Denver Politics

Petition drive to make marijuana possession Denver's lowest law enforcement priority

2007-05-30T15:50:00.000-06:00

Citizens for a Safer Denver is holding a press conference later this week to kick off a new petition drive. The proposed initiative would make adult marijuana possession Denver's lowest law enforcement priority. Their press release is excerpted below:

The proposed measure would create a new city ordinance designating private adult marijuana possession Denver's lowest law enforcement priority. Approximately 4,000 valid signatures of registered Denver voters will be required to qualify the initiative for the ballot.

Prior to the press conference, at 8:30 a.m. in the Denver City & County Building, a 21-year-old Denver woman will plead "not guilty" to charges of possession of less than one ounce of marijuana. Sara Tafoya was cited for marijuana possession in Denver after police stopped her on an unrelated traffic matter (for which she was not cited) and found about one-eighth of an ounce of marijuana in her purse. Ms. Tafoya was arrested and handcuffed. She was kept in a police squad car for more than 90 minutes while the police had her car impounded, then she was taken to jail where she was held overnight. Four officers and three squad cars were on the scene when she was arrested, and she was forced to pay a $200 bond to get out of jail and $300 to retrieve her car from the Denver impound.

"Using so many of our city's limited resources to arrest and jail a harmless citizen like Ms. Tafoya is an outrage," said Citizens for a Safer Denver spokesman Mason Tvert. "This type of incident is a perfect example for why we need to enact this initiative."

"If police can refrain from citing people after they leave our Mayor's bar a little 'Hicken-loopy' -- public intoxication is, in fact, illegal -- there is no reason why they can't refrain from citing adults who are simply possessing a small amount of pot," Tvert said. "We appreciate that our police are out there working to keep us safe, but we believe they could better spend their time arresting drunk drivers and violent offenders than adult marijuana users."

Seattle voters approved a similar "lowest law enforcement priority" initiative in 2003, and the number of marijuana arrests and prosecutions have dramatically decreased in the city without any negative fallout. The measure there was supported by multiple members of the city council and the state legislature, and those city officials who opposed the measure have since recognized its implementation as safe and effective.

Denver voters approved Initiative 100 in 2005, calling for the removal of all penalties for private adult marijuana possession in the city. Since then, arrests for such behavior have increased in Denver, and there were more marijuana arrests in the city in 2006 (the year following the initiative) than ever before.

WHEN: Thursday, May 31, noon (12 p.m.). Ms. Tafoya's arraignment, at which she will be pleading "not guilty," is scheduled for 8:30 a.m.

WHERE: In front of the Denver City-County Building, 1437 Bannock Street. Ms. Tafoya will be appearing in the general municipal courtroom in the Denver City & County Building.

Who's showing up, and what does it mean?

2007-05-30T11:34:00.000-06:00

The votes are coming in at a pretty good clip now, representing 61% of the general election total.

The scariest numbers come from District 3, which at 1,786 votes has barely over half of its anemic general election votes. In this case, lack of interest probably benefits the frontrunner, Paul Lopez.

Dist %ofGenElectVotes
CD3 50%
CD7 68%
CD8 61%

But the most interesting numbers are in Council District 8, where Carla Madison seems to be winning the "get out the vote" effort. Turnout in the whiter western neighborhoods is far heavier than in the minority-populated eastern neighborhoods, which could spell trouble for Sharon Bailey.

Neighborhood %ofGenElectVotes
North Capitol Hill 105%
Central Business 89%
City Park West 86%
Five Points 82%
City Park 66%
Cole 64%
Clayton 57%
Northeast Park Hill 55%
Whittier 54%
Skyland 54%
South Park Hill 47%
North Park Hill 42%

If the candidates maintained the percentages received in each neighborhood in the general election, Sharon Bailey would still win by a margin of 54% to 46%... but that probably isn't reassuring, especially if there is something more behind the Madison rush to the polls than just proactive voters.

Denver Politics endorses... Chris Nevitt in Council District 7

2007-05-27T11:15:00.000-06:00

We judge City Council candidates by 4 simple qualifications:

Intelligence applied to real-world problems
Commitment to public service
Identification with ordinary citizens
Experience in city government

Based on these criteria, we enthusiastically endorse Chris Nevitt for Council District 7.

Chris Nevitt has a Ph.D. in economics, and has focused his career on the application of that knowledge to the problems of working men and women.

His support runs wide and deep in this district. The Nevitt coalition includes virtually every labor organization, the city's entire safety apparatus (police officers, firefighters, and the District Attorney), and the entire Denver delegation to the Colorado House and Senate. That says something about him. He has had the most small donors as well, engaging neighborhood leaders and small business owners throughout the district.

Shelly Watters is a fine person who has already served the public well, working as an aide to two city councilwomen. But access doesn't imply leadership, and her reliance on big business donors raises questions of perspective. In addition, her timid answers in public forums lead us to question her ability to be a powerful advocate for District 7.

Nevitt's primary criticisms regard his close labor ties and alleged political aspirations, yet even these mild concerns seem wrongheaded. While one could certainly imagine a bullheaded ideologue marring City Council with far-reaching ambitions, Chris Nevitt is not that man. He is a pragmatic-yet-principled populist.

That's the kind of leadership we look forward to in City Council in District 7, which is why we urge support for Chris Nevitt: the intelligent, committed, and experienced choice for Council District 7.

Lopez controversy uncovers a "smoking gun"

2007-05-25T01:15:00.000-06:00

Political scandal have a fairly standard routine way of unfolding:

An accusation is made.
The accused denies it, stating the accusation is false.
More evidence comes out.
The accused denies it, pleading political attack.
More evidence comes out.
The accused denies it, claiming the facts are complicated.
A "smoking gun" is discovered, destroying the accused's pretenses.
The accused resigns in disgrace.

In case you're keeping track, the question of Paul Lopez's residence has recently been at Stage 6. We now seem to be entering Stage 7.

Dear Denver reports that irrefutable evidence has arrived from the Denver Election Commission. An open records request reveals that on September 16, 2006, Paul Lopez formally changed his address from 3400 South Lowell Boulevard to his grandmother's residence at 4411 West 2nd Avenue, effectively moving him from Council District 2 to Council District 3.

Most damning is Mr Lopez's own response to the question: "On which date did you, or will you, begin living at your new address?" His handwritten answer? September 1, 2006.Lopez was therefore not a resident of District 3 for the required 1-year prior to election, as supported by court documents, personal accounts, and most importantly, by his own signed form with the Denver Electoral Commission.

See the full Lopez document from the original source: Denver Denver's article entitled "The damning voter registration docs."

Hickenlooper gives Nevitt the business

2007-05-25T00:26:00.000-06:00

Yesterday's Denver Post issued a missive from George Merritt entitled "Mayor: Candidate flier misleading."

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper delved into the City Council races for the first time today, calling out District 7 candidate Chris Nevitt for "misleading voters."

Nevitt's campaign used a picture of Hickenlooper on its latest flier.

The Nevitt campaign responded that the flier was intended to be light. I guess the Dr Seuss-themed cover and the fanciful rhymes weren't a strong enough tip-off for that, to wit:

Denver parents and teachers think his plans are just super,
and hopefully so does Mayor John Hickenlooper.

Of course, the Watters campaign was elated, thanking the mayor for "setting the record straight." But the bigger story here is the culmination of a threat made by the mayor earlier this month. On May 2nd, the day after the general municipal election, Colorado Pols featured an article entitled "Hick May Pick Sides in One City Council Race." It read, in part:

Hickenlooper doesn't normally make public endorsements of candidates for city office, but there was a lot of talk last night that he would soon endorse Shelly Watters over Chris Nevitt in City Council District 7 because he is uncomfortable with Nevitt's close ties to organized labor.

Anyone who recognizes Hickenlooper's business origin can see that a candidate who would support the larger working community would be an ideological opposite. Still, some insightful comments ensued over at Colorado Pols, none more perspicacious than the first:

Nevitt's base will stay with him, and he only needs to pick another 3.1% to win in the runoff. Shelly has a much higher hill to climb. Nevitt wins this and Hick would be foolish to get involved publically (though everyone knows he was involved behind the scenes).

Hickenlooper involved behind the scenes? You mean Hickenlooper has been actively campaigning against a pro-labor candidate this whole time, perhaps through The Kenney Group, who managed both Shelly Watters' campaign and Hickenlooper's re-election bid with the same large donations from big businesses and land speculators? Say it ain't so.

This background information provides insight into Chris Nevitt's incredulous response to the pseudo-controversy, as quoted in yesterday's Denver Post article:

"A couple people called and said, 'You are implying that John Hickenlooper endorsed you,'" [Nevitt] said.

"I actually called them back and said, 'Nothing could be further from the truth.'"

You can say that again.

The case against Lopez (video)

2007-05-24T02:58:00.000-06:00

Lisa Jones of Dear Denver continues to provide insight into the Paul Lopez residency question in an article entitled "Court challenge may be in the works." In the article, Jones supported the decision to bring this matter to court, and added new insight into this now quite-public story:

All the evidence I've seen indicates that the Denver Election Commission staff erred in putting Lopez on the ballot. Earlier this week I spoke to one commissioner who had serious doubts about Lopez's eligibility. Her hands were tied, however, because the May 1 vote had already been certified. She had not been presented with facts about Lopez until recently. She hastened to point out that it is not the fault of the election commission if Lopez misled them about his eligibility.

She also includes a 5 minute clip from last night's meeting of the election commission, which provides further details about mounting evidence against Paul Lopez's credentials:
To round out the discussion, a critic of the Lopez campaign added an impassioned comment, which is excerpted below:

Honesty, credibility and trust is a huge part of the job. Based on court documents and the information supplied by the Denver Police Department, there is no way anyone should trust what Lopez says.

I hope the District Court challenge is made as certainly the requirements for elected office will be upheld by the Court. From what I’ve read – the case is solid and Lopez will be disqualified.

Dear Shelly endorsement

2007-05-24T01:51:00.000-06:00

Lisa Jones of Dear Denver has endorsed Shelly Watters in the District 7 runoff in an article entitled "Watters, please, in District 7." Her reasoning is mainly directed against the current frontrunner in the race:

I suppose I should start getting used to the idea of Chris Nevitt on Denver City Council. I'm among the few who aren't favorably impressed by him. Not that I'm jumping up and down about Shelly Watters, mind you. But I do think Watters is the better choice.

She prefers Watters for two reasons: first, because Watters has been a council aide for Carol Boigon (whom Jones likes), and second, because she is concerned that Nevitt may be too ideological, to wit:

we all love Jimmy Stewart-style politicians who stick to their principles. Sometimes, however, noble motives conflict with practicality and political reality. "Being right" doesn't always translate into "getting it done."

Updates on the runoff endorsements

2007-05-23T11:37:00.000-06:00

In the three runoff City Council races, frontrunners lead each race by substantial margins. For that reason, the challengers need endorsements from the now-expired candidacies of their general election opponents in order to have any hope of winning.

Council District 3: JoAnn Phillips now has the endorsement of three former candidates: Kathy Sandoval, Mark Roggerman, and Antoinette Alire. These candidates represented 11%, 10%, and 2% of the votes in the May general election. Added to Phillips own total of 15%, this coalition represents 38% of the electorate. Compared against Lopez's 45%, the gap has narrowed considerably. One also wonders whether questions surrounding Lopez's official residency will swing the tide in favor of Phillips.

Council District 7: Julie Connor has declined to endorse either candidate, leaving her 19% of the vote unaccounted for. Shelly Watters is left to battle Chris Nevitt without further support. With Nevitt needing just one sixth of Connor's union-friendly, small-donor constituency to obtain a majority, it's hard to see how Watters could overcome the 20% deficit from the May election, when she received 27% to Nevitt's 47% of the vote.

Council District 8: Greg Rasheed has endorsed Sharon Bailey, doubling Madison's deficit from 8% to 16%. With virtually no news coming out of that race since the May election, there appear to be few dynamics working on Madison's behalf.

Joanne Phillips questions Paul Lopez's residency in Council District 3

2007-05-23T11:27:00.000-06:00

George Merritt of the Denver Post reported this morning that Council District 3 candidate Joanne Phillips asked the Denver Election Commission yesterday to have her opponent, Paul Lopez, declared ineligible for the office. The article was entitled "Candidate cries foul to election panel."

The Lopez campaign did not comment on the matter. The article indicates that Lopez has previously denied the claims, but no further information or evidence was provided.

