Defending Liberty from Local Zoning to Land Grabs

On Thursday, October 2, 2025, Kim Monson returned from a trip to western Wyoming to tackle threats to property rights at every level of government. Cory Ohnesorge exposed Lakewood’s “gentle density” zoning push, Drew Dix championed character education through the Center for American Values, Karen Gordey described her campaign for Lakewood City Council, Karen Levine shared fall real estate preparation tips, and Virginia Macha sounded the alarm on Xcel Energy’s eminent domain campaign across eastern Colorado.

Lakewood’s Zoning Overhaul and the City Council Race

Start listening at 9:33 – Hour 1

Karen Gordey, owner of Radiant Painting and Lighting and candidate for Lakewood City Council, explained why she decided to get off the sidelines and run for office. Frustrated by city council votes on zoning and spending, Gordey described her door-to-door campaign with 10,000 door hangers to distribute before ballots mail on October 10. She encouraged volunteers to visit karenforlakewood.com to sign up.

“I was just fed up, in short, with the way city council was voting on numerous issues and decided it was finally time to get off the sidelines and get involved.”

Karen Gordey, Candidate for Lakewood City Council

Gentle Density and the Referendum Fight

Start listening at 17:14 – Hour 1

Cory Ohnesorge, a Colorado Union of Taxpayers board member, broke down Lakewood’s push to increase housing density through ADUs, duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes under the euphemism “gentle density.” Mayor Strom promoted the changes while avoiding questions about eliminated parking minimums, a move Ohnesorge warned would force residents to park blocks from their homes and compromise safety.

Ohnesorge revealed that the city split its zoning changes into four separate ordinances, each requiring a separate citizen referendum with roughly 4,000 signatures to challenge. He called this a deliberate strategy to make opposition nearly impossible. He also highlighted Lakewood City Manager Hodgson’s $3.6 million golden parachute and $2 million Evergreen home, all funded by taxpayer dollars, while the city employs roughly 1,700 workers compared to Centennial’s 80 to 90 for a smaller but comparable population.

“What happens in Denver yesterday is happening in Lakewood today and is coming to a neighborhood near you unless you stop it, unless we can stop it here in Lakewood.”

Cory Ohnesorge, Colorado Union of Taxpayers Board Member

Honor, Integrity, and Patriotism in Education

Start listening at 31:43 – Hour 1

Drew Dix, Medal of Honor recipient and co-founder of the Center for American Values in Pueblo, detailed the center’s work training K-12 educators in character development. Nearly 50 teachers attended a recent training hosted in partnership with the Medal of Honor Society, and Dix reported that every participant expressed appreciation for the center’s approach of teaching students how to think, not what to think.

Dix emphasized that honor, integrity, and patriotism transcend political affiliation, recounting a story from the center’s 2010 opening when a woman assumed it was a conservative organization. He argued that a lost generation of parents has outsourced child-rearing to government institutions. The conversation turned to the Charlie Kirk assassination, which Dix described as a wake-up call for Americans to reject political violence and return to civil discourse.

On military readiness, Dix drew on his 20 years of...