January 17, 2012 07:24 PM UTC

Lakewood Police Escort All-America Quilt

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• by: Colorado Pols

That’s the headline, at least, from the All-America City Quilt’s recent visit to Lakewood, Colorado.

From 9News and and the National Civic League:

Lakewood, Colorado rolled out the red carpet for the arrival of the All-America City Quilt this week. In fact, the quilt was given a police escort.

NCL President Gloria Rubio-Cortés was on hand to congratulate Mayor Bob Murphy and a group of community leaders.

The quilt has been making rounds of cities that were finalists in the 2011 All-America City Awards. Lakewood was named a 2011 All-America City last June at an award ceremony and celebration in Kansas City, Missouri.

The fact that Lakewood won the 2011 All-America City Award – as well as the first ever “diversity” award – from the National Civic League is testament to the work Bob Murphy and his allies on City Council have done in making Lakewood an “inclusive community” as well as revitalizing West Colfax and the city as a whole. Still, there’s something delightfully campy about the whole process that just screams “small town America.”

A police escort? For a quilt? Well, the All-America quilt is incredibly valuable. Perhaps Murphy was cold and couldn’t wait to cozy up his office. Or perhaps Lakewood was worried about Arvada or Sheridan getting their dirty hands on such a coveted tapestry. Better safe than sorry, right?

Not to mention the presentation Lakewood made to win both the All-America and the right to steward the accompanying quilt. If you haven’t seen it – and you really should – Murphy, some members of City Council, and other community leaders march up on stage wearing matching white t-shirts and talk about what makes Lakewood great while a light guitar ballad plays in the background. It’s a beautiful “kumbaya” moment, with little kids talking about playground inclusiveness and other speakers extolling Lakewood’s values in Spanish.

It’s almost a cliche – when someone says “presentation to the National Civic League,” we can’t imagine them meaning anything other than a song and dance number about some town in Colorado.

Still, in the NCL presentation, you can tell that Murphy and his companions really believe everything that they’re singing (or chanting). They believe that Lakewood really is a thriving economic destination notable for its diversity, inclusiveness, and responsive government. Perhaps that’s exactly why Lakewood deserved the award, and why Murphy has been such a successful mayor. With Lakewood, what you see is what you get. The city’s elected officials really do believe in making their home a great place to live. There are no ulterior motives.

So yes, it’s ridiculous. A quilt probably shouldn’t have a police escort. But Murphy and the rest can be proud of winning the All-America City award. Even if its cliche or campy, they deserve their moment: superfluous police sirens and all.