The most important news here is that the Election Commission apparently is not going to get involved, as "Assistant City Attorney Vicky Ortega said the only way to take action would be for someone to contest the election in district court." Apparently the Phillips campaign is considering just such a lawsuit.

Update: An unnamed author over at Colorado Pols takes a cynical view of the question here. It's not clear why the author considers court appearance documents and electoral change-of-address forms unimportant, but the weight of such evidence certainly raises an eyebrow to those who would dismiss the question out of hand.

For more detailed information on this issue, visit "Analysis of the Lopez residency question" and "Lopez residency under formal investigation."

Connor declines to endorse in CD7

2007-05-21T23:22:00.001-06:00

In Council District 7, Julie Connor has declined to endorse either of the remaining candidates. While the material effect of this decision is to put her supporters "up for grabs," Shelly Watters' candidacy suffers a greater harm. That's because Watters needed the support of Connor's entire base to stay within shouting distance of Chris Nevitt, yet now will have to make up the difference on her own.

Below is an excerpt from Connor's letter to supporters.

Voters groused that it was a field packed so full of smart choices that they couldn’t make up their minds, and indeed we are all experienced and deeply committed to community service. The field has narrowed, but the expertise has not.

For the runoff, rather than direct voters towards one candidate or the other, I am suggesting people think about what aspects are most important for a councilperson to get the job done (responsiveness, experience, philosophy, vision, fight, commitment, ambition, personality, connections, endorsements, confidence, whatever), and then have a conversation with each one to determine which one possesses those requirements/needs/qualifications...

Don’t be reluctant to talk to the candidates: After a five-minute talk with each of them one-on-one, you will get a clear picture of who is going to serve you better. And there aren’t many political candidates who you can actually call and talk to; a City Council race is one of the few with accessible candidates. Plus, regardless of who gets elected, it will be remembered that you were engaged enough to call and sound them out – that’s a constituent who it would be wise to pay attention to down the line.

Most importantly, whoever you decide to vote for, get that ballot back to the Election Commission by Tuesday, June 5 before 7:00 p.m.

Write-in candidate results

2007-05-18T11:10:00.000-06:00

The write-in candidate results are in, and boy are they underwhelming. None even reached three digits, with Lynn Smith leading the pack at 93 votes.

Clerk & Recorder: Kevin Slevin 61
City Council D01: Gerald Styron 6
City Council D08: Lynn Smith 93
City Council D09: Ray Barela 9
City Council D11: William Helfrich 0

If you voted for someone who was not an authorized write-in candidate, your vote was not tabulated. That means we'll have no official tabulation of the votes for "Santa Claus," "George Washington," "Martha Stewart," or the ever-popular "John Elway." Sorry, folks!

Voter turnout in Denver since 1987

2007-05-17T15:07:00.000-06:00

When the Denver Election Commission purged voter lists earlier this year, many folks were outraged. However, the graph below shows that the number of "active voters" was actually near the historical average even after the purge.

The graph also shows that turnout was very respectable, especially when you consider that the percentage of active voters submitting ballots hasn't exceeded 50% in Denver since 1995. Indeed, see how similar the numbers are between the "exciting" 2003 campaign and its open mayoral seat and this year's "boring" election, which got virtually no media attention.
Prior runoff elections have involved virtually the entire city, and gained more or less the same number of votes as the general election. Since this year's races are limited to only Council Districts 3, 7, and 8, we should expect to a much smaller turnout - perhaps a few thousand less than the 16,427 votes in those districts earlier this month.

Watters picks up endorsement

2007-05-17T13:03:00.000-06:00

The Shelly Watters campaign issued a news release yesterday trumpeting the endorsement of Colorado State Senator Ken Gordon:

Denver, CO - Today, Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon (D-Denver) endorsed Shelly Watters in the City Council District Seven Run-Off Election. Senator Gordon has worked with Shelly since 1999, when she was first an aide to Former Councilwoman Joyce Foster and then Councilwoman Carol Boigon.

"Shelly will be a great asset to Denver's City Council. She is balanced and thoughtful in her approach, and her experience with City processes makes her the best choice to represent the residents of District 7. I enthusiastically endorse Shelly Watters for City Council District 7," said Gordon.

Shelly added, "Senator Gordon is a well-respected public official and I am honored to have the support of someone who has worked so hard for the citizens of Colorado. He understands the issues facing the residents of Denver, from graffiti to improving our schools, and I am thrilled that he believes I am the best choice to address these issues."

Earlier this week, Shelly earned the endorsements of a majority of Neighborhood Association Presidents. Out of the ten Neighborhood Association Presidents, six are supporting Shelly's bid to be the next Councilwoman . The other four Neighborhood Association Presidents have chosen not to endorse a candidate to date.

For full list of Shelly's endorsements please visit www.shellywatters.com

Your Money Or Your Vote: Citywide voting patterns in the May 2007 Denver municipal election

2007-05-17T07:43:00.000-06:00

Did you vote for the mayor? If you've got a nice income and live in a wealthy neighborhood, odds are that you did.

Truth be told, the odds are that you voted for the mayor no matter where you live. It's just that folks in wealthy neighborhoods tended to support him more heavily than folks in poorer neighborhoods.
That dynamic wasn't true of all incumbents. Auditor Dennis Gallagher, for instance, seemed to do best with the middle class.
And then there were challengers like Carol Campbell, candidate for City Council At Large. She did considerably better among the poorer neighborhoods.
Talk of an uninterested electorate this year thus speaks more to the interests of the wealthy than of the poor. Poorer neighborhoods naturally were far more interested in change. Thankfully for incumbents, the rich vote more often and thus get the final word.

Note: for this study, year 2000 census figures were used. The average income in 16 neighborhoods was less than $40,000 per year in income; 15 averaged between $40,000 and $49,999; 13 averaged between $50,000 and $69,999; and 11 were above $70,000.

Upcoming ballot questions

2007-05-16T15:24:00.000-06:00

Even after the June 5 runoff election, Denver voters will be treated to one more election at the end of this year: the statewide election in November.

Potential ballot initiatives should now be submitted to the Secretary of State. Does anyone know which (if any) were submitted?

For fun, I'd also recommend that you look at "Taste For Taxes," which provides a primer for folks looking to raise your taxes. They noted that:

A political campaign ultimately is merely an exercise in marketing. The key to success is making sure your ballot issue – the product you’re marketing – responds to the public’s wants or needs.

So do we have any "wants or needs" on the upcoming state ballot?

May election results in Council District 9

2007-05-16T02:01:00.000-06:00

Would you be surprised to learn that incumbent City Councilwoman Judy Montero nearly lost an entire neighborhood against wild-eyed Waldo Benevidez? Well, it happened in Valverde, where the penniless challenger received 45.2% of the vote. Below is a graph indicating the results.

May election results in Council District 4

2007-05-16T01:57:00.000-06:00

City Councilwoman Peggy Lehmann won re-election in Council District 5, as should be expected. Below is a graph of the results of her campaign vis-a-vis challengers Ike Kelley and Bill Rutherford. Lehmann did best in Wellshire; Kelley got a quarter of the vote in Goldsmith; and Rutherford hit 28.8% in Kennedy.

Analysis of the Lopez residency question

2007-05-15T14:57:00.000-06:00

Say what you want about the question of Paul Lopez's candidacy (and frankly, folks ain't sayin' much...), but Lisa Jones of Dear Denver continues to churn out thoughtful and fact-based analysis of the situation, and ought to be commended.

Today's piece entitled "Home is where Paul Lopez's heart is?" begins with a look at the workings of the Denver Election Commission:

Contrary to the impression conveyed to some by today's Denver Post story, DEC Executive Director John Gaydeski does not have the authority to make a ruling on a voter challenge to Lopez's eligibility. Until the charter change eliminating the commission takes effect in July, Commissioners Sandy Adams, Susan Rogers and Stephanie O'Malley still have the power and responsibility to hear a challenge (if one is filed) and make a ruling regarding Lopez's eligibility...

I hope that someone files a challenge regarding Lopez; I'd like to see the DEC go out with one final demonstration of relevance. The current Denver Election Commission has made huge mistakes, as we all know, but the structure does (or did) serve a larger purpose, namely representing multiple interests (in terms of political party, demographics, etc.) and settling election-related disputes in a public forum.

With regard to the question of whether Paul Lopez was a "resident" of District 3 (in quotes because the definition is apparently not formally defined), she says this:

One of my friends made an interesting observation this morning. She pointed out that the DEC allows voters to list an alternate mailing address. For example, you can live in Denver but ask that your ballot be mailed to your winter home in Florida. You can vote in only one jurisdiction, and it must be that of your primary residence, not your alternate mailing address.

Lopez claims that he considers his parents' home his primary address, yet he changed his primary address more than once in his voter registration record. If he had wanted to keep his parents' address as his primary address, he could have. But he didn't. He changed his residency to District 2, per official election commission records, and failed to change his residency "back" to District 3 within the one year rule.

Read the original article for the full discussion and the opportunity to comment.

POLL: Council District 3, sans Paul Lopez

2007-05-15T13:10:00.000-06:00

What's your opinion of the potentially-revised Council District 3 race?

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Official Disclaimer: Internet polls are NOT scientific and anyone who suggests otherwise is a fool.

Lopez residency under formal investigation

2007-05-15T12:00:00.000-06:00

Today, George Merritt of the Denver Post investigates whether Paul Lopez was officially a resident of Council District 3 since May 1, 2006... and thus whether he is even eligible to run for City Council in that district.

The article is entitled "Candidate Lopez insists he's resident," and adds several new wrinkles to the story.

Indicates that the Denver Election Commission is formally investigating the matter.
Clarifies that the District 3 home is Paul Lopez's family residence, and that the Lowell address is an apartment Lopez lived in while attending CU-Denver.
Adds a third address to the list: an apartment on West 38th Avenue. Lopez said he simply "paid a couple bills there."

Read the Denver Post story and let us know what you think.

Neighborhood analysis, Council District 3

2007-05-15T09:49:00.000-06:00

In Council District 3, second-place finisher JoAnne Phillips trails frontrunner Paul Lopez by 30 points. Her prospects seem even worse in light of the fact that she didn't challenge him in a single neighborhood.
Indeed, Phillips didn't close the gap to single digits in a single precinct. Even her best showings were pretty dismal: in Villa Park's 438th precinct and Mar Lee's 234th precinct, where she trailed Lopez by "only" 13% and 10%, respectively.

Of course, if Paul Lopez is declared ineligible for the Council District 3 seat, the race would become far more contested. Phillips would then have a lead over Roggeman in virtually every district except Barnum West, with a huge percentage of voters formally undecided.

Runoff election polls (May 15th update)

2007-05-15T00:48:00.000-06:00

The current runoff election polls are pretty interesting.

In the Council District 3 poll, Paul Lopez leads JoAnne Phillips by 53% to 47%. However, the current margin of just 7% is a rather dramatic departure from Lopez's general election margin of 30%. The close online race is even more impressive given Phillips lack of online presence: she doesn't appear to have a website, has never responded to any posting online, and barely even registered 1% in our March poll of this district.

The real-world margin appears to be holding in our tally of Council District 7 preferences. Chris Nevitt leads by 20, with 60% against Shelly Watters' 40%. This is especially impressive as Nevitt was drubbed by Watters fans in the previous Denver Politics poll of District 7.

The most inverted results were found in the Council District 8 poll, in which Carla Madison leads frontrunner Sharon Bailey with 56% to 44%. This is likely due to the online presence of Madison troops. In the Denver Politics poll of District 8 leading up to the May general election, Madison had an even more commanding lead of 56% versus Bailey's 7%... yet we see how that turned out.

These polls will remain open until June 5th, so be sure to register your preference.

And as always, our disclaimer: "Internet polls are NOT scientific and anyone who suggests otherwise is a fool."

Neighborhood analysis, Council District 7

2007-05-14T16:30:00.000-06:00

In Council District 7, Shelly Watters doesn't have a ghost of a chance of winning. As the graph below shows, she only challenged Nevitt's lead in three neighborhoods: Overland, Valverde, and Rosedale. Throughout the rest of the district, including her own Platt Park, she trails by 14% or more.

West Wash Park, Athmar Park, and College View weren't even competitive, with Chris dominating by a margin of more than 30%.

More facts disqualifying Paul Lopez from Council District 3 seat

2007-05-14T15:18:00.000-06:00

On Friday, we reported that there were questions as to whether Paul Lopez has been a resident of District 3 since May 1, 2006. On Saturday, county court records proved that Lopez himself reported living in District 2 in August 2006.

