On Friday, the Aspen-Pitkin County Housing Authority employees, paid by Aspen, asked Judge Seldin to transfer the home we built with our own hands to a third party without a public hearing. We’ve never been late on taxes.
APCHA and the court have violated our constitutional rights to due process. APCHA’S actions, and Judge Seldin’s failure to appropriately oversee those actions, range from questionable and circumspect to violations that are egregious enough that the rules explicitly indicate sanctions on APCHA and Seldin are expected.
Specifically:
1. APCHA prematurely issued the deadline notice this whole case rests on — violating its own guidelines.
2. APCHA immediately covered its tracks by changing its guidelines for the first time in seven years in October rather than January.
3. APCHA refused to look at records requested, citing the premature deadline. Lee is ready at any time to show compliance to the newly created compliance officer.
4. The court didn’t even follow its own rules. It allowed APCHA to file the lawsuit under an expedited procedure where the maximum amount in question by law is $100,000.
5. The law required Judge Seldin to have a case management conference, which never occurred.
6. Over 2,000 signatures were taken to the court requesting a public hearing.
7. The Fifth Amendment to our Constitution states no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. The work performed on the house by us was neither counted toward its value nor counted toward the 1,500-hour APCHA work requirement, despite APCHA directly benefiting from the work, increasing APCHA’S assets by $845,000. This is a constitutional taking without just compensation.
APCHA disregarded almost every single procedural safeguard that our courts have adopted. Such actions are disrespectful to the principles of fundamental fairness that our democratic society rests upon and disrespectful to the expectations that our judicial system be fair, trustworthy and an impartial forum protective of its citizens’ rights.
We believe in peace and compromise. Government home invasions aren’t neighborly and serve no one. Who is next?
We need three out of five votes on City Council to direct their paid APCHA employees to give us a hearing.
Sandy and Lee Mulcahy
Aspen