October 19, 2011 11:13 PM UTC

"Sustainability Scares Me," Says Westminster City Council Candidate

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• by: Colorado Pols

Definitely one of the more amusing clips sent our way recently. Folks, meet Michael Melvin, a candidate for the Westminster City Council running against incumbents Faith Winter and Bob Briggs–six candidates are competing for three available spots in this citywide race.

Melvin, a self-described "small government, low taxes" political amateur ("I'm not even a lawyer!" he says proudly on his website) responds in the video clip below to a question about the new mixed-use development Westminster Center, currently underway to redevelop the area around the recently-closed Westminster Mall. With transcript:

MELVIN: To me it's an example, possibly an example, of government overreach. The whole concept of the Center smacks me a little bit of 'sustainability.' Everything's going to be in one place, you're not going to need a car, and you're going to work and you're going to shop and live in the same place…

'Sustainability,' folks, scares me. [audience laughter]

No disrespect, but we would probably have bust out laughing too. A natural response when somebody describes something that sounds pretty good, then declares himself "scared" of that good-sounding thing. Without saying why that good-sounding thing is so, you know, scary. Are they planning to take our cars away when we move to Westminster Center? No? Will they force us to work there and shop there–or even to live there? No? It seems like "sustainability" is a scary word, kind of like the words "happiness" or "ice cream" are scary to some people.

That is, crazy people.