Revision 3/12: Too many people feel I haven’t shared enough of my experiences to gain insight on me, to understand how I will make decisions, so I am going to leave my original page but provide some revision. This being the biggest one. I want you all to know that you are right, you need to know some things about me to know if you can trust who I am and how I make decisions. I want to be your representative so I have listened, I need to give details of my life and what made me the person I am today. I am going to try to be as dispassionate as I can be on some details here, I don’t think it’s fair to people to make my experiences lessor or greater than anyone else’s, it’s why I didn’t do this from the beginning. Right now I see a lot of politicians particularly on the federal level that make their childhood story their entire political careers. Overall, I’ve lived a really happy and privileged life so any small tragedy I have lived through I see as secondary to that. My belief is I’m here on this earth to serve my fellow man, I’ve been blessed by whatever (God, the universe, Henry “the fonz” Winkler, dumb luck, or whatever you believe) in my short 48 years to complain or judge. I’m just going to state facts.
As it’s been told to me, I was born somewhere between a car and the doors of an emergency room at Holy Redeemer hospital in Philadelphia on August 18, 1976. I wanted out in I the world I guess. I was raised by two federal employees, both post office workers which in the 70s and 80s was a branch of the government that made a lot of money. I grew up believing in unions and American liberalism- which back then meant seeking out every piece of information you could find on any issue. My work ethic is from my Mom- she never worked too much sorting mail and working hard to help her friends and often was into 20,30 hours of overtime. She can be hard, but it’s because she loves people to the point of a sacrifice I will never understand- I have been the beneficiary of that my entire life. She taught me if you are fighting for people or for what you believe being tired or needing time off isn’t an option. My father gave me my devil’s advocate approach- when he wasn’t traveling our dinner tables were challenging conversations where my father would let us say anything but would always offer counterpoints so we would have to justify our views. He taught me to embrace people of different ideas and to respect other‘s opinions. I have learned so much from people I disagree with because of him- it’s probably why i seek out people with opposing opinions. He taught me to embrace the world of gray versus black and white on issues. When government policy becomes about your family it’s not as simple as an academic vote, it becomes personal. They raised smart, hard working daughters and me. I’m not the “smart “ one in my family. I am third of three on that, but I was the middle kid. As a child my father nicknamed me the “peacemaker“, I was known to stand between children during arguments and my own parents- but only because the lessons they taught me. I’ve never been quiet, I’ve never been overly opinionated, but I’ve never shied from the fight- particularly whenI’m defending someone else.
I lived in Maryland as an elementary school kid and love my Commanders and blue crab because of it. We moved to a Chicago suburb during middle school (which may be my particular dislike of Chicago sports as I was living there at the beginning of the Jordan era), and I ended up in Aurora (now centennial) in high school. I graduated high school at Eaglecrest in 1994 in a Denver suburb made of prairie dogs and dirt roads- I understand the desire for days gone by as the area is now strip malls and suburban sprawl. In high school I lost a class member to the chuck e cheese shooting- I didn’t know Colleen well but we were in an outdoor gym class together (I took it at the encouragement of my father who wanted me to embrace rock climbing and kayaking and all the things Colorado), we got along. When she was shot I didn’t think it was fair for me to react, I didn’t know her that well. I was in button down shirts (still not cool in early 90s) and she was on full teenage rebellion in black clothes and goth style makeup. What I did learn through was every politician in my school promising it would never happen again. Only 4 kids at an after school job killed almost sounds good if that’s all that happens in a day now, doesn’t it? They talked a lot…. They told us we mattered, and they said they would continue to listen- they did nothing. I don’t believe politicians that say they “listen“ because of this today. I want somebody that says something and will do something.
At 15 my 12 year old younger sister was found to have a tumor the size of a grapefruit on the base of her brain. My parents had the best health care available and she’s alive today, 33 years later. Without their health insurance they put the bill at about $3 million- and I learned about that horrific side of health care at children’s hospital. I saw in my teenage years people selling homes and borrowing every dollar they could to pay medical bills and still lose their child. My sister was blessed with a support base financially and emotionally that most people didn’t have. I spent more time with other kids when I was 16 during chemotherapy sessions than I did with my sister because other kids didn’t have that support.
