Echo Chamber of Public Support for Navigation Center

The grant for the Navigation Center in Lakewood includes several letters of support from community organizations who have previously existing ties to the city.

Organizations are a type of special interest group who have good intentions but do not necessarily democratically represent the neighborhood residents, for example by taking a vote. The residents who live around the Navigation Center did not provide any support letters, and no city meeting nor survey of Lakewood residents was conducted to solicit support. Was there a place for robust discussion and dissenting voices to be heard?

Rather than talk to disparate residents, an easier route is to get a letter from organizations which has previous ties with the city. In this case, the Lakewood organizations all had close working relationships with Lakewood, including financial ties, as shown below.

There is no evidence that the letters of support were financially motivated. What it may suggest is an echo chamber of existing, friendly partners rather than a coalition of broader community support.  

Other letters of support came from Jefferson County and the cities of Arvada, Westminster, Wheat Ridge and Golden. Each city letter used the same language: “fully supports the proposed goals of the project and looks forward to continuing to collaborate with the City of Lakewood and RecoveryWorks”. Only Jefferson County mentioned future funding, pending availability.