For Immediate Release

Pat Cronenberger Announces Resignation from Littleton City Council

Littleton City Council Member Pat Cronenberger has announced her resignation from the Littleton City Council effective January 31, 2007.

"It is with a mixture of regret and excitement that I resign my seat on the Littleton City Council. Serving on the council has been one of the great loves of my life. However, I have accepted a position with a government agency which precludes me from continuing to serve on the city council," Cronenberger said. "As I leave I am very glad that the Littleton 2030 process is underway. I worked hard to get it going and I see its successful completion as key to Littleton’s future. City Council’s most important goal must be to preserve and enhance our economic viability so that we can continue to enjoy a strong community identity and a high level of services," she said.

Cronenberger was first elected to city council in 1987. After taking time off to raise her family, she was re-elected in 1995, 1999 and 2003. She served as mayor from 1997 to 1999 and mayor pro tem from 1999 to 2004.

Cronenberger’s expertise in transportation issues and her advocacy for regional solutions are well known. She has represented Littleton on the Board of Directors for the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) in various positions starting in 1999 including secretary/treasurer and chair of the Metro Vision Issues Committee, DRCOG’s policy making body. From 1999 to 2005, Cronenberger was chair and vice chair of the Transit Alliance, the organization of 32 local governments, business organizations and citizen groups that were instrumental in working for the successful passage of the FasTracks initiative.

Cronenberger was named the Littleton Independent Citizen-of-the-Year in 1999 for her tireless dedication to the community. Among her many accomplishments, she chaired the Open Space Task Force that proposed buffer parcels of land around South Platte Park. All but one of the parcels were purchased or added to the park. Cronenberger was mayor of Littleton at the time of the Columbine High School tragedy and has served on the Columbine Memorial Committee since its inception. She has been a strong advocate for historic preservation, light rail, parks and trails, and was the moving force behind revisions to the city’s lighting ordinance in keeping with Dark Sky tenets. She has also been a strong advocate for an update of the Littleton Comprehensive Plan, a process that is now underway. In 1999, she proposed that the city fund the additional money to construct the World War II memorial in Ketring Park.

According to the city charter, the remaining city council members "…shall choose, by majority vote, and within 30 days after such vacancy occurs, a duly qualified person…to fill such vacancy." That person will serve, "…until his successor, elected for the remainder of the term at the next ensuing general municipal election, has been duly qualified." Cronenberger’s term expires in November 2007. Applicants must be a citizen of the United States, at least 21 years of age, been a qualified elector of the city for at least one year, and be a resident of District II. District II is the northeast quadrant of the city. The boundaries are roughly Belleview on the north, Broadway on the east, Caley Avenue on the south, and Spotswood on the west.

Applications for the vacancy are now being accepted. A letter of interest and qualification may be delivered to the Littleton City Clerk’s office at 2255 West Berry Avenue Monday thru Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The deadline is Friday, February 16 at noon. The Littleton City Council will interview all interested applicants on Monday, February 19 beginning at 5 p.m. The person selected to fill the vacancy will be formally appointed and sworn in at the February 20 council meeting.