I worked for my brother in law after graduating high school to pay bills for college at CSU, which I left to join in a business partnership with him. We were doing well and were actually featured on channel 2 and in some construction publications- Colorado homes illustrated and we won an award from the now defunct Rocky Mountain News. We had an office and a good number of employees (in the teens) when 9/11 hit. We had to do layoffs and I took it poorly so I left the business. Maybe I was immature but I couldn’t cope with laying off people with families and children when all I was working at the time was for rent and food. I took a brief hiatus and traveled the east coast- but I knew Colorado was home. I came back and became a waiter/ bartender at a place managed by old clients.The cute waitress I asked out at my sister’s 30th birthday dinner was still working there (she had refused the initial date). It took about a year and some for her to be tricked into our first date- quite literally, as I was too, when coworkers who knew of my crush decided not to show up at a work meet up and it was just two of us. We’ve been together now 20 years and married 16 years, and still at least once a week I look at her and catch my breath.
Jill and I have two sons. It’s hard work- harder now that one is 13, but I feel I was made to be a father. I make decisions that will impact their entire lives and I have to be a model to them so they become smart, compassionate, strong men. It’s stressful- if you are a parent you know, every thing you do is under a microscope and you can’t fail. It’s how I feel about this position. I’m not afraid of choices I have to make but I understand the gravity of the decisions I‘ll be making.
14 years ago I started my current business. The start was bumpy and long hours, but I had a lot of great clients and a lot of help. Today I basically choose my work and clientele because of a lot of hard work from people working with me. If it wasn’t for them I couldn’t do this now, the relationships that I’ve made have supported my family and me and I can never repay the trust and kindness of my clients or employees, I hope I can repay them with service to our community. If you elect me city counselor I will have to end my business as I believe my duties to the people of Ward 3 far exceed a the time commitment of a part time job. As a council member I will have no office or required time to meet with the people of Lakewood, but intend to have appointed times of about 6 hours a week to meet with people and discuss your concerns, beyond meetings and committees. I‘ll just find a venue and best time to meet. So far I’ve lived a life with having an open mind, compassion, and an ethic of hard work- I don’t intend on changing that should I win this election. And all this I’ve written today is probably more about how I’m pretty typical in my life despite the page heading, but now you know a lot about me and my past.
the following is the original post-
So I’m going to have some fun here and make a little fun of myself while mixing in some things that I take very seriously. My personality is to try and stay a little light but truthful about myself. I want you to get some insight into the person I am and this is all very much in my voice. But the rest of this website is too. This page is a way for me to alleviate some of my nervousness talking about myself. I don’t take such liberties with the other people’s lives and issues, hopefully you see my respect and research in the rest of this website. But here, explaining to you why I’m a candidate, I want to represent who I really am. Bad jokes and all.
I think there me be something a touch off with any of us that seek an elected position. It happens near immediately when you declare your intent to run. Suddenly calls come from no where telling you how to think or what to say, or why not to run. It’s amazingly intrusive, even at the city level. I have just dipped my toe into meeting the leaders in the community yet a small group of people seem to already know my name when I introduce myself. In my research to decide to do this I typically tried to sit in the back of meetings and hid as best as possible- this makes you even more conspicuous.I struggled for weeks about whether or not to run as my opponents were out talking to you, so I started by losing ground. All my paperwork for this was next to last minute. Not that it needed to be- I just have weird superstitions and I still think if I turn papers in early the teacher won’t give me as much time in the next assignment. Some of my dealings with the current city council members have me feeling like I’m trying to win an election on a middle school student council rather than a city one. And when I meet you I promise it’s completely embarrassing to me to announce myself as “Lakewood city council candidate” Pat Flaherty, it’s a mouthful and seems way too grandeious for me. And I still don’t know if I’m elected if I will take Lakewood as my full last name or hyphenate Lakewood-Flaherty. I’m not comfortable telling you about how great I am, it just doesn’t feel right. Yet I still want to do this. And maybe that inability to be comfortable with being my own “hype man” will mean I want quantifiable results for you when I’m a member of the council.
“People will vote for a candidate if they relate to you”
This is that whole “you need to take pics with your family and your golden retriever” thing in politics. I’m supposed to give you the story of my life and make it sound glowing and as if I’ve only made the right dme the majority of the time. I make mistakes all the time as a husband and father so much I think I’m beginning to apologize in my sleep. The truth of it all is that they didn’t ask for a life in politics and I don’t think it’s fair to thrust them in a light they didn’t ask for. Maybe I’m supposed to put out this image of an idyllic life but it wouldn’t be true. I struggle with my decisions as a husband and father, and I struggled inparticular with this run at City Council and the effect on my family. But life is about hard decisions and mine is about making it just a little easier for you and making it a lot easier for our kids. So that made this decision easy.
I can’t afford the golden retriever rental but if you see me in the park odds are I’ll be walking a black lab, which are affectionately known as “the poor man’s retriever”.
