Profile: Dennis Smith (CD7)

DU Today has published an article outlining the policy positions of city council candidates in three areas. The article by Richard Chapman is entitled "Candidates vie to replace MacKenzie in District 7," and includes profiles of both Council District 6 and Council District 7 candidates.

Below is the response of CD7's Dennis Smith:

Experience you consider most relevant to Denver City Council service:
Member (since 2005) Denver Parks & Recreation Advisory Board, teacher of immigrant and inner-city high school students, citizen advocacy: increasing hours of Denver outdoor pools, getting a disc (Frisbee) golf course built in Denver, slowing down traffic in my neighborhood.

The University of Denver describes itself as a “private institution for the public good.” If the University were to ask you for suggestions as to how this could be accomplished in the years ahead, how would you answer?
Continue DU’s community outreach programs under the “service learning” class requirement. As a South HS teacher, I have 15–20 DU graduate and undergraduate students visit my classroom for immigrant English tutoring every week. I know these tutoring sessions help my students and I suspect the DU students are enriched as well. DU academics should weigh in more on issues confronting Denver and the metro area via editorials, TV and radio interviews, and other mainstream media. Challenge the various government entities and planning boards.

What are the top three issues affecting District 7 that you intend to tackle after being elected to City Council?
1) Making pedestrian crosswalk lights responsive. Push the button and the light should switch to walk within 90 seconds; 2) Add crosswalks (with lights) on busy pedestrian-oriented streets (Evans, for example); 3) City services should accommodate working citizens: pools, libraries and rec centers open on evenings and weekends.