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May 5, 2008 4:14 pm US/Mountain
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Denver Man Wants City Prepared For Space Aliens
DENVER (CBS4/AP) ―
A Denver man who wants the city to be prepared for possible space aliens has drafted a proposal that would create a commission to deal with the matter.
The City Council will hold a "review and comment" meeting on Thursday on Jeff Peckman's proposed ballot initiative to create an 18-member extraterrestrial commission with funding and quarterly meetings.
Peckman, 54, says the Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission would form a strategy "dealing with issues related to the presence of extraterrestrial beings on Earth." He says it's inevitable that an encounter will happen, and says he has the support of several notable people, including former NASA officials and someone from the military he will not name.
"There are people within the government that would like to see full disclosure of what the government knows," Peckman said.
Peckman thinks Hollywood's depiction of space aliens is based in a reality hidden by presidents as far back as Franklin D. Roosevelt.
"At the federal level people have been trained in dealing with that kind of situation since 1954, and yet, at the local level, there's certainly an attitude that, 'No, they don't exist at all,'" he said.
Peckman sponsored a 2003 initiative that would have required the city to implement stress-reduction techniques. Approximately 32 percent of Denver voters cast ballots in favor of the plan.
Councilman Charlie Brown told CBS4 partner the Rocky Mountain News that Peckman's 2003 initiative was "looney tooney" and that this latest proposal is "even loonier."
"I would say he's entitled to his opinion," Peckman said.
Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz was less critical of Peckman's plan.
"It's not the ordinary thing, but, you know, we always have to be respectful of citizen initiatives, I have to admit sometimes it's harder than others," Faatz told CBS4.
City officials are considering changing the rules and streamlining of the process for ballot initiatives. In the future it's possible that all someone would need is the city clerk and recorder to validate a proposal to have it placed on the ballot.
Denver assistant City Attorney David Broadwell said he doesn't know what city officials will ask Peckman during Thursday's hearing. Peckman would also need 4,000 signatures to get the proposal on the ballot.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)