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News Release - July 10, 2003 Please deliver to the NEWS Editor / Director (one-page fax) ----------------------------------- C A I R ------------------------- Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform NEWS RELEASE Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform PO Box 151270, Lakewood, CO 80215 www.cairco.org Fred Elbel: 1.888.694.1559 --------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CAIR trumpets victory Aspen, Colorado…. A lawsuit brought by six activists of the Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform (CAIR) against the regional five-county Rural Resort Region (RRR) has been settled. The lawsuit arose from the September 2001 RRR's annual summit held that year in Snowmass, Colorado, which was co-sponsored by the RRR's founding constituent counties (Eagle, Garfield, Lake, Pitkin and Summit). The five counties formed the RRR in 1993 to address regional issues of mutual concern. CAIR spokesmen Mike McGarry and Fred Elbel and four other CAIR activists charged the summit violated the Open Meetings Law, a law that provides that meetings of public bodies shall be open to the public. The purpose of the summit was to discuss advocating for more liberal immigration laws. A $75 to $100 fee was charged to attend the event. The settlement, forged by the plaintiffs' Denver-based attorney, Thomas Goodreid, required that the defendants pay the plaintiffs' $11,400 attorney fees. In addition, the defendants were required to mail a settlement statement to each summit attendee acknowledging that charging the admission fee discouraged attendance by members of the public who were opposed to efforts to liberalize existing immigration laws. The settlement statement went on to say that "no actions or proposals that may have been discussed at the summit will be acted upon…without being newly considered at a future meeting of the Counties' [Eagle, Summit and Pitkin] respective governing boards in full compliance with the Colorado Open Meetings Law." McGarry said, "That summit was nothing less than a Stalinist show trial. They packed the house with all their like minded, made sure they all had their admission fees paid for by governmental, employer and foundation sources, and then told us to pay up or butt out, as if we would just walk away from an invitation to a good brawl. That's pretty funny" Elbel said he was pleased with the terms of the settlement. "We got everything we originally sought, and they paid our bills. We couldn't have asked for more. And if they try it again, we will do it again," he said. CAIR is a Lakewood-Colorado-based immigration reduction organization. Home |