Habecker has sued the town in federal court to have the Pledge declared unconstitutional. That suit is pending.
What is he complaining about? He had the freedom to express his opinions. The town has the freedom to choose who they want to elect them and to fire someone if they decide they made a bad choice.
" Habecker has sued the town in federal court to have the Pledge declared unconstitutional. That suit is pending."
Isn't that special? I would vote to recall this whining ungrateful idiot as well.
It's amazing how many idiots don't "get" that very simple concept.
Kudos to the citizens of Estes Park.
Good job people! I find it puzzling that agnbostics who complain and whine anytime they have to mention diety, saying that our values are being imposed on them, yet have no problem imposing theirs on us when they take away our rights to do so. I am fed up with this double standard. I'm glad to hear that some people are doing something about it.
If this guy had just been silent during the "under God" part of the pledge, recited the rest of it, and not made a big deal out of not saying it, this would never have happened.
That is what he is complaining about, I guess.
and another thing (LOL) anybody who lives in Estes Park and can't look around to see what beauty the Good Lord has made is too stupid to serve on that council anyway.
Mr. Agnostic jerk, it is a sign of respect to say the pledge and honor the country and its religious foundations. You are not pledging to God or being forced to practice a religion. You are simply recognizing what most people believe --- this is a nation blessed by God, and the belief in God was very important in the nation's creation. It does you absolutely no harm, and it is good manners.
This crap is so ego driven and narcissistic. I don't like it, so everyone must change for me. Me, me, me, me, me.
Actually, it is a reason to want him out. There's something off balance about this guy, not to mention arrogant, and it shows in his actions (or lack of). Regardless, the people of Estes Park can remove him for any darn reason they want. He serves at their pleasure, not his own.
That's about as to the point as you can be in this matter. Good post.
But I bet he takes our money that says "In God We Trust" as payment for the rooms he rents out! Another "agnostic" hypocrite.
In the Denver Post, they expressed 'worry' that this would impact tourism.
Estes Park is the 'Gateway to the Rockies'....
I'm delighted with the action they took and not letting the liberal Denver Post scare them.
We should support their tourism!
Estes Park is a beautiful mountain city set in a bowl with the Rockies surrounding part of it....
.. The Stanley...an elegant, white brick, turn -of- the-century stately hotel was the inspirtation for Steven King's novel/movie....The Shining
It's usually about forcing one's opinion on the rest of us.
"Good job!" to the 905 Estes Park citizens who voted him out. He service is subject to the wishes of his constituents, but he seems to have forgotten that. They wish him gone, so be it!
I will have to keep my eyes open for The Stanley Hotel the next time I visit Estes Park. It is a place to avoid.
I'd like to know what hotel he owns, so that when we visit Estes Park we don't stay there. Anyone know?
He owns The Stanley? Made infamous by Stephen King's "The Shining"?
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