Today, Dear Denver provides yet more documentation. In an article entitled "Paul Lopez, phone home (wherever that is)," we learn that candidate Lopez changed his official electoral address after the traffic incident and well after he was supposed to be a full time resident of District 3.

Lopez filed his change of address with the Denver Election Commission on September 22, 2006. The DEC entered the change on October 5, 2006.

Yet according to electoral rules, no investigation will take place unless a registered elector in District 3 requests validation of Paul Lopez's eligibility.

Unless an investigation is requested, voters and the DEC will just have to take Lopez's word for it, despite a court record that contradicts his story.

The potential consequences on the race for City Council in District 3 are thus outlined:

Mark Roggeman ended up in third place in the May 1 vote. If Lopez had been disqualified, Roggeman would likely be the candidate facing JoAnn Phillips in the run-off.

What do you think? I hope in the end this can be settled with facts.

We all want to be treated fairly when issues come before the city, and can only hope that folks enforcing rules will also be willing to follow them.

Unopposed candidates get little flack in Denver neighborhoods

2007-05-14T11:13:00.000-06:00

Denver loves its incumbent City Council members, more so in some neighborhoods than others.

Northeast Park Hill is the most enamored neighborhood. Just 2 of its 388 voters failed to select Councilman Michael Hancock in May's general election.

Jefferson Park is the most unruly. Nearly 15% of Garcia's constituents in this neighborhood wrote in an alternative name. One suspects this was the political base of candidate Gerald Styron.

But Charlie Brown was the only Councilman without an active candidate to exceed 5% write-ins over an entire neighborhood. Seems that Washington Park folks don't like him that much, with 100 alternative names written into its 1407 ballots. It'd be interesting to see who they wrote in, wouldn't it?

Below are all the numbers as compiled by Denver Politics:

Michael Hancock
Northeast Park Hill 99.4%
Stapleton 99.1%
North Park Hill 98.3%
Montbello 98.3%
Green Valley Ranch 96.8%
Denver International 96.4%

Jeanne Robb
Cherry Creek 98.6%
Civic Center 98.5%
Hale 98.0%
Cheesman Park 97.3%
Congress Park 97.1%
Speer 97.1%
Country Club 96.7%
Capitol Hill 96.4%

Jeanne Faatz
Fort Logan 98.4%
Mar Lee 98.3%
Harvey Park South 98.0%
Marston 97.4%
Bear Valley 97.2%
Harvey Park 97.0%

Charlie Brown
Indian Creek 98.1%
Goldsmith 97.4%
Virginia Village 97.2%
Washington-Virginia 97.0%
University Hills 96.4%
University Park 95.7%
Belcaro 95.3%
Cory-Merrill 95.0%
Washington Park 92.5%

Rick Garcia
West Colfax 96.7%
Sunnyside 96.1%
Regis 95.4%
Sloan Lake 95.3%
West Highland 95.2%
Berkeley 94.8%
Chaffee Park 94.1%
Jefferson Park 85.7%

Post-election reactions from candidate Greg Rasheed

2007-05-14T11:01:00.000-06:00

Last week, Denver Politics sent a short questionnaire to all of the candidates in runoff districts who are now out of the running. We asked for their thoughts and endorsements.

Below are the answers from Greg Rasheed in Council District 8:

1. What were the best and worst parts about running?
My best experience was going door to door and meeting the residents. Discovering their community concerns and just their happiness in having the opportunity to talk to a candidate was a rewarding experience. I want to also say that this experience was a new one for my wife and she felt it brought us closer together.

The worst experience was dealing with the unknown bloggers who ask so many questions and are so opinionated. LOL!

Seriously the worst experience was dealing with the weather during January and early February. Walking door to door in 8 degree weather was not fun but rewarding.

2. What was your reaction to the results?
I cried like a baby. LOL!

3. Do you plan to endorse another candidate in District 3?
I am supporting Sharon Bailey and telling my supporters to do the same.

4. Any plans to run again?
I am definitely going to run again. I realized that I started too late. It takes at least a year of planning to run for public office. I raised $1400 for my campaign verses an average of $45,000 for the other candidates. But even getting the 486 votes I received, considering the lack of funds and late start, was amazing. People realized I was serious about my candidacy.

I want to thank those who supported me. I also want to thank bloggers like you, who are trying to keep the public informed. Unfortunately the major papers are more interested in the personal backgrounds of NFL draft choices, rather than community issues.

Neighborhood analysis, Council District 8

2007-05-13T11:36:00.000-06:00

The race for City Council District 8 is remarkable for its geographic and racial fault lines.

GEOGRAPHY: Whereas candidate Carla Madison did better than the frontrunner in virtually all of the western neighborhoods, Sharon Bailey dominated in the eastern neighborhoods.
Since Madison lives about a mile further west than Bailey, this result seems counterintuitive. Other factors may well be in play, including the professional and social networks of the candidates. But the demographic composition of the district is also important.

RACE: The neighborhoods won by African-American candidate Sharon Bailey are overwhelmingly comprised of blacks and Latinos. Overall, those neighborhoods are 85% minority population. Bailey prevailed in only one non-minority neighborhood: Cole, which is just 50.2% white.

Meanwhile, the neighborhoods won by white Carla Madison are just 33% minority. The only minority neighborhood in which she prevailed was Five Points.

It may seem surprising that Madison beat a field of three African-American candidates in Denver's historic black community, but this result underlines racial factors. Even 7 years ago (as gentrification was getting started), just 25% of Five Points residents were black. 27% were white and 43% were Latino.

That mirrors a larger trend in the area. Though Council District 8 has been "the black seat" on City Council for the last 50 years, it's now racially mixed. As of 2000, the district as a whole housed 24,130 African Americans, 21,656 whites, and 18,504 Latinos.

THE FUTURE: What does all this imply about the runoff? One possibility is that it won't be about black and white. Instead, this seat may hinge on Latinos.

Madison did well enough to win in North Capitol Hill and Five Points (23% and 43% Latino), but Bailey crushed in Clayton and Skyland (50% and 22% Latino). The only question is, ¿quién ganará en junio?

Lopez lie. Campaign die?

2007-05-12T21:03:00.000-06:00

Paul Lopez is running for City Council in District 3. But at the moment, the question is not whether he's likely to win, but whether he's even eligible to run. Dear Denver raises these questions in today's "Rumor mill grinds Paul Lopez." The article notes that to be eligible for election, all City Council candidates must be:

a citizen of the United States; a resident of the City and County of Denver for the two (2) years immediately preceding his election; a qualified elector of the City and County of Denver; over twenty-five (25) years of age and if elected from a council district, the second year of residency shall have been within the district.

The problem is, Paul Lopez has by his own admission NOT been in District 3 since the required date (May 1, 2006). As Dear Denver explains:

on August 9, 2006, Lopez received a traffic ticket for expired plates. The home address for Lopez noted on the court record is 3400 S. Lowell Blvd., which is in Denver District 2, not District 3.

It seems pretty clear: Paul Lopez either was lying to the court then or he's lying to the public now.

I wonder what happens if Mr Lopez is found ineligible. Would JoAnne Phillips win the seat by default? Would a new general election be held?

Stay tuned, folks. This one's getting weird.

POLL: Council District 8 runoff

2007-05-12T09:14:00.000-06:00

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Official Disclaimer: Internet polls are NOT scientific and anyone who suggests otherwise is a fool.

Does Lopez belong in Council District 3?

2007-05-11T14:29:00.000-06:00

Upending the "conventional wisdom," Lisa Jones of Dear Denver predicts that Paul Lopez will NOT be the next City Council representative for Council District 3.

Why? Because he does not fulfill the residency requirements.

Now THAT would be a shocker.

Read all about it in "Addressing Paul Lopez."

Johnson praises Council District 5's animated voters

2007-05-11T07:06:00.000-06:00

Councilwoman Marcia Johnson thanked her supporters today in her "News from District 5" newsletter, and congratulate so many of them for voting.

I also want to applaud District 5 voters for turning out in droves! Our district boasted the second highest voter turn-out in the city - 9,336 out of the 80,536 total votes cast.

What are the facts here?

In 2003, District 5 had nearly 12,700 voters. Thus, turnout for 2007 wasn't even 75% of the 2003 mark. More than 3,300 prior voters were missing from the polls.

So we can't call this a stirring victory for democracy, or laud District 5 for the highest vote percentages in the city (Council Districts 7 and 8 held that distinction). But it's a pretty good indicator of animated voters.

Perhaps they didn't know that a Council incumbent hasn't lost in Denver for 20 years, or thought that this might be a close race... especially given the 2003 runoff election, in which Johnson squeaked by with just 46 more votes than her opponent.

During that runoff, Johnson received 6,371 votes. In 2007, she won the support of 7,149 voters. So the safest thing that can be said is that she has picked up the support of 778 voters over the course of her term... and, of course, continued the streak of unbeaten Denver incumbents for another election cycle.

Who's endorsing whom?

2007-05-10T15:18:00.000-06:00

There's only one way for this year's crop of runoff candidates to have any chance of winning, and that is by gaining the endorsements of third-tier candidates.

Yet I haven't heard of any such endorsements being made. Have you?

Of course, even if an endorsement is made, there's no guarantee that voters will feel obliged to follow their former favorite's selection. Still, I can't imagine that the Council 8 candidates aren't grasping for the aide of Darrell Watson, that Council 7 candidates would love to have Julie Connor's imprimatur, and that Council 3 candidates aren't seeking a working coalition among all the now-vanquished opponents.

Feel free to leave comments with your thoughts or news.

Runoff candidate forum, May 15th

2007-05-10T13:03:00.000-06:00

Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation and the League of Women Voters are sponsoring a runoff candidate forum at the Channel 8 Studio on Tuesday, May 15th from 7:00pm to 7:45 pm. The forum will be taped ‘as if’ live with a full audience for playback on days and at times following the 15th.

Channel 8 Studios are located at 2390 Ulster St, #100.

For more information, visit Channel 8's Denver Decides.

Come-from-behind victories are rare in Denver's runoff elections

2007-05-10T09:21:00.000-06:00

Jason Bane of Colorado Confidential has come to the same historical, statistically-derived conclusion about the runoff elections as outlined in Denver Politics last week: "History Says Denver Runoff Could be Without Surprise."

Below are the 2003 percentages received in the municipal elections and the runoff. Note again that only Garcia and Rodriguez overcame deficits (of 1% and 5% respectively) to win. Bane also indicates that "no candidate who was down by more than five points ended up getting within even 10 points in the runoff election, so things don’t look promising for Phillips [who is down 30%], Watters [down 20%] or Madison [down 8%]."

Mayor
John Hickenlooper: 43% --> 65%
Don Mares: 22% --> 35%

Auditor
Dennis Gallagher: 31% --> 52%
Ed Thomas: 26% --> 48%

City Council District 1
Timber Dick: 36% --> 43%
Rick Garcia: 35% --> 57%

City Council District 3
Don Sandoval: 37% --> 47%
Rosemary Rodriguez: 32% --> 53%

City Council District 5
Marcia Johnson: 31% --> 50.2%
Marcus Pachner: 27% --> 49.8%

City Council District 9
Judy Montero: 31% --> 57%
Veronica Barela: 24% --> 43%

City Council District 10
Jeanne Robb: 48% --> 57%
Caroline Schomp: 36% --> 43%

City Council District 11
Michael Hancock: 44% --> 64%
Jon Bowman: 20% --> 37%

Immediately after the election, George Merrit of the Denver Post indicated that "History has shown that runoff elections can favor candidates with lower vote totals in the first contest," but that misrepresented the facts. Shelly Watters took the opportunity to proclaim the runoff election as "a whole new ball game," but that was just spin.

The truth is, runoff elections are just more compressed ends to a game previously set in motion. And for challengers with significant deficits, the chances just aren't good.

For more details, see our May 2nd reflection on results, especially the final section entitled "All Over But The Shouting."

POLL: Council District 7 runoff

2007-05-09T00:12:00.000-06:00

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Official Disclaimer: Internet polls are NOT scientific and anyone who suggests otherwise is a fool.

At Large candidates get no respect (statistically speaking)

2007-05-08T09:26:00.000-06:00

Are the official election results misleading citizens about the race for City Council At Large seats?

Doug Linkhart’s 41,555 votes are displayed as representing 41% of the total. But the truth is, he received far more support than that.

That's because the Denver Election Commission displays the At Large percentages as a basis of all votes given in that race. Normally, that's fine. Total votes are usually equal to the total number of voters in any given race. But when voters can select up to two (2) candidates, as happens with At Large seats, the numbers are thrown out of whack.

