Infrastructure, Childcare and My Official statement about Immigration in Westminster
Also Colorado Voting Rights Act!
If you missed it, see my previous newsletter:
Agenda
Important Announcements
My official statement on immigration in Westminster
Community Resources
Announcements
Quick Update:
2025 Westminster Strategic Plan:
Infrastructure: On Feb 1, City Council met to update our Strategic Plan. I usually bring a long (~30) list of citizen-driven priorities, many of which have been successfully incorporated—but this year, I had just one: infrastructure. At the meeting, I made the argument that delaying infrastructure investment as inflation and supply costs rise makes projects exponentially more expensive, increasing the burden on taxpayers and limiting future priorities. My colleagues agreed and we are all aligned on making infrastructure our top short-term priority.
Childcare affordability: That said, after a long debate at our retreat, I won a battle I’ve been waging for years—Council agreed to direct staff to compile a comprehensive set of municipal solutions to address access, quality, and cost of childcare in Westminster. Many Westminster families struggle with childcare, a key barrier to workforce retention, while providers face staffing shortages and low wages. Stay tuned.
Expanding Access: As City Council’s Parks & Rec liaison and champion of our 2023 policy change, I’m proud to share that we successfully expanded access in 2024 by issuing 1,471 new Medicare Fitness Passes (generating 176,098 visits), providing 1,625 program scholarships, 357 reduced-rate facility passes, 199 military facility passes, and 3,008 military daily passes. This helped drive a record-breaking 1.1 million visits to our recreation centers in 2024!
Colorado Voting Rights Act: Did you know that 11.6% of Westminster’s population has a disability, 6.8% struggle with English, and racial turnout gaps hit 20 points? I have now proudly endorsed the “Colorado Voting Rights Act’ (SB25-001), which safeguards voter protections in Westminster, ensuring fair elections and equal ballot access for all. This bill expands voting access for disabled, LGBTQ+ and non-English-speaking residents while strengthening protections to boost turnout in underrepresented communities.
California fires: Westminster’s Wildland Team is returning from California after battling fires with 24-hour shifts, extinguishing hot spots, securing fire lines, and patrolling neighborhoods—bringing back valuable lessons to strengthen local preparedness.
Cold weather: We have activated The MAC (3295 W. 72nd Ave) to serve as an emergency cold weather shelter. It will be open today February 11 beginning at noon until February 13.
Immigration: Below is my official statement on immigration in Westminster, “Westminster apoya a los inmigrantes”. My hope is it brings clarity and peace to all communities in our city.
Official Statement
Westminster, CO - Love is the sum of the law. Our immigration system is broken, evident in the millions forced to exist in the shadows and the disruptive and often inhumane enforcement actions that result in babies torn away from their nursing mothers and Dreamer job-creators stripped away from their communities and economic contributions. Most undocumented immigrants did not cross the border unlawfully; they often enter legally and overstay visas, facing potential wait times of over a decade to adjust their status due to processing delays. As the son of immigrants, born in Nebraska, I understand that these systemic issues not only undermine our core values but also fail to reflect the strength and potential of a nation built by immigrants.
It would be a waste of taxpayer money to use city funds for federal immigration enforcement, and Westminster does not do that. I want to be very clear:
Westminster Police does not enforce civil immigration detainers: these are not legal warrants as defined by Colorado Revised Statute § 24-76.6-102, but rather involve non-criminal violations like overstaying work or school visas or unauthorized entry into the country, and make up the vast majority of immigration-related issues. We do not detain individuals solely based on an immigration detainer because that would constitute a new arrest under state law and a seizure under the Fourth Amendment, which is unconstitutional (People v. Burns, 615 P.2d 686, 688 (Colo. 1980)).
Westminster Police will arrest you if you commit a crime: this will happen regardless of your citizenship status. WPD only acts on criminal detainers, which address serious crimes such as homicide, trafficking, sexual assault, or other violent offenses, when reviewed by a judge and accompanied by a signed judicial warrant, leaving immigration enforcement to federal and county authorities. ICE detainer requests are not court orders. Public safety is our concern.
Recent reports of ICE raids in Westminster are unsubstantiated: simply send me an email (oezeadi@westminsterco.gov) if you want Staff to verify any rumored ICE raids. If you are concerned about your rights, simply remember: No tienes que abrir la puerta a menos que ICE tenga una orden judicial con tu nombre; pídeles que deslicen la orden por debajo de la puerta o que la sostengan frente a una ventana para verificarla.
Yours in service and hope,
Obi Ezeadi
Westminster City Council Member (at-large)
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About Obi Ezeadi
Obi Ezeadi is a first-generation American with a diverse background in entrepreneurship and business leadership across healthcare, housing, technology, transportation, and hospitality. As a City Councilor, he champions economic, democratic, and personal freedoms, ensuring prosperity and protection for families, seniors, and local small businesses. View some of his accomplishments below:
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Click: Important Westminster Events and Projects
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Link to my full voting record.
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