RECALL EFFORT TARGETS WINDSOR MAYOR

WINDSOR -- Bill Miller has had it with medical marijuana, and he
plans to do something about it.

"What makes me most upset is that our mayor, who also serves on the
school board and should be looking out for the best interest of our
children, somehow couldn't figure out a way to keep these out of here
until we figured out what to do," he said.

Miller, 60, who moved to Windsor in April with his wife, thinks he's
found the answer to his frustrations by organizing a community group
to run the current dispensary owners out of town and spearheading a
recall effort against Mayor John Vazquez. Miller began the recall
efforts Tuesday.

"What we've got is three businesses that have set down roots here,"
Miller said. "And the mayor and the board members have put this
community in that position."

Windsor recently passed a 75-day moratorium that required three
separate votes and two meetings for the board to pass. Board members
Nancy Weber, Richard Drake, Michael Kelly and Matthew O'Neill
originally voted to leave only one dispensary open during the
moratorium, but they eventually changed their vote to allow a second
one so they could get the moratorium passed.

It was a vote Vazquez said he struggled with to maintain the
integrity of the town.

"Everything I've ever done since Day 1 of taking this office, I've
believed in my heart of hearts that it's been done for the best
interest of this community," Vazquez said. "I love this town. I can't
keep him from doing what he wants to do, but I hope he doesn't get a
whole lot of attraction from it. The last thing this board needs is a
whole lot of negative distraction. It is what it is, but I'm not
going to lose sleep over it."

But Miller's biggest focus in the interim is getting rid of the
dispensaries that are open in Windsor. He has organized a Jan. 7
community meeting at the Windsor Community Recreation Center, 250 N.
11th St., to get input and help in his effort. The room will hold 175
people, but Miller, who paid the $170 rental tab out of his own
pocket, hopes to draw more.

He said he would like to see the town stop future dispensaries from
opening by banning their presence entirely, similar to Greeley's ban.

He hopes the meeting will help him organize efforts to get the
current three dispensaries to leave through picketing, videotaping
customers going in and out of the store and sitting in front of the
doors. He said he'd love to see 300 people show up who want to help.
What he's hoping doesn't happen is that 175 people show up but only
five want to help.

Tina Valenti, the owner of In Harmony Wellness, 4630 Royal Vista
Circle, said she was horrified by the idea.

"We are having a bunch of emotions right now," Valenti said. "We feel
like this is an issue that has come to the forefront since we've
opened. We've been open for seven months with no issues, but now
we're being painted with the radicals in town that have brought it
to the forefront. We are very upset. We want to be a positive
contributing member to the public. And this is not the foot we want
to go forward with with Windsor."

Valenti said she and partner Derek Cumings have been working with the
town to help implement a model that is positive for the community.
Valenti said she needs time to figure out the legal ramifications of
what Miller is proposing and how she will handle the possibility of
picketers and other methods of discouraging patients to her business.

"It's really too bad," Valenti said. "It's a horrible
feeling."

Community Meeting

Bill Miller has scheduled a meeting for anyone who wants to get rid of
the medical marijuana dispensaries that are already open for business
while keeping more from locating in Windsor. He said the meeting is
not about debating the use of medical marijuana but finding
constructive ways to keep it out of Windsor. He also wants those
supporting a recall effort of Mayor John Vazquez to come and voice
their opinion. The meeting will be held from 7-9 p.m. Jan. 7 at the
Windsor Community Recreation Center, 250 N. 11th St.