Renee Chacon, ostensibly a Commerce City Council Member, made the news again recently. Not for anything having to do with what some might consider the important job of serving as an elected official of Commerce City’s government, but for yet another of her many civil-justice-warrior antics.

And this time, she is being joined by fellow-traveler and wanna-be city council member Lucy Molina.

Colorado Public Radio ran a story about how Chacon and Molina have banded together to help thwart federal law enforcement. This adds to a long list of examples, in which Chacon eagerly bandies about her “city council member” title, while engaged in far-left activist pursuits that have nothing whatsoever to do with governing Commerce City.

While some on Commerce City’s City Council are obsessed with things like gas stations, grocery carts, Suncor and residential development, residents of our beleaguered city are facing the daily reality that it is becoming increasingly more dangerous to live here.

Commerce City’s well-known crime problem is not just anecdotal. The numbers display very clearly what everyone – save a few on City Council – already knows; that crime is a growing problem with a severity that is unique to our community.

The figures, taken from the official data compiled by the state, are stark and don’t lie. The rate of violent crime in Commerce City has been on an upward trend since at least 2020. Last year, Commerce City recorded 620 violent crimes, comprising murder, aggravated assault, sexual assault, and robbery.

But the reality is clearly revealed when those raw numbers are compared to neighboring jurisdictions. Let’s consider the cities of Westminster, Thornton, Northglenn, and Brighton.

At its June 2nd meeting, City Council took up one of the most pressing issues facing our community, addressing a problem so egregious, that it is keeping citizens awake at night, making Commerce City virtually unlivable, and stopping growth and progress in its tracks.

Was this issue crime? Homelessness? Deteriorating infrastructure?

No, it was gas stations.

Yes, the principal issue taken up by Council was not what to do about the crime rate or the homeless problem (which two citizens during public comment showed up in person, pleading the council to do something about), or anything so trivial as that – but a proposal by Council Member Chacon to draft an ordinance imposing a moratorium on gas stations and convenience stores.