top of page
Search
Writer's pictureRussell Stewart

Updated: Oct 9, 2022

Cherry Hills Village has accomplished a lot over the last few years, but much work remains. In asking for your vote, here is what I plan to finish in my final term as Mayor:


  • Fiscal Responsibility.   I promise to continue to assure that the Village has a viable plan to maintain solvency of the General Fund through 2032, retire the $11.5 million in Certificates of Participation by 2042, and maintain comfortable reserves for unanticipated financial challenges. I support forming a Citizens' Committee of Financial Experts to make recommendations for sustaining the long-range fiscal health of our Village.


  • Property Tax Relief.  I will honor the City’s 2002 promise to taxpayers that part of the revenue realized from withdrawing from South Suburban Parks and Recreation District – 7.422 mills – will be used to reduce property taxes. I support returning to taxpayers 2 of the 7.422 mills of restricted revenue (about $286 annually for a two-million-dollar home) that the City has been receiving since exiting SSPRD. Unlike sales tax revenue, these restricted revenues cannot be transferred to address shortfalls in the General Fund.


  • Public Safety. I support increasing the number of on-duty officers and providing our department with the resources necessary to maintain our Village as the safest community in the metro area. I support initiatives to increase video monitoring of traffic on public streets and integration of public and private (HOA) video systems. I applaud the new Cherry Hills Police Foundation and its first President Mark Griffin in providing much appreciated financial support.


  • State Legislative Fix to Law Enforcement Integrity Act (LEIA). I promise to use my position on the Policy Committee and Executive Board of the Colorado Municipal League to support legislation to amend the LEIA to place limits on damage awards against municipalities, limit the definition of "contacts" for purposes of required police data collection, and confine municipal liability to circumstances involving the use of physical force.


  • High Line Canal. I promise to continue working with Denver Water and the High Line Canal Collaborative on eventually transferring to the Village the responsibility for maintenance of the 150-foot wide and 3-mile long section of the Canal passing through the Village. This includes the analysis being performed by consultant ICON Engineering, which has prepared plans, drawings, and estimates for constructing capital improvements called for by the Master Stormwater Engineering Plan. I also promise to support improvements that will increase pedestrian, cyclist, and equine safety at the Canal crossings at Quincy Avenue and Colorado Boulevard.


  • Under-grounding Utility Lines. I promise to continue the work of under-grounding overhead power lines and in securing financial transparency from Xcel for existing and future under-grounding projects.


  • Hampden Avenue Improvements. I promise to continue to use my position on the Hampden Avenue Mobility and Safety Citizens Advisory Committee assure that Hampden Avenue improvements address safety concerns, reduce congestion, improve performance, and discourage cut-through traffic through the Village.


  • Sanitary Sewer Lines Consolidation. I promise to continue the next phase of work to repair and rehabilitate Village-owned sewer lines, with the objective of consolidating and transferring those lines to established special sanitation districts.


  • 2022 Master Plan. I promise to begin implementing the 2022 Cherry Hills Village Master Plan recommendations. This 2022 plan was the product of hundreds of hours of public meetings and hard work of the Citizens Advisory Committee, the Planning and Zoning Commission, and staff. The recommendations and priorities described in the Master Plan will guide Council decisions for the next decade.kyle


  • Citizen's Home Rule Charter Review Committee. I support the creation of a citizens committee to review and propose updates to our Home Rule Charter. The current Charter contains old provisions that are no longer best practices and are at variance with current organizational charts and operations of the Village. I also support the suggestion to consider change the composition of Council from 6 at-large members, to 4 true district representatives and 2 at-large members.


Writer's pictureRussell Stewart

Updated: Sep 17, 2022

I am posting here my resume with a description of my work with the Cherry Hills Village municipal government, Arapahoe County government, regional, state, bar, and charitable organizations.


I grew up on the pumpkin farm in Greenwood Village, where I raised cattle, corn, and alfalfa. I attended Curtis Elementary School, a three-room schoolhouse that is now the Curtis Center for the Arts. During summers in high school I drove tractors for South Suburban Park and Recreation District and mowed the banks of the High Line Canal.