”Take the advice from people who were there before you”
I really hadn’t thought about doing this race- it hadn’t occurred to me until I inserted myself in a coffee shop conversation I thought was interesting. One of the guys asked me if I ever thought about politics- I laughed a bit and showed him my other website that I made to try to get my name on the ballot for US House. I knew I wouldn’t win that race but I wanted to write a love letter to America and show my kids that their Dad who yells at Meet the Press on Sunday was actually gonna try to do something about it. Turned out he (I’m back at the coffee shop now) used to be in the State Congress and decided I could potentially “steal” the special election in ward 3. I very politely asked, “why the hell would I want to do that? City Council is about the hardest job in politics (school board is only thing more difficult) and won’t I just be some carpet bagger? I’m not running in an election without being able to have some kind of vision and I think Lakewood‘s doing okay.” I listened to his suggestion that I talk to neighbors and I realized I did know about a decent amount of the contentious issues. I just didn’t have many opinions. He told me that was a good thing- and I could see things with a fresh mind. So I started talking to a lot more people. The politicians by and large told me to go for it and the “regular people” (I include myself in this group) kinda shrugged their shoulder and said “yeah go for it you seem nice enough” which was a big boost. (The second most response was “why the hell would you want to do that?”) So I turned in the affidavit which basically states my intention to run- but I still wasn’t sold. Within two days I got calls from people from either party- telling me why I had to join their party or why to get out of the race. I was told I’d never win an election without their voter research systems. These are a basic market study on each voter that gives the parties basic demographics, professional organizations, your “perceived position in the household”, your religion, charitable giving, inseam and whatever information is best to know you agree with the candidate when they knock on your door. See modern politics is really more about getting more of the people from your same political party to the polls than your opponent. It’s not about selling ideas or trying to explain things. I passed on all those offers but by and large the parties are right- independents can’t win anymore. So without the lists and without large masses of guaranteed voters I’m gonna ask you to help get out the word on my behalf.
“Don’t say too much as far as specifics- you will turn some voters off if you do”
This one is a hot mess. I’m gonna ask your option and discuss and tell you what my opinions are. And here’s the other thing- it’s okay to not vote for me. I mean you run the risk of the earth imploding if you don’t, but hey it’s a free country. I’m kidding here, the earth will implode either way so vote for who you want. I prefer you vote for me and I’ll say thanks, but that’s about it. I’m not gonna promise anything other than I’ll work hard and represent you as best as possible. And if you disagree with me- tell me why I’m wrong. I can be convinced otherwise, I pride myself on that.
My blatant disregard for the rule of 3
Revision 3/12: I’ve learned in this campaign that I’m not great at prioritization. Instead of promising people what I will do once elected and focusing on strategy and getting elected, I lose too much of my day making calls and trying to help people. If it’s elderly community being bullied, an entire community off Sheridan that have their cars being eaten up by an unavoidable pothole, or a simple complaint of bike lane barriers improperly spaced to to provide no pull off for emergency vehicles- I’m spending my time trying to solve those problems now instead of campaigning. If you want business as usual and party politicians that want you to ”trust” what they will do when they have time- don’t vote for me. My goals are to serve you and represent your interests. I will never be too busy to talk to anyone- it’s why I do interviews with anyone when my opponents can’t find time. It’s why I’m at peoples homes for an hour while I’m knocking doors listening to experiences over being “smart” and moving along in the interests of me winning. If I want to be the council person you deserve my time has to be secondary to yours. Below it is the original text from when I posted the site.
Losing an election isn’t gonna kill me so I have no problem being honest.
I think we need to change a few things and it’s gonna be all over this site. Lakewood needs to figure out a lot but I think looking 20 years into the future shouldn‘t supersede the very real problems of right now and the near future, particularly the ones that are real easy to see. I sat in a council meeting where our ward 3 representation desperately tried to get the issue of fire mitigation academically scheduled in the very vague future and there was argument the schedule is too full. I was amazed- that is not the type of representation I like nor would it be the kind I would be. Guess what, after our state’s recent history and the current wildfire risk in the west fire mitigation should move onto a calendar. Maybe it was too late in the evening and people weren’t thinking clearly, I dunno, but if a lightning strike sparks a fire during a heavy wind day there is real potential for a fire that starts in a dry field spreads quickly to homes and businesses throughout the city and I don’t think the citizens of this city are gonna be happy to hear “we tenatively scheduled a study in 26”.
I’m not a ”change” candidate. It’s always such a hollow thing when I hear politicians say that, I don’t even think I know what the word even means. But I think the council exists in a bit of an echo chamber and could use some diversity of thought or maybe just a vocalization of dissent that isn’t readily offered at council meetings. I know that is something I offer.
Despite everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, advising me against using my weird sense of humor I believe in the good people of ward three and their patriotic understanding of sarcasm and self deprecation!
oh lord I’m gonna lose
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