Citizens’ group seeks recall of 2 Berthoud trustees

A group of Berthoud citizens has launched an effort to recall trustees Maureen Dower and Jeff Hindman, filing the paperwork to petition for their removal from office.

In affidavits that were submitted Oct. 8 to Town Clerk Christian Samora, among other allegations, petitioners say the two jeopardized the town’s relationship with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, which has provided law enforcement services for residents since the Berthoud Police Department was disbanded in 2014.

They also challenged Dower’s “yes” vote earlier this year on the controversial decision to fund the Waggener Farm Park and Recreation Center using certificates of participation, and in a follow- up interview, criticized Hindman’s “yes” vote on the same.

When reached Monday, the two trustees pushed back against the idea that either of them wants to end the town’s contract with the sheriff’s office, characterizing the recall effort as divisive and a waste of time.

“The intent is for serious abuses or corrupt behavior, not because you disagree with someone over a vote on certificates of participation,” Hindman said of the recall process.

“My hope is over the next few weeks they’ll find a more constructive way of addressing these concerns.”

Following the July 26 Back the Blue rally and the Aug. 1 Black Lives Matter rally, Hindman said he asked for a report from the sheriff’s office on how the events were handled but received only a page- and- a- half report on the first and no report on the second.

On Sept. 22, he cast the only vote against allowing the Sheriff’s Office, rather than a third party, to investigate whether the law was broken during event.

“They’re going to recall me just because I expressed my position and the rest of the board disagreed?” Hindman said. “It’s a huge waste of time and energy and money.”

Two of the petition leaders, Ryan Armagost and Ryan Berry, later said they were more concerned about the behavior of Hindman and Dower’s support for Hindman than they were about Dower individually.

Berry described Hindman’s statements questioning the conduct of the Sheriff’s Office as “the tipping point” that pushed him and others to begin the recall process.

“If we lose the contract with the LCSO, that could be a very dangerous situation for us,” he said.

Armagost, a former Larimer County sheriff’s deputy who organized the Back the Blue event, also accused Hindman of “belittling” either members of the public, described Hindman’s handling of the certificates of participation issue as undemocratic and said a conversation with him on Saturday had been unproductive.

“We talked to Jeff on Saturday, me and Ryan sat down with him, and it felt like we were challenging an ego,” Armagost said. “He’s got a pattern of toxic leadership based on his personal bias.”

Armagost said he saw Dower as “going along with whatever Jeff’s doing,” though Berry said he had a meeting with Dower that Armagost was unable to attend over the weekend that helped them resolve their differences.

“I’m looking at ways of working with her personally, rather than force her out,” Berry said of Dower.

Berry said he would still support the ouster of Hindman, while Armagost said he wants to see both trustees removed from office.