10 Sandy Lake Road

303-607-3688

Russell.Stewart@faegredrinker.com


Community Leadership



City of Cherry Hills Village, Denver, CO 2006-

Mayor (2018 -)

City Council District 2 (2006 - 2015)

Mayor Pro Tem (2008-2015)

Quincy Farm Committee, Chair

Residential Design Standards Committee

City Center Citizens Committee

Development Code Revisions Committee

Citizens Undergrounding Utilities Committee

Citizens Panel, Police Chief Search

Citizens Committee for Sales Tax Modernization

Author of CHV Code of Ethics

Author of amendment to Charter requiring voter approval for sale of parks


Colorado Municipal League 2019-

Executive Board Member (elected by members from 270 municipalities)

Policy Committee

Budget and Audit Committee

Housing Committee, Construction Litigation reform

Drafted Roles and Responsibilities for CML Board Members

Conducted Board outreach to municipalities in 14 CML Board Districts, including

Akron, Evans, Thornton, Victor, Golden, La Junta, Monte Vista,

Pagosa Springs, Ouray, Meeker, Rockvale, and Trinidad


Metro Mayors Caucus 2019-

Executive Committee (appointed by Mayors)

CIRCLE Committee

H3C Committee

Habitat for Humanity


Arapahoe County Open Space and Trails Advisory Board 2016-

Chairman

District 1 Representative

Open Space Sales and Use Tax Reauthorization Committee

Recipient: Our Progress Takes Flight Stewardship Award


Arapahoe County Transportation Forum Executive Committee 2019-


Highline Canal Collaborative Forum Executive Committee 2022-


Region 9 Opioid Settlement Governance Committee 2022-


I-25/Belleview Interchange Project Executive Committee 2019-


Hampden Avenue Mobility and Safety Advisory Committee 2022-


Arapahoe County Mayors, Managers and Commissioners 2019-


Arapahoe County Metro Mayors Group 2019-


Cherry Hills Village Police Foundation 2021-

Drafted By-laws and Articles of Incorporation for the Foundation

First Donor to the Foundation


Denver Area Council of Boy Scouts 2008-

Trustee

Vice-President Community Relations

Executive Board

Frontier District Chairman

Troop 712 Committee Chair

Troop 712 Advancement Chair

Silver Beaver Award

Frontier District Award of Merit

James West Award

Cherry Hills Land Preserve 2015-2018

Executive Board and Executive Officer

Representative to the Highline Canal Working Group


Buell Mansion Owners Association 2004-

President

Architectural Committee


Legal Background and Focus


Retired Colorado civil litigation and appellate attorney with a focus on medical drug and device defense, First Amendment, eminent domain, and constitutional property rights. National coordinating defense counsel in mass vaccine and pharmaceutical tort cases responsible for all aspects of national litigation matters including trial, trial preparation, science and Daubert strategy, settlement negotiations, and selection, management, and coordination of regional and local counsel. Appointed by the Colorado Supreme Court to subcommittee IV of the Committee on Pattern Civil Jury Instructions. Expert in contract law, eminent domain, governmental immunity, 42 USC § 1983, and parliamentary procedure


Work Experience


Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, Denver, CO 1988-2014


Partner

Chair Denver general litigation group

Chair Denver appellate practice group,

Chair, legal personal committee,

Chair, associate training and summer clerk programs

Represented clients in litigation matters ranging from commercial disputes to product liability and mass torts. Representative cases involving First Amendment, property rights or economic liberty include:

  • St. John’s Church in the Wilderness v. Scott, 194 P.3d 475 (Colo. App. 2008); after remand, 296 P.3d 273 (Colo. App. 2012), cert. denied,133 S.Ct. 2798 (abridgment of right to free exercise of religion)

  • City and County of Denver v. L.C. Fulenwider, et al., 88-CV-24566 (Denver) (represented landowners in condemnation proceedings taking property for the Denver International Airport)

  • Save the Scenic Santa Ritas v. United States Forest Service, 4:11-CV-00094 TUC (D. Ariz. 2011) (represented Northwest Mining Association resisting argument that the Federal Advisory Committee Act applies to NEPA review proceeding)

Conover McClearn & Heppenstall P.C. Denver, CO 1986-1987

Associate


United States Judge Richard P. Matsch, Denver, CO 1984-1986

Judicial Clerk


Professional Activities


Colorado Supreme Court 2010-present

Appointed Member, Committee on Pattern Civil Jury Instructions

Subcommittee IV Contracts and Fraud

International Association of Defense Counsel 2004-present

Trial Academy Faculty, Stanford Law School

State Membership Chair

Chair, Toxic and Hazardous Substances Litigation Subcommittee

Vice Chair, Class Actions and Multiparty Litigation Subcommittee


Faculty of Federal Advocates, Denver Colorado 2014-

Immediate Past President

President

President-elect

Secretary

Treasurer

Professional Honors

“The Best Lawyers in America” 2012-2014

Selected for Mass Tort Litigation and Product Liability Litigation


Publications

American Bar Association 2011

A Practitioner's Guide to Class Actions, Co-Editor

The Colorado Lawyer, Vol. 40, No. 9

“Legal Trends and Best Practices in Class Arbitration”, Co-Author 2011

Defense Counsel Journal, Vol. 76, No. 4 2009

“CERCLA Contribution Claims and the Collateral Source Rule”


Legal Education Presentations


International Association of Defense Counsel Member Meetings 2007-2014


“Comcast v. Behrend, A Sea Change for Rule 23(b)(3)?”