For instance, the total number of At Large votes in May 2007 was 101,288, so half of that (assuming everyone voted for two candidates) would be 50,644. That seems low, insofar as 65,270 voted in the more obscure Clerk & Recorder race, yet it also seems unlikely that tens of thousands of folks chose just one of the three candidates. Still, if we raise the estimated votecount to 57,000 (halfway between the two numbers), the percentages change quite dramatically.

COUNCIL AT LARGE
Doug Linkhart – 41,555 / 57,000? - 72.9% (not 41.0%)
Carol Boigon – 31,952 / 57,000? - 56.1% (not 31.6%)
Carol Campbell – 27,144 / 57,000? - 47.6% (not 26.8%)
Write-In Candidate - 637 / 57,000? - 1.1% (not 0.6%)

Thus, for a more intuitive accounting, the vote tallies for At Large councilors should be judged not by the total number of votes, but the total number of voters who submitted a choice in that category.

Opinions may vary on the need for this revision, but it is at least important for voters to realize that the actual percentage of support for candidates in the At Large race was far more substantial than the generic results indicate.

Watson's dirty campaign

2007-05-07T10:45:00.000-06:00

I was initially impressed with the Darrell Watson campaign for Council District 8. Their campaign found this website before anyone else, and used the medium to get out their press releases and news stories trumpeting their candidate. I was happy to be part of it, distributing useful information to the people.

When Watson was attacked in the media for a 2003 child spanking incident that led to a misdemeanor conviction, I defended him, finding the story both offensive and irrelevant.

But a series of allegations began to build. An innocent Web poll led to spurious accusations by Watson's campaign manager, attacking the Madison campaign behind the cloak of anonymity. He then "spoofed" the poll by assuming different Internet identities, helpfully indicating how easy it would be to alter the results.

I was surprised when some anti-Watson attack ads on YouTube mysteriously disappeared. Who had been behind them, and why were the ads retracted? It never occurred to me that the ads may have been engineered by the Watson campaign itself, attempting to curry sympathy or raise suspicions over the origins of Watson's bad news.

But now, I wonder.

Watson's endorsements lauded him for his "openly gay" status, yet the candidate himself said nothing about it, not even in passing. I don't care what his status is, but the ongoing silence led Dear Denver to wonder. Was he trying to be all things to all voters ("the non-gay gay")?

It just didn't jibe. Proud statements to one audience were somehow invisible to the masses.

Concerns about the campaign's mechanics for contacting voters also came under question. ColeNeighborhood.com wrote an article expressing dismay over Watson's unsolicited emails:

I still find it disturbing that Mr. Watson (or perhaps his "camp") harvested my email address without my permission (illegal, by the way) for bulk-email purposes. If I had received an email explaining how I got on the list, and providing me the opportunity to opt in should I wish, that would have been another story.

Then came duplicity regarding Watson's financial statements. Whether the campaign's claims totally mangled or simply massaged the facts, they clearly intended to deceive. They lied about raising over $19,000, downplayed the opponent's coffers by more than $9,000, and claimed a "huge lead in fundraising" that belied a truly tight race.

Misstatements of such obvious and verifiable facts were certainly troubling. Yet that concern grew when the candidate himself participated in the deception. In early April, Watson went on national television and magically extended the financial differential from roughly $5000 into an even more impressive $8000.

It seemed hard to believe. Time after time, the discrepancies arose... and only with one candidate.

Then came two weeks of unrelenting attacks against Watson's primary rival, Carla Madison, just as the ballots were reaching Denver voters, as found on Denver Direct :

04/10: Concerns about canceled meetings in Madison's neighborhood organization.
04/11: Allegations of a conflict of interest by Madison's partner, Paul Weiss.
04/12: More questions directed against Madison's partner.
04/14: Comments on a Madison sign placed under a street sign.
04/17: Questions regarding Madison's campaign materials.
04/18: Allegations of financial improprieties during Madison's CPWNA presidency.
04/19: Accusations against Madison's zoning overlay.
04/24: An undocumented conversation with Madison.
04/24: Follow-up on Madison's campaign materials.

What does this have to do with the Watson campaign?

Denver Direct presented itself as an independent entity, unrelated to the Watson campaign. Its posting never came out in favor of a particular candidate, and aside from the apparent vendetta against Madison, readers would naturally conclude that the site was merely an informative guide to the 2007 elections.

But as always, we follow the money. A quick look at Darrell Watson's financial disclosures shows that a Mr Gerald H Trumbule gave the campaign $100 on January 26, 2007. Who is Mr Trumbule? He's the author of Denver Direct. He was giving money a full two months before the blog even began its campaign coverage.

The next line of thinking goes like this: "Even if Trumbule did like Watson, he may have been totally unrelated to the campaign. Perhaps he was just an independent supporter whose actions were wholly unrelated to the campaign staff."

That too would be compelling, if the Watson campaign itself hadn't alerted me to Trumbule's presence.

In late March, the manager of the Watson campaign emailed a personal alert to the videos being placed online at Denver Direct. Never before or since was I notified of a news source from this campaign. Watson's campaign manager told me that the author of the blog

is a supporter of Darrell's but for now is trying to only post the public candidate forums at his site, and has shied away from any editorial comment or specific mentions of any single candidate.

I see. So this wasn't totally unrelated, but in fact continued the work of the campaign. After building up a neutral readership, Denver Direct unleashed a series of attacks against Watson's primary rival exactly when the ballots began arriving at voter's homes.

It doesn't look good. We have a pattern of deception, a series of attacks, and an ongoing manipulations with polls, communications, and finances.

Does that sound like "dirty tricks" to anyone? How about "mean-spirited campaigning"?

In any event, it did lead me to wonder... If this is the kind of campaign Darrell Watson runs, what kind of leader would he be on City Council?

Thankfully, we won't have to find out.

Latino activist Paul Lopez

2007-05-07T09:57:00.000-06:00

In an article entitled "Shut Down Denver - Vote for Paul Lopez," Westword's Jared Jacang Maher highlights canddiate Paul Lopez's more controversial past:

Exactly one year ago May 1, Lopez, a Latino activist and organizer with the Service Employees International Union, was exhorting protesters to "shut down Denver" during the massive, pro-immigrant rally that seized downtown. A year before that, he was telling Denver Police Commander Gerry Wittman how minorities in poor communities don’t trust cops and how "my family and I have been getting harassed by police officers since I can remember."

How it was that the 28-year-old firebrand managed to earn the endorsement of the conservative editorial board at the Rocky Mountain News is anyone’s guess. A clean-cut website helps. But let’s hope he doesn’t change his tune too much. We’re looking forward to hearing some serious anti-establishment talk from the City Council chamber: out of seven candidates, Lopez earned 45 percent of the vote and missed avoiding a run-off by just 5 percent. His competitor in the June election, JoAnn Phillips garnered only 15 percent.

POLL: Council District 3 runoff

2007-05-07T09:11:00.000-06:00

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Official Disclaimer: Internet polls are NOT scientific and anyone who suggests otherwise is a fool.

Ready, set, spend!

2007-05-05T13:58:00.000-06:00

In the upcoming runoff election, the amount of money raised isn't as important as how much they have left.

The figures reflect each candidate's April 24th statement, so we should expect that the candidates spent some of this money before the general election ended. Still, the graph gives a good indicator both of the depth of their fundraising and the potential reserves for their upcoming runoff election.

For instance, although Nevitt raised significantly more funds than Watters, his financial reserves were just $2,400 more. Meanwhile, in District 3, Lopez retained an overwhelming advantage both in total fundraising and reserves.

Prophet's comments and predictions

2007-05-05T12:50:00.000-06:00

On election night, the Wash Park Prophet provided a running commentary on the results. While his estimated turnout numbers soon proved inaccurate, the comments were generally both interesting and informative.

Below are three of his best:

Antoinette Alire's mere 60 vote showing in the 3rd Council District is notable, not only because it is the smallest number of votes cast for a non-write in candidate (the 3rd district has the lowest voter turnout and the largest number of candidates so someone in that race was bound to have that distinction) but also because, if I recall correctly, you need 100 signatures to get on the ballot -- Alire lost at least 40 of the people who signed her petition on the way to the mailbox to mail ballots...

The Rocky Mountain News endorsements, while printed less often than those of the Denver Post, better match the results. The Rocky endorsed Lopez in District 3, Nevitt in District 7 and split its endorsement between Bailey and Madison in District 8...

Trust the Denver Post to run with the most uninformative headline imaginable for anyone who has been paying any attention to prior coverage of this race: "Hickenlooper Re-elected." When did they come up with that one? Last month? The mediocre Denver Post coverage of city issues continues. The Rocky in fairness, does little better, proclaiming "Hick Wins Second Term", although it does have subheadlines about other races that are mildly more informative.

After a review of the Prophet's "predictions" (which simply followed the money line and thus mirrored results in every race except Council District 8), he offered a look forward to the runoff elections:

[In Council District 3,] the Lopez v. Phillips runoff is big enough that it is unlikely to be upset by today's returns. Kathy Sandoval, next in the vote count, is 103 votes behind Phillips (almost 4 percentage points). Assuming that Lopez holds onto voters who voted for him in the first round, he needs only about one in seven of voters who didn't vote for Phillips or himself to win. Phillips was endorsed by the Denver Post after my last set of predictions and this clearly gave her campaign a boost...

[In Council District 7, Chris] Nevitt needs about one in six of the votes for Conner and Smith to win. He is unlikely to get many Smith votes (Smith was the only registered Republican in that non-partisan race, while Nevitt is a strongly labor union backed candidate), but he has a good shot at getting at least a quarter of Connor's votes. Watters Denver Post endorsement did little to upset the status quo in that race...

[Council District 8] In a Bailey v. Madison race, I think Bailey probably has an edge with Watson and Rasheed supporters over Madison, whose appeal is greater in the central business district area. Madison, of course, needs to win a supermajority of Watson and Rasheed supporters to win, in any case.

It's Over. Did You Notice?

2007-05-04T10:59:00.000-06:00

Doug Linkhart's eLink newsletter article for May 2007 provided just a bit of insight into our media-challenged election. His article was entitled "It’s Over. Did You Notice?"

The 2007 election will surely go down in history as one of the quietest ever. While there was competition for the At-Large seats and six of eleven districts, there was little media coverage or public fanfare. We almost had an article about our race in the Rocky Mountain News, but the reporter retired mid-article and no one finished it.

Aide to winning seats on Denver City Council

2007-05-03T21:57:00.000-06:00

Back in 2002, Peter Blake of the Rocky Mountain News offered a primary on "How To Win Seat On City Council." His answer? Become a council aide.

After all, it's worked in the past. Look at Jeanne Robb, Peggy Lehmann, Judy Montero, and Carol Boigon. They were all council aides before winning a seat in their own right. Yet so many more have tried and failed.

This year, aideship seems like a far less promising path to the Council. Just three aides were in the race, and none seem likely to join their former bosses at the dias.

Julie Connor (aide to current Councilwoman Kathleen MacKenzie) went down to defeat in Council District 7.
Shelly Watters (aide to current Councilwoman Carol Boigon) is in the runoff, but facing a daunting 20% deficit against frontrunner Chris Nevitt.
JoAnn Phillips (aide to former Councilwoman Ramona Martinez) trails frontrunner Paul Lopez by 30%.

Nevertheless, I offer an excerpt from the April 24, 2002 article as found in the Rocky Mountain News for your historical reading pleasure:

There is no royal right of succession to seats on Denver City Council, but if you can't be born to the job, the next best way to land it is to work for the incumbent.

Just as many current council members served as aides to former ones, so do their aides hope to succeed them - or maybe another member - in the 2003 elections. To serve on council you have to live in the district you represent.

District 3 Councilwoman Ramona Martinez worked 10 years for the late Councilman Sam Sandos and now holds his job. When term limits force her out next year, among those hoping to succeed her is aide John Soto Jr. Her other aide, Bernadette Salazar, might also run...

Debbie Ortega succeeded to the council seat once held by Sal Carpio, and rumor has it that one of those who might run to succeed her is current aide Kim Kucera. A former Ortega aide, parks spokeswoman Judy Montero, might also run.

District 5 Councilwoman Polly Flobeck, who once worked for Paul Swalm, has two former aides who might run next year. Marcus Pachner, who just left her office, could run in the district; another former assistant, Jeanne Robb, might run in District 10 for Councilman Ed Thomas' seat.

District 11 Councilwoman Happy Haynes succeeded the man she had worked for, Bill Roberts. Her former aide, ex-school board member Bennie Milliner, might seek her job next year.