“Arbitration of Federal Statutory Claims: The DOJ Weighs in on 'Effective Vindication’”

“Managing the Global Law Firm”

“The Summitville Mine, CERCLA Contribution and the Collateral Source Rule”

“Recent Experience with Express Preemption Defenses Following Bates v. Dow”


Bar Admissions (Inactive)


United State Supreme Court

Federal Circuit Courts: Fifth, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth

Federal District Courts: Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Texas

State District Courts: Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas


Education


University of Michigan, J.D. 1984

Colorado College, B.A., Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa 1981


Interests

Tennis, gardening, skiing, travel

Writer's pictureRussell Stewart

Updated: Sep 8, 2022

I am pleased to announce that I am running for my third and final 2-year term as the elected Mayor of Cherry Hills Village.


Our Council, Commissions, Committees, and Boards are committed to preserving our history and tradition as a semi-rural oasis of repose. Our job is to continue to preserve its unique character – a pleasant, single family residential community inside a vibrant Denver metropolis. Our Village has been rated by the Wall Street Journal as the best suburb to live in America, and deservedly so.


Cherry Hills Village is almost entirely residential and depends on property and limited sales taxes to pay for services, maintenance, and improvements. Preserving the City’s sound financial condition while negotiating intergovernmental agreements, public/private partnerships, and grant funding possibilities, poses substantial challenges and opportunities to preserve, protect, and improve the best place to live in America.


We have achieved much these past four years, including:

  • Stopping construction of a roundabout at Quincy and Colorado Boulevard; returning property taken from Kent Denver School without just compensation;

  • Undergrounding overhead power lines along Quincy Avenue from Happy Canyon to Holly;

  • Negotiating and signing a High Line Collaborative Agreement with 13 different cities and stakeholders;

  • Updating the 2008 Cherry Hills Village Master Plan, a year-long process spearheaded by the Planning and Zoning Commission and a Citizens Advisory Taskforce, along with multiple public meetings and surveys;

  • Inaugurating the new John Meade Park;

  • Celebrating our Village's 75+ year birthday;

  • Completing and opening the Hampden/High Line Canal underpass;

  • Consolidating Village owned sanitary sewers lines;

  • Completing a wholesale reorganization of the City Development Code Code, moving information into easy to read tables to provide a clear guidance that will enhance our property values;

  • Issuing a record number of building permits in 2021 despite the challenges of COVID-19;

  • Installing the traffic signal at Glenmoor Drive and Steele Street; partnering with Greenwood Village to construct the Belleview Avenue median improvements;

  • Signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Cherry Hills Land Preserve to provide fundraising, volunteers, and programming for Quincy Farm;

  • Approving a comfort station for the Cherry Farms HOA;

  • Restriping the left turn lane at University Boulevard and Huntwick Lane;

  • Striping the left-out lane from the Buell subdivision to University;

  • Prohibiting commercial lawn mowing concerns from working on Sundays and holidays;

  • Installing video equipment to livestream and archive City Council meetings,

  • Tracking and arresting the burglars who shot officer Cory Sack during a 2018 home invasion, and securing a 64 year conviction;

  • Placing the nexus/lexis community crime map on the Village website showing locations of criminal acting in the Village and surrounding areas;

  • Securing grants for body cameras and new video recording systems to enhance safety and enable our police force to continue our record as the safest suburban municipality in Colorado;

  • Live-streaming and recording all City Council sessions for our residents; and

  • Filling key staff positions including Chris Cramer, City Manager; Jason Lyons, Chief of Police; and Doug Farmen, Director of Finance; all of whom have outstanding qualifications, experience, energy and commitment to lead the Village in the next decade.

Another post on this blog contains my resume listing my past and current roles with in the Village government and my work with other regional and state municipal organizations. I am the first Cherry Hills Village Mayor to be elected to the Executive Board of the Colorado Municipal League, I serve on the Executive Committee of the Metro Mayors' Caucus, and I chair the Arapahoe County Open Space and Trails Advisory Board.


A third post contains an index and active links to four years of my monthly Mayor's reports published in the Cherry Hills Village Crier. I invite you to browse the index for my thoughts and discussion of current issues. As always, you are welcome to visit me at City Hall during my Mayor's hours on Mondays from 9-11, or other times by appointment. 303-607-3688.


Russell Stewart

Mayor




bottom of page