Sharon Elfenbein, assistant to Council President Joyce Foster in District 4, made an abortive run for the vacant District 6 seat that Charlie Brown won last year. But she said she's not likely to try again next year. A former Foster aide, Carol Boigon, is likely to run for an at-large seat next year.

A funny thing happened to Peggy Lehmann, who served in years gone by as an aide to former council members Mary DeGroot and Bill Himmelman. She came within just a few votes of beating Brown last year but the new redistricting map puts her in District 4 instead of 6. Brown is one of only three council members who can run again next year. Lehmann hasn't decided whether to run in 4.

Among those who never served as an aide is Councilwoman-at-large Cathy Reynolds. That's because there were no aides when she was first elected in 1975, and she takes credit for creating the system shortly thereafter. Each council member is entitled to 1.75 aides, a peculiar bureaucratic compromise...

It's obvious why aides have an edge when running for the top job. They've worked with local issues for years ``and can hit the ground running,'' said Reynolds. ``They know a heckuva lot more about how to do the job.''

And, if the council member likes the aide, he or she might get access to the contributor lists.

Notes on the final returns

2007-05-03T12:26:00.000-06:00

Now that the final numbers are in, we can follow up our initial reflection on results with a final bit of analysis.

Yawn... wrong again: Virtually everyone predicted low voter turnout due to a uninteresting election. Boy, were they wrong. 80,566 interested Denverites submitted their ballots, representing 42.5% of active voters. That blows away the last Denver campaign without a competitive mayoral election (1999, when just 26% of active voters went to the polls), and begins to approach some of those exciting campaigns that the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News actually covered.

Depends where you are: Even without a serious mayoral contest, some districts showed turnout comparable to 2003. Open seats in Council Districts 7 and 8, for instance, brought 93% and 87% of their 2003 totals. However, a competitive race in Council District 3 (with far less money) earned just over two-thirds of last cycle's voting totals. And interest in Council District 1 declined precipitously, reaching exactly half of the 2003 voters. Guess that proves the old notion: "All politics is local."

None of the above: While there were 80,566 votes in all, not everyone voted in each race on their ballot. Only 79,231 voted in the mayoral race, 71,612 voted for auditor, and 65,270 voted for clerk & recorder. Such disparities are called "undervotes," and generally reflect disaffection with all of the given choices. The results for citywide offices were thus less impressive than generally presented. Stephanie O'Malley was only supported on 63% of the ballots submitted (not 78%); Dennis Gallagher was the darling of 69% (not 78%) ballots; and John Hickenlooper earned the respect of 84.9% voters. Funny, this last figure is virtually identical to the approval rating announced by the mayor's consultants last month.

Let's count that again: The Election Commission's final vote counts generally reflected the same percentages found in earlier returns... with one exception. Somehow, Councilwoman Judy Montero actually lost 78 votes from yesterday to today, going from 2,704 votes to 2,626, while challenger Waldo Benevidez received 7 additional votes. At this rate of decline, Montero could lose the election in less than a month.

Anyone but him: Among the uncontested incumbents, Councilmen Rick Garcia and Charlie Brown were the most disliked, receiving 4.7% and 4.2% write-in votes against them. While that is unsurprising for Garcia, who had an active write-in candidate in Gerald Styron, Councilman Brown's result seems to reflect a more sustained opposition to his politics, as found in both the election results and an earlier Internet poll. Thankfully, Brown's business friends have given him $174,796 reasons to think his seat is safe.

Can't think of anyone but you: In contrast, Councilman Michael Hancock received only 94 votes against him (2%). While write in votes dipped even lower in other races, his was the most impressive performance for an unopposed candidate, and was also reflected in the earlier Internet poll.

Where are you? JoAnn Phillips is going to a runoff in Council District 3, you say? I wonder whether this will finally spur her to get up a campaign website. Out of 29 candidates, she was among only 7 who didn't care to provide such a device for potential supporters. The unopposed Charlie Brown was the only winner among them.

Quick as a cat: The only candidates who have updated their website since Tuesday's election are Chris Nevitt (who asks for your support) and Ike Kelly (who immediately withdrew his campaign site from cyberspace).

MoneyVotes: Now with the final figures for all district candidates for City Council.

Also read our initial reflection on Denver's election results.

Updated voting results

2007-05-03T11:59:00.000-06:00

The updated voting results for Denver's 2007 municipal election are now online at the Election Commission website and provided below for your convenience.

Results are listed as:
Candidate - Votes Received / Total Votes - % of Votes Received

MAYOR
John Hickenlooper – 68,374 / 79,231 - 86.3%
Danny Lopez – 10,024 / 79,231 - 12.7%
Write-In Candidate - 833 / 79,231 - 1.0%

AUDITOR
Dennis Gallagher – 55,948 / 71,612 - 78.1%
Bill Wells - 15422 / 71,612 - 21.5%
Write-In Candidate - 242 / 71,612 - 0.3%

CLERK AND RECORDER
Stephanie O'Malley – 50,741 / 65,270 - 77.7%
Jacob Werther – 14,127 / 65,270 - 21.6%
Write-In Candidate - 402 / 65,270 - 0.6%

COUNCIL AT LARGE
Doug Linkhart – 41,555 / 101,288 - 41.0%
Carol Boigon – 31,952 / 101,288 - 31.6%
Carol Campbell – 27,144 / 101,288 - 26.8%
Write-In Candidate - 637 / 101,288 - 0.6%

COUNCIL DISTRICT 1
Rick Garcia – 5,203 / 5,459 - 95.3%
Write-In Candidate - 256 / 5,459 - 4.7%

COUNCIL DISTRICT 2
Jeanne Faatz – 6,712 / 6,872 - 97.7%
Write-In Candidate - 160 / 6,872 - 2.3%

COUNCIL DISTRICT 3
Paul Lopez – 1,611 / 3,544 - 45.5%
JoAnn Phillips - 541 / 3,544 - 15.3%
Mark Roggeman - 389 / 3,544 - 11.0%
Kathy Sandoval - 386 / 3,544 - 10.9%
Ben Romero - 363 / 3,544 - 10.2%
Niccolo Casewit - 162 / 3,544 - 4.6%
Antoinette Alire - 75 / 3,544 - 2.1%
Write-In Candidate - 17 / 3,544 - 0.5%

COUNCIL DISTRICT 4
Peggy Lehmann – 6,166 / 9,676 - 63.7%
Ike Kelley – 2,063 / 9,676 - 21.3%
Bill Rutherford – 1,415 / 9,676 - 14.6%
Write-In Candidate - 32 / 9,676 - 0.3%

COUNCIL DISTRICT 5
Marcia Johnson – 7,149 / 9,336 - 76.6%
Mitch Poindexter – 1,344 / 9,336 - 14.4%
R.J. Ours - 818 / 9,336 - 8.8%
Write-In Candidate - 25 / 9,336 - 0.3%

COUNCIL DISTRICT 6
Charlie Brown – 7,265 / 7,583 - 95.8%
Write-In Candidate - 318 / 7,583 - 4.2%

COUNCIL DISTRICT 7
Chris Nevitt – 2,983 / 6,420 - 46.5%
Shelly Watters – 1,749 / 6,420 - 27.2%
Julie Connor – 1,214 / 6,420 - 18.9%
Dennis Smith - 424 / 6,420 - 6.6%
Write-In Candidate - 50 / 6,420 - 0.8%

COUNCIL DISTRICT 8
Sharon Bailey – 2,295 / 6,431 - 35.7%
Carla Madison – 1,803 / 6,431 - 28.0%
Darrell Watson – 1,728 / 6,431 - 26.9%
Greg Rasheed - 486 / 6,431 - 7.6%
Write-In Candidate - 119 / 6,431 - 1.9%

COUNCIL DISTRICT 9
Judy Montero – 2,726 / 3,724 - 73.2%
Waldo Benavidez - 961 / 3,724 - 25.8%
Write-In Candidate - 37 / 3,724 - 1.0%

COUNCIL DISTRICT 10
Jeanne Robb – 6,676 / 6,862 - 97.3%
Write-In Candidate - 186 / 6,862 - 2.7%

COUNCIL DISTRICT 11
Michael Hancock – 4,549 / 4,643 - 98.0%
Write-In Candidate - 94 / 4,643 - 2.0%

REFERRED QUESTION 1A
DA Term Limits
YES – 55,934 / 73,445 - 76.2%
NO – 17,511 / 73,445 - 23.8%

TURNOUT
Total Active Registration - 189,527
Total Turnout - 80,566 - 42.51%
Mail - 80,536
Absentee - 29
Emergency - 1
Provisional- 0

RMN runs down the election and previews the runoffs

2007-05-02T14:50:00.000-06:00

And the big story of the day from the Rocky Mountain News? Well, of course "It's the Hickenlooper waltz" by Daniel Chacon.

After a brief rundown of the results, Chacon records "some memorable moments."

* A postal worker drove up to the Denver Election Commission office in his postal truck and dropped off his ballot in the all-mail contest.

"We thought it was kind of weird," worker Judy Hodges said.

• Voters complained that a pro-immigrant march prevented them from dropping off their ballots at commission headquarters.

"What incompetent idiot approved a parade down our street on Election Day?" asked Election Commissioner Susan Rogers. "Do you realize they're blaming us for it? Like we approve parades now, apparently. There's a posting on (a political blog) accusing us of disenfranchising voters by having a parade through here."

• People did double takes when they saw Gov. Bill Ritter standing in line at the Election Commission waiting to apply for an emergency ballot.

His ballot was mailed to his home in Platt Park. Ritter and his family moved into the Governor's Mansion this year, but he hadn't updated his address.

Ritter posed for pictures with election workers who were sporting festive boas and cowboy hats. Tuesday was "hat day" for commission workers, who wore exotic headgear while counting ballots.

Astoundingly, the News then did something uncharacteristic: provided more hard data about the issues now in front of the voters, profiling the 6 candidates still in the race for election in the June 5 runoff. Each candidate was briefly profiled and asked the following questions:

Biggest challenge for Denver?
Do you support a property tax increase to repair city assets?
What would you do about gang crime in Denver?

Read the full article for details of Paul Lopez, JoAnn Phillips, Chris Nevitt, Shelly Watters, Sharon Bailey, and Carla Madison.

Post spins into the runoff elections

2007-05-02T14:45:00.000-06:00

Gabriela Resto-Montero of the Denver Post offered a more in-depth look at the next stage of the elections in an article entitled "3 council races headed to June runoff."

It's interesting to see how each of the candidates tried to "spin" their circumstances.

In Council District 7, Chris Nevitt tried to come off as the quintessential "happy warrior."

"We were hoping we'd make it over 50 (percent) but that's hard to do in a four-way race,"said Chris Nevitt, the top vote-getter from District 7 in south-central Denver. "Some people may be exhausted from campaigning, but I've been invigorated."

Shelly Watters tried to pretend she still had a chance, and was aided and abetted by the reporter's own (mis)leading comment:

History has shown that runoff elections can favor candidates with lower vote totals in the first contest.

"It's a whole new ball game now," Watters said. "It's the playoffs."

Nevermind that the idea of overcoming a 20% deficit in one month is virtually unprecedented in Denver history. So long as you say runoff elections can favor candidates with lower vote totals (like, say, Rick Garcia's 5% in 2003), you're covered!

Finally, came one sentence and one quote on District 3:

In west Denver's District 3, Lopez received 45 percent of the vote in a crowded field of seven candidates.

"We're celebrating," Lopez said. "We intend to move forward."

That about sums it up, doesn't it?

Denver Post reports on the May election

2007-05-02T14:32:00.000-06:00

The Denver dailies did, in fact, commit at least an article apiece to trumpet the results in Denver's municipal elections.

George Merritt of the Denver Post submitted an article which found the big story to be the virtual cakewalk in the mayoral race. In "Hickenlooper coasts to second term", he wrote:

Four years after taking the mayor's office as a political novice, John Hickenlooper coasted to a second term Tuesday as one of the most popular political figures in the state.

The mayor held an overwhelming lead on election night with 88 percent of the more than 68,000 votes counted...

"I'm not sure we have seen this level of popularity in the modern history of Colorado," Democratic political consultant Steve Welchert said.

He then mentioned the far more pressing story, sandwiching these details between Hickenlooper tributes:

Three open City Council seats were headed for runoffs, though Paul Lopez in District 3 and Chris Nevitt in District 7 had more than 40 percent of the vote in their respective races. Candidates must have more than 50 percent to be elected; otherwise the top two vote-getters compete in a runoff.

As of press time, JoAnn Phillips, with 16 percent, would square off with Lopez in the 3rd and Shelly Watters, with 28 percent, would battle Nevitt in the 7th.

In District 8, Sharon Bailey had 37 percent and will be in a runoff with either Carla Madison or Darrell Watson. Madison and Watson were separated by just 73 votes.

The silliest quote award goes to Danny Lopez:

Mayoral challenger Danny Lopez, a public works employee, said he was disappointed he did not receive more attention in the media.

"They didn't take me as a serious candidate because I did not want to spend $100,000," he said.

No, silly. They didn't take you seriously because you didn't want to spend $1,000,000! Hickelooper raised nearly $800,000 without even breaking a sweat. $100,000 wouldn't even have gotten you in the door, my friend. That's why raising nothing was a much better strategy - and I think you know that.

Reflections on the results

2007-05-02T12:37:00.000-06:00

The 2007 Denver municipal election has come and gone, with just a few runoff races to follow. What should we make of the results?

I win again!: The last time an incumbent lost in this city was in 1987, when both Mary DeGroot and Dave Doering upended City Council members John Silchia and Nieves McIntyre, respectively. So it comes as no surprise that every incumbent won in 2007 as well.

Tiny protest: In March, The Kenney Group reported that Mayor John Hickenlooper's approval rating was 84%. The latest polling figures showed him receiving 87% of the vote, minus any write-in votes. So it looks like Danny Lopez was successful in getting Denver's protest vote - it just wasn't nearly enough.

Chinny chin chin: Carol Boigon was uncomfortably close to losing, beating Carol Campbell by just 5%. That's an amazing result when you consider that Boigon is an incumbent running against a first-time candidate. Not only that, but Boigon raised $146,000 to Campbell's $9,000. And Boigon didn't even spend two-thirds of her money, retaining more than $90,000 cash on hand. I guess she didn't want to empty her "rainy day" fund quite so soon.

Hey, big spender: Judy Montero raised more than $145,000 to win just 2704 votes, or $53.84 per vote. That's far and away the most expensive price, beating out Shelly Watter's $34.93 and Michael Hancock's $32.54. In losing efforts, I'll bet Niccolo Casewit is wondering whether he should have spent $23.13 for each of his 160 votes, and Ben Romero may wonder whether $8000 was the right price for just 359 supporters.

The Acrimonious Eighth: Darrell Watson is no longer in the running for the Council District 8 seat. His frequent boasts of being "the clear frontrunner" were nothing more than hype, and one suspects the acrimonious attacks laid against candidate Carla Madison backfired, causing the loss of second place by just 74 votes. Meanwhile, Sharon Bailey remained above the fray and came out on top.

Neato for Nevitt: In the tight Council District 7 race, Chris Nevitt nearly pulled off the impossible, falling just 196 votes shy of avoiding a runoff. Shelly Watters beat Julie Connor for second place, but has virtually no chance of winning a runoff. The base of Connor's support was unions and small donors, while Watters gathered big ticket donations from developers. Even if he sits on his hands, the populist Nevitt will gather a disproportionate share of Connor's support and cruise to victory.

Loopy for Lopez: Paul Lopez was even closer to a walkoff victory, needing just 150 votes to avoid a runoff. But that's in part because Council District 3's turnout was so abysmal. Whereas 5,132 voters participated in the 2003 runoff election, just 3,488 showed up for this year's contest. It is unreasonable in the least to expect JoAnne Phillips to overcome her 3-to-1 disadvantage.

And the worst performance goes to...: This year's worst electoral performance was put in by Council District 3's Antoinette Alire. With just 75 votes, she became just the second candidate in a dozen years to receive less than 100 votes. Her only inferior was Jerry Retzlaff, who received 43 votes in his 1999 bid for Council District 10 against incumbent Ed Thomas.

Money votes: Money means votes in virtually every election. The graph below shows a rather clear correlation between money raised and votes received. The only race which upended this conventional wisdom was Council District 8, where Sharon Bailey won a clear majority without going hat-in-hand to every resident, developer, and politico in Denver. Good for her!
All over but the shouting: Don't expect competitive runoff races. In 2003, frontrunners won all but two of the eight runoff elections. That might give hope to challengers, but think again. Come-from-behind victories by Rick Garcia and Rosemary Rodriguez were against May voting margins of just 2% and 5%, respectively. Our three runoff races feature margins of 8% (Bailey over Madison), 20% (Nevitt over Watters), and 30% (Lopez over Phillips).

So to those remaining underdogs, it's either "good luck" or, more likely, "good night."

Update: See also the updated notes on the final results.

Historic comparisons

2007-05-01T19:07:00.000-06:00

Wondering how this election compares to others in terms of turnout? Below are figures for each of Denver's municipal elections over the past 20 years.

YEAR - ACTIVE - VOTES - %VOTING
2003 - 244,398 - 114,492 - 46.9%
1999 - 195,476 - .51,494 - 26.4%
1995 - 165,218 - 104,358 - 63.2%
1991 - 162,083 - 125,453 - 77.4%
1987 - 249,032 - 140,270 - 56.3%

Given the lack of mayoral competition, we should expect this election to be more like 1999 than any other year.

We may well exceed that year's turnout of just 26%, and yet still have a historic low. That's because the list of "active" voters has been drastically culled this year.

So the bigger comparison will be found in the total votes. Will we exceed 52,000 votes... and if so, by how much?

ELECTION RESULTS

2007-05-01T19:00:00.000-06:00

Looking for the up-to-the-minute vote tallies for the 2007 Denver municipal election?

Visit the official site for Denver Elections online.

And then come back tomorrow and following days for more ongoing analysis and news regarding the runoff elections in Council Districts 3, 7, and 8.

Who got the money in 2007?

2007-05-01T17:36:00.000-06:00

A few observations on the campaign finances in the 2007 Denver municipal elections.

First, our expectation that people give money to ensure a victory by their candidate just doesn't add up. Look at the below fundraising numbers put up by Mayor John Hickenlooper. Why are people giving in droves to a man who is cruising to victory? Why do his finances skyrocket at the end, with no serious race in sight? Because they want power and access, and for that, nothing's better than a sure winner for the top post in city government.

Then there's the matter of incumbents. In addition to their war chests, they can raise money quickly. Look at the sharply increasing figures for Councilwoman Carol Boigon, who raised nearly $100,000 in just four months:

Then there are the open seats. Here the candidates in Council District 7 (Nevitt, Watters, and Connor) clearly outpaced the field.

Finally, we look at the challengers. How hard is to raise money against an incumbent? Only one breached the $10k barrier.

If donors were largely ideological, new challengers willing to instantiate ideas would gain the most money. But what donors really want is access. So you give money where it's sure to do some good, to those people who are sure to get re-elected. See the below averages for City Council fundraising by incumbents, open seat candidates, and challengers.

Oh yes, and then you bemoan what a terribly boring election we're having. Why haven't we heard any new ideas?

Be a dear and pass another hors d'ourve, won't you?

LAST DAY TO VOTE

2007-05-01T17:30:00.000-06:00

Get 'em in to the Election Commission today! Whatever you do, don't mail them in today! They won't count. You must drop them off.

Hours are extended today from 7am to 7pm at all of the below sites.

* Athmar Recreation Center, 2680 W. Mexico Ave. Barnum Recreation Center, 360 Hooker St.
* District 3 Police Station, 1625 S. University Blvd.
* Eisenhower Recreation Center, 4300 E. Dartmouth Ave.
* Harvey Park Recreation Center, 2120 S. Tennyson St.
* Montbello Recreation Center, 15555 E. 53rd Ave.
* Montclair Recreation Center, 729 Ulster Way
* New Hope Baptist Church, 3701 Colorado Boulevard *New*
* Scheitler Recreation Center, 5031 W. 46th Ave.
* Tattered Cover Bookstore, 1628 16th St.
* Tattered Cover Bookstore, 2626 E. Colfax Ave.
* Wellington Webb Municipal Office Building, 201 W. Colfax Ave.

There is also curbside drop-off at Denver Election Commission headquarters on Court Place between Colfax Ave. and 14th St.

Gulchie Awards announced

2007-05-01T11:44:00.000-06:00

Coyote Gulch has announced the 2007 Gulchie awards, recognizing candidates in the Denver municipal elections who have best employed the Internet in their campaigns.

The winners were:

Mayor - John Hickenlooper
Auditor - Dennis Gallagher
Clerk and Recorder - Jacob Werther
Council District 1 - Rick Garcia
Council District 2 - Jeanne Faatz
Council District 3 - Paul Lopez
Council District 4 - Peggy Lehman
Council District 5 - Mitchell Poindexter
Council District 7 - Chris Nevitt
Council District 8 - Darrell Watson
Council District 9 - Judy Montero
Council District 10 - Jeanne Robb
Council District 11 - Michael Hancock
Council At-Large - Carol Boigon

We want to give special recognition to Judy Montero for her weblog, Carla Madison for the video of the Raging Grannies, Greg Rasheed for his video introduction, Mark Roggeman for design and Carol Campbell for the print a sign application.

Who is voting?

2007-05-01T10:39:00.000-06:00

The numbers of votes begin to come in. So, who's voting and who's not?

In District 7, a total of 5077 votes have been counted. Though they were just trickling in during the middle of the month, they're now coming in a flood.

In the first two days after ballots were sent, the Electoral Commission received an average of 418 votes per day. The subsequent week, the numbers dipped to just 246 per day. But during the last four days, they began to peak again, reach 555 per day.

Of course, there are disparate records in the different neighborhoods. Whereas neighborhoods like Overland, Speer, and Athmar Park are voting at less than 4%, Platt Park and West Wash Park are hovering around 20%.

For fun, I mashed these numbers against Piton data to find patterns. Details such as the number of persons per household, percentage of elderly, percentage of persons in poverty, percentage of owner-occupied homes, and crime rate were all very bad predictors of these voting percentages.

What did correlate well? Average household income. The chart below shows the average income in blue and voting rates in red:

What does this tell us? Simply that the richer they are, they more they're voting. In fact, if you wanted to get really cynical, you'd wonder whether poor folks are being disenfranchised by the process.

It may not be much of a newsflash, but it's certainly important. Rich folks are deciding the fate of our government, to detriment of the less fortunate.

God bless America.

Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post don't do the job

2007-05-01T03:18:00.000-06:00

I was sorely disappointed in the Denver Newspaper Agency this weekend.

Does anyone else think that the Denver Post and/or Rocky Mountain News should have provided a brief overview of all the candidates in today's municipal elections?

I realize that there are 30 candidates for public office. But really - is it less important than providing scrupulously-researched and thoughtful reviews of the 66 teams in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, as offered each year?

Then they complain that this election is boring. Gimme a break.

Nice job, media. Thanks for illuminating the very real (and pressing) concerns of city candidates and voters.

Hick's polysyllabic vocabulary

2007-05-01T00:23:00.000-06:00

Dear Denver continues in its line of amusing video creations, this time endorsing Mayor Hickenlooper while simultaneously poking fun at his erudite lexicon... that is, those big "25-cent words" my granpappy used to hate.

For the full article and video, visit "Polysyllabic Hick deserves re-election."

Goodbye, greenhorn

2007-04-30T23:52:00.000-06:00

I'm making a list this evening about entitled "Top Ten Ways to Ruin Your Political Prospects." The list isn't complete yet, but it includes oldies-but-goodies like:

10) Nevermind niceties like personal grooming.
9) Greet voters by kissing hands and shaking babies
8) Use your prison cell as campaign headquarters
... et cetera

More to the point of this post is the decision by Clerk and Recorder candidate Jacob Werther to end his political career before it started. Because if there's one way to ruin your own political prospects, it's to expose your own supporters to public ridicule.

For some reason, Werther has released to Colorado Confidential a personal phone message recently left on his answering service by Councilwoman Kathleen MacKenzie. In it, MacKenzie apologizes for not being able to support Werther publicly, since she had previously pledged to support candidate Stephanie O'Malley.

Read the entire article in Mark Mehringer's "Apology Regarding Endorsement Leads to Hurt Feelings in Denver Clerk Race."

There's no serious harm in the release, aside from hurt feelings, but it certainly reveals a lack of both awareness and sensibility about basic political matters.

So in a last homage to Mr Werther before his drubbing at the polls is announced, we offer this thought from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

"The best way to have a friend is to be a friend."

O'Malley pledges to do better

2007-04-30T03:13:00.000-06:00

The backlog at the Clerk & Recorder's office has gotten a good deal of press lately. Today's Rocky Mountain News reports that appointed chief Stephanie O'Malley has fallen even further behind in the last few months, but is now taking steps to rectify the situation. Read the full article by Sara Burnett entitled "Clerk and recorder's office dives into big backlog of foreclosures."

Gerald Styron's weird candidacy

2007-04-29T11:29:00.000-06:00

Opposing Rick Garcia in Council District 1 is Gerald Styron. Although he failed to gather the required 100 signatures, he continues to mount a write-in campaign.

Westword's Amy Haimerl had an interesting confrontation with the man last week. His parting question was "What do I have to do to get your attention? Bring a gun?”

While the difficulty of political challengers garnering media attention in Denver is a very real one, Mr Styron's candidacy is a bit more loony than the norm. Through a personal media outlet he calls "Dragon Radio," he speaks directly to the masses.

Check out especially his tirade against public officials, irritation over barking dogs, and remarks before City Council.

The full discussion and more campaign materials are available at Westword's "Happiness is a Warm Gun When You're Running for City Council."

ProgressNow supports 1A

2007-04-29T11:18:00.000-06:00

Michael Huttner of Progress Now urges support for ballot initiative 1A.

We need experienced district attorneys to prosecute criminals and protect the public. Question 1A will allow the Denver District Attorney to serve three terms, the same as all other Denver elected officials.

Question 1A is supported by Governor Bill Ritter, the Denver Bar Association, the Denver Firefighters, the Denver Police Protective Association, leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties, and thousands of your friends and neighbors.

"The Denver Bar Association supports Denver measure 1A, which will make the term limits for the Denver district attorney equal to the terms of other elected officials in Denver. All city officials, including the mayor, City Council members, auditor and county clerk, are allowed to seek three consecutive terms in office. Measure 1A would extend this provision to the district attorney, a position currently limited to two terms.

The job of district attorney is incredibly important to the safety of citizens, and is a job that requires expertise and knowledge. Allowing district attorneys the opportunity to serve three terms in office will promote justice and continuity in the prosecution of crimes in Denver. We urge voters to consider a "yes" vote on 1A."
-Paul H. Chan, President, Denver Bar Association

“As Denver's District Attorney for over a decade, I know that more experience leads to a more effective prosecutor. The people of Denver will benefit by allowing the district attorney the opportunity to seek three terms in office, like other elected officials in Denver. I am proud to join law enforcement leaders in supporting 1A.”
-Governor Bill Ritter

A partial list of Question 1A supporters:
Governor Bill Ritter
Speaker Andrew Romanoff
Representative Joel Judd
Senator Chris Romer
Representative Alice Borodkin
Representative Jerry Frangas
Representative Mike Cerbo
Councilman Michael Hancock
Auditor Dennis Gallagher
Denver Police Latino Organization
Former State Republican Party Chair Bruce Benson
Former State Senator Penfield Tate
Former State Senator Paul Sandoval
Josh Hanfling
David McReynolds

Please visit http://fairtermlimits.com for more information.

DIffering interpretations of Hick's relative popularity

2007-04-28T14:05:00.000-06:00

Stuart Steers of the Rocky Mountain News writes "Despite slips, Hick feels the love."

However, the real meat of the article is in the subtitle, which provides historical comparison: "Easy re-election was never in cards for Peña, Webb."

There are differing explanations for the Hickenlooper phenomenon, ranging from the mayor's boyish charisma to his history as a downtown businessman who is comfortable with Denver's corporate elite.

By contrast, both Peña and Webb were seen as outsiders who were committed to opening up City Hall to people who had been excluded - including women, Hispanics, blacks, and gays. Peña was Denver's first Hispanic mayor, and Webb was the city's first black mayor. Barnes-Gelt thinks that partly explains Hickenlooper's success...

Webb has said he believes minority mayors receive far more criticism than their Anglo counterparts.

"Both Mayor Peña and myself took arrows for being firsts," said Webb. "If you go up to City Hall and look at the picture of mayors, there are only two that are different. John is the 39th or 40th white man."...

Peña disagrees with those who attribute part of Hickenlooper's success to race. Peña says his narrow re-election in 1987 was largely because the local economy imploded during the mid-'80s oil bust.

"In 1987, any mayor would have received complaints regardless of ethnicity or race," said Peña.

Denver's largely white electorate gave him two terms and Wellington Webb three terms, Peña pointed out.

"The people of Denver have been very supportive of individuals regardless of ethnic background," he said...

Hickenlooper doesn't dispute that his background as the owner of several of downtown's most successful restaurants helped give him a network of well-connected supporters. But he was visibly annoyed at the suggestion he is part of a "white boys club."

"I think that characterization is unfair," he said. "We are as trusted and have as positive a relationship in Latino and African-American communities as we do in Anglo communities."

Where are all the ballots?

2007-04-28T13:39:00.000-06:00

Turnout remains light for the 2007 Denver municipal election. Mark Mehringer of Colorado Confidential reports that with 2 business days left to vote, only 55,820 official ballots have been received.

29.5% of active voters (or 15.4% of the total voter registration list) have fulfilled their civic duty. Where are the rest of you?

Full details available online at "29.5% of Denver Ballots Returned So Far."

Please don't mail your ballot, because they must be RECEIVED by 7 pm on Tuesday.

Dropoff locations and hours can be found at the Election Commission website.

Fighting for civility in Denver City Council

2007-04-28T11:06:00.000-06:00

Dear Denver has created another wonderful video montage of the soon-to-end feud between Council members Brown and MacKenzie.

The assembled quotes were taken from Council deliberations over the course of two weeks in March 2007. The concern arose from a number of situations when members of the public were berated, disdained, and talked down to. Councilwoman MacKenzie's stand on behalf of legislative civility was both long overdue and much appreciated.

Enjoy the video entitled "Diminution of Civility."

A scorecard for Hickenlooper's promises

2007-04-27T21:26:00.000-06:00

Daniel Chacon of the Rocky Mountain News offers a rare and balanced profile of Denver's most overcovered campaign: that of Mayor John Hickenlooper. The article entitled Hickenlooper: Success, unfinished business is excerpted below:

The mayor, who faces nominal opposition in his re-election bid Tuesday, has made myriad commitments in the last four years. For the most part, he's done what he set out to do, but other promises still need more work...

In other big cities, crime is up. But not in Denver, which saw a 10 percent drop in 2006 after the city invested $22 million in safety-related technology and hired a consultant who believes — in a nutshell — that fixing "Broken Windows" and other signs of lawlessness leads to safer neighborhoods...

He's visited nearly every public school, telling wide-eyed Denver children that college translates into $1 million more in earnings over the course of their lifetimes.

The city is also going "green," encouraging energy conservation and recycling, and the mayor, a geologist, is leading the way by driving a hybrid Ford.

His 10-year plan to end homelessness has helped hundreds of people find shelter and services...

However, several of the mayor's initiatives haven't been so successful. Some of his highly-publicized promises to reform city government have yet to be realized...

Andrew Wallach, a senior aide to each of Denver's past three mayors, including Hickenlooper, said Hickenlooper hasn't fulfilled a promise to find ways to track the performance of city agencies...

Wallach ran the office of accountability and reform for Hickenlooper for eight months. He says the mayor backed off major reform after running into opposition from the bureaucracy...

Hickenlooper promised that Blueprint Denver, the city's land-use and transportation plan, would be a guiding vision in the preservation and revitalization of the city's neighborhoods. But some elected officials and residents say the plan offers no incentives for investment in "areas of change" and that development in "areas of stability" is ruining neighborhood character...

Hickenlooper advocates transparency in government, but he refused to identify the person who offered to donate $150,000 to support gang prosecutions...

Parents of former Cole Middle School students say the mayor promised "full college tuition" to every 2003-04 Cole student who graduated from high school. But the mayor says he promised that money wouldn't be a barrier for them to attend college, and the city would help cover the "gap" between tuition and other scholarships and financial aid won by the student.

Predictions found in Westword comics

2007-04-27T07:25:00.000-06:00

Westword's Kenny Be has weighed in on the upcoming election, playing on themes of boredom and silliness.

Prospective winners are indicated for all offices, included contested races as Council District 3 (Kathy Sandoval, Paul Lopez), Council District 7 (Shelly Watters, Julie Connor), and Council District 8 (Carla Madison, Darrell Watson).

Then there's the fun made of challengers Waldo Benevidez, Niccolo Casewit, and RJ Ours.

It seems to be all in good fun... and anything that helps to alert folks to the election is a good thing. View the original comic with all its caricatures at Westword's "Worst Case Scenario."

Hickenlooper seeks universal access to cable

2007-04-26T15:47:00.000-06:00

An article in Florida's Palm Beach Post quoted Denver's Mayor John Hickenlooper regarding telecommunications access for the masses. The excerpt below is from "Phone cable plan touted as boon, feared as bias":

In Colorado, Qwest Communications lost its fight in the legislature to get one statewide permit to sell cable, in large part because it wouldn't agree to build its fiber-optic cable everywhere.

"It's going to be as important as the telephone," Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said. "Would we let a telephone company not build out to certain parts of the city?"

Channel 9 mayoral profiles

2007-04-26T15:39:00.000-06:00

Adam Schrager of Channel 9 News boldly offers a profile of one of the the least competitive races in Denver: "A Look at Denver’s Mayoral Candidates."

Mayor John Hickenlooper's profile aired on April 24th at 4 pm ; challenger Danny Lopez's profile aired on April 25th. Both are presented as a single article online, as excerpted below:

John Hickenlooper

...Hickenlooper came from a career running restaurants to win a resounding victory in June 2003. He promised better relations with the city of Aurora and with the state of Colorado and by all accounts, has delivered. However, his biggest campaign pledge was to do business differently; to treat Denver city government as a business.

He sees this re-election campaign as a referendum on whether Denver voters think he's come through on his goals...

Despite significant popular support (poll results show his approval ratings in the 70 percent range), his administration has made decisions that have been challenged. He entered office with a budget deficit and vowed not to cut city services to balance it. His decision to put all city workers on unpaid leave for three days left numerous employees angry. Plus, the fact the city was crippled for a period of time during last winter's blizzard opened Hickenlooper's administration to criticism that he was out of touch.

He says he hopes Denver residents realize his administration may not have been perfect, but it worked as hard as possible to create a better, more accountable city...

Danny Lopez

Danny Lopez realizes the odds he's facing taking on incumbent John Hickenlooper, but the Public Works employee is drawing inspiration from the smallest Denver Nugget as he seeks to make history.

"I'm out there to give voters an alternative choice to Mayor Hickenlooper," said Lopez. "If there are people out there not satisfied with the job he's done, they at least have an alternative choice. If Allen Iverson is the 'Answer,' Danny Lopez is the 'Alternative.'"...

"I think there are some poor neighborhoods this administration has forgotten," Lopez said. "The city workers are clearly forgotten. Forty percent of the workforce hasn't seen a raise in four years."

Lopez is not one of that 40 percent, but believes it is his responsibility to stand up for those who don't feel capable of standing up for themselves...

The self-described underdog wants to be known as the "Alternative" and if he proves successful, he says his victory will be remembered as Denver's "great miracle."

What your city officials USED to say

2007-04-25T18:00:00.000-06:00

The exercise with Mr Werther got me to wondering what our city officials' websites looked like way back, even before they were elected. And by extension, how do they compare to their official actions?

Using a wonderful resources called the Wayback Machine, I perused the old websites. One limitation is that certain graphics may not load and links may be broken, but you can still navigate (guessing at what the missing images may have shown) and see what they had to say about themselves.

I invite you to peruse Denver's election facades as they looked in April 2003.

John Hickenlooper
Dennis Gallagher
Rick Garcia
Jeanne Faatz
Rosemary Rodriguez
Peggy Lehmann
Marcia Johnson
Kathleen MacKenzie
Elbra Wedgeworth
Judy Montero
Jeanne Robb
Michael Hancock
Carol Boigon

Did you notice anything different or strange? Comments, ideas, and critiques of "how they were then" appreciated.

Soporific Rick

2007-04-25T15:35:00.000-06:00

Dear Denver has compiled an amusing little video on Councilman Rick Garcia and his excessive, um... speech disfluencies.

Voting for bicycles

2007-04-25T15:18:00.000-06:00

Everyone votes what they know, what they want, and what they fear (or some mix thereof). Today, ColeNeighborhoood.com touches on the issue of bicycles in the city of Denver, and how that impinges upon the Council District 8 election as well the future of his neighborhood.

In "A Cyclist For City Council District 8," he writes: "I believe the bicycle can solve many of today's problems":

Childhood obesity? Get kids on their bikes. Adult obesity? How about cycling as a low-impact, fun and healthy adult activity? Concerned about traffic? Get more people on bikes for commuting. Dependence on foreign oil? Pollution? Ditto. Even the issue of gangs and keeping youth out of trouble has some relevance to cycling--Supposedly Fred Rodriguez, one of the top American competitive cyclists, credits the bicycle for keeping him from heading down the path of destruction that many of his friends did, growing up in urban Los Angeles.

Denver is a relatively bicycle-friendly city thanks to efforts by Bicycle Colorado, Bike Denver, and other advocacy organizations, but the bicycle needs to be taken into consideration in any urban planning to be done in North Denver, too.

Werther's expanding Web presence

2007-04-24T15:19:00.000-06:00

Today I came across another first in the May 2007 municipal elections: a candidate buying weblinks.

Perusing the Rocky Mountain News, I saw the following sponsored links at the bottom:

I clicked on his site and found a greatly-improved Web presence, including the heroic flag pose and lots of white space.

I remembered his old site to be bland and blue, disorganized and rambling. It appears he is taking the race a lot more seriously now, as O'Malley has begun to stumble.

For fun, I went to recover the information from old Internet sites, but all I came up with was this: Werther's web presences from roughly 2002-2005:

In any event, I thought the paid weblink was novel and the history of his site renovations at least mildly interesting. Enjoy!

Video Interview: Paul Lopez (CD3)

2007-04-24T14:02:00.000-06:00

Colorado Confidential's Mark Mehringer recently interviewed Paul Lopez, candidate for City Council representing Council District 3.

Born and raised in West Denver, Lopez discussed a community activism inherited from his mother, a bilingual kindergarten teacher.

Lopez mentioned graffiti & crime as the #1 issue in District 3. For solutions, he suggests better libraries, rec centers, and schools, as well as stiff penalties.

His #2 issue was business revitalization. Improving city services, road developments along Federal Boulevard, and flower-filled parks were among the suggestions (he later indicates that District 3 has less park space than any other district in the city). He expressed frustration with the adult bookstores, liquor stores, and check cashing places that dominate the area.

As for education, he notes that the city does have responsibility for student opportunities outside of school hours. Transit-oriented development is discussed as relates to property values, business planning, and FasTracks in general.

The most interesting question referenced Paul's age. He calls his youth a benefit, reflecting new leadership and understanding of new challenges.

Unique city government needs in Council District 3

2007-04-24T13:52:00.000-06:00

Stuart Steers of the Rocky Mountain News offered a lengthy look into the Council District 3 race that focused on the people and the issues as much as the candidates, providing a window into a world that most Denver voters don't even know exists.

A casual visitor to west Denver might wonder if he was still in the Mile High City.

Deserted homes lost to foreclosure seem to dot every other block. Graffiti is splashed over garage doors and on fences. Cars are parked on front lawns and a few houses even have boarded- up windows.

Former City Councilwoman Rosemary Rodriguez sees the area as "on the brink. It could stay the way it is, slide backwards, or really become vital."

What frustrates Rodriguez is that west Denver has real advantages that should make it appealing: easy access to downtown, affordable single-family homes, and some of the best Mexican and Asian food in the city.

Because the district is 72% Hispanic, it represents an awful lot of folks either unfamiliar with or excluded from the process of Denver city government. Rodriguez quoted a most shocking statistic, indicating that "Half the district is ineligible to vote because of citizenship status or age."

Each candidate for City Council in District 3 is then briefly profiled. A good paragraph is all that the crowded, 7-person field can be spared.

We invite you to read their comments directly in the article entitled "Denver's West Side Home of Frustration."

Cole Neighborhood blog urges you to vote for...

2007-04-24T13:39:00.000-06:00

The ostensible goal of Cole Neighborhood blog's "Get Your Denver Election Ballots In!" is to increase participation:

It's shocking to me how little action some residents take in improving their neighborhood - whether it be participating in their neighborhood association meetings, volunteering, getting involved with neighborhood safety, or even more basically, VOTING.

The author ties this lack of involvement to the endemic difficulty of getting Denverites to participate in any form of local government:

One couple is never short on complaints about Cole--Whether it be the crime problem, the trash problem, the condition of their neighbor's home, etc.--Yet despite numerous efforts on my part to get them involved in the neighborhood, it has been somewhat like keeping a candle lit in a gusty windstorm.

Similarly, we've had neighborhood meetings as large as 45 people, but inevitably, the next one shrinks back down to the same 4 or 5 involved residents. How do these people expect things to change in Cole? It takes a few, committed individuals, some luck, and some momentum. But it starts by getting involved, rather than just complaining.

Yet to us, the more interesting part comes when the unnamed blogger BigSprinter offered endorsements. In addition to John Hickenlooper, the site endorses Dennis Gallagher and Stephanie O'Malley for somewhat facile reasons (e.g., "because the Denver Post endorses them, and for reasons that make sense to me.").

More substantive remarks are directed at the candidacies of Doug Linkhart and Carol Campbell:

Doug Linkhart seems dissatisfied in both Mr. Hickenlooper's and outgoing Councilmember Elbra Wedgeworth's track record in tackling the many issues North Denver metro neighborhoods face. Additionally, he seems sincerely interested in "filling in" and redeveloping the blighted "horseshoe" that still rings the redeveloped downtown to the north (and of which Cole belongs). Similarly, he shares my belief that the North Denver neighborhoods like Cole, Whittier, and Curtis Park at this point have enough homeless, drug and alcohol-related shelters--It's time for Highlands, and some of the other urban Denver 'hoods to do their part and host some of these important facilities.

Carol Campbell similarly seems ready to tackle head-on the crime and disorder issues that plaque urban Denver. I applaud her for consistently not skirting the issues, or candy-coating her opinions. For example, she's not afraid to speak out about the dim-witted Denver tradition of spending police dollars every year to facilitate Cinco de Mayo cruising. Is she being racist in speaking out about it? Come on, people. I don't care if they're Starbucks-drinking yuppies blasting Yanni in their 3-series BMW's, cruising is a big problem, that adversely affects residents and businesses along the Federal corridor. I lived over there, and know first-hand. So, because Carol Campbell is a straight-shooter that has the interests of responsible, law-abiding urban Denver residents in mind, she gets my vote.

Finally, the site endorses Carla Madison in Council District 8. The explanation was negative insofar as BigSprinter was troubled by the candidacies of Darrell Watson, Greg Rasheed, and Sharon Bailey, for some well-considered reasons.

Which brings us to Carla. Why do I like Carla? One, she isn't a good public speaker. I know, you're probably laughing now, but while I wish she'd practice her public speaking skills a bit more so more people would embrace her, I feel that what you see is what you get with her--And that makes all the difference too me.

She also supports Broken Windows, stimulating redevelopment while maintaining the historical and architectural character of the neighborhood, and she has consistently attended neighborhood and Cole-Whittier Against Crime meetings (not just the one where all the candidates were in attendance to give their sales pitch). Not to mention that she has a strong track-record at the neighborhood level as president and involved member of her City Park neighborhood association.

Whomever you pick, VOTE! And the bottom line is realistically that any of the above candidates will be an improvement over Elbra Wedgeworth, who checked out years ago.

Video Interview: Kathy Sandoval (CD3)

2007-04-24T12:42:00.000-06:00

Colorado Confidential's Mark Mehringer recently interviewed Kathy Sandoval, candidate for City Council in Council District 3.

After brief remarks about her background in local schools and city planning work, the discussion turned to neighborhood interest in the new light rail system to District 3. Sandoval demonstrates a strong understanding of balancing development opportunities and community needs.

Transportation then gave way to a discussion of foreclosures, which leads to further concerns about graffiti, crime, and property values in general. Sandoval foresees solutions through housing non-profits, land banking, and effective targeting of resources to District 3.

Sandoval directed a question about education toward city-school partnerships, and the nexus between educational performance and neighborhood communities.

More information available in the 12-minute discussion.

Video Interview: Doug Linkhart (At-Large)

2007-04-24T12:18:00.000-06:00

Colorado Confidential's Kerri Rebresh interviews Doug Linkhart, candidate for one of the two City Council At-Large seats.

Linkhart discusses his background in the federal government, state government, neighborhood associations, and city council.

Overall philosophy is "investing in people." He speaks to mundane issues like expanded after-school opportunities and public safety initiatives in ways that reference the real lives of Denver citizens.

With the exceedingly-meager "safety net" offered by state funds, the work done on the city level becomes ever more obvious. Linkhart tries to save money wherever possible, including the great hope that Denver's new jail would never have to be built. His remarks focus on the effects of substance abuse in Denver, which are particularly prevalent in our city.

This is another terribly impressive interview, and recommended for others to review.

Video Interview: Carol Boigon (At-Large)

2007-04-24T11:38:00.000-06:00

Colorado Confidential continues its video interviews with candidates, as Kerri Rebresh interviews Carol Boigon, candidate for City Council At-Large candidate Carol Boigon.

Boigon's biographical story is especially interesting, ranging from her Detroit origins, teaching background, reportorial work, and then service to Governor Roemer, presidential candidate Bill Clinton, and Mayor Wellington Webb.

She highlights her work in allowing neighborhood daycare facilities and supporting the new Denver preschool initiative.

Boigon's primary concern is making Denver better for children and families. She provides a compelling discussion of safety, culture, and education, and how they provide the central foundation of a strong city.

She also discusses in hard detail the development of Colfax, referencing both the process that led to the new Tattered Cover and the plans to use Main Street zoning on behalf of Districts 1, 3, 5, and 7.

In my personal opinion, this is one of the most impressive interviews of all the city electoral candidates. I recommend it to others.

Got ballot?

2007-04-24T11:27:00.000-06:00

If you haven't gotten a ballot yet for the May 2007 municipal elections, you still may be eligible to pick one up. Contact the Denver Election Commission, as per their news release below:

NO BALLOT? CONTACT DENVER ELECTION COMMISSION

Active Denver voters who haven’t received their ballot for by their regular mail delivery time on Wednesday, April 18, should contact the Denver Election Commission to get a replacement ballot form.

The DEC can be reached at 720-913-VOTE (8683). The office is located at 303 W. Colfax Ave. Dept 101 and will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through April 20.

Beginning Monday, April 23 through Friday, April 27, the office will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and also on Monday, April 30. The DEC will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day and replacement ballots may be requested on Election Day.

Ballots must be returned to the Commission by 7 p.m. on May 1. Ballots received after 7 p.m. will not be counted regardless of postmark.

Ballot dropoff site details

2007-04-24T11:20:00.000-06:00

The Denver Election Commission is announcing new drop-off sites for your ballot, which must be RECEIVED no later than next Monday at 7 pm. A postmarked envelope dropped in the mail next Monday afternoon will not count. More details below:

13 SITES TO BE USED AS BALLOT DROP-OFF LOCATIONS

The Denver Election Commission will have 13 sites (new site added) available for voters to drop off their ballots for the Tuesday, May 1 General Municipal Election.

Even though the May 1 Election is an all-mail ballot election, some voters prefer to place their ballots in a ballot box instead of a mailbox. The secure ballot boxes at the drop-off sites will be staffed by teams of election judges.

Since only sworn Election Judges are to receive ballots, the DEC requests that voters do not attempt to drop ballots off at these locations before or after the posted hours.

The following drop-off locations will also be available Monday, April 23 through Friday, April 27, and again on Monday, April 30 from 10 AM - 7 PM.

Athmar Recreation Center, 2680 W. Mexico Ave.
Montclair Recreation Center, 729 Ulster Way
Barnum Recreation Center, 360 Hooker St.
New Hope Baptist Church, 3701 Colorado Blvd. ***New Site
District 3 Police Station, 1625 S. University Blvd.
Scheitler Recreation Center, 5031 W. 46th Ave.
Eisenhower Recreation Center, 4300 E. Dartmouth Ave.
Tattered Cover Bookstore, 1628 16th St.
Harvey Park Recreation Center, 2120 S. Tennyson St.
Tattered Cover Bookstore, 2626 E. Colfax Ave
Montbello Recreation Center, 15555 E. 53rd Ave.
Wellington Webb Municipal Office Building, 201 W. Colfax Ave.

The DEC headquarters located at 303 W. Colfax Ave. will also be available for ballot drop-off from 8 AM - 7 PM. Monday, April 23 through Friday, April 27 and again on Monday, April 30. The DEC will also have curbside drop-off on Court Place between Colfax and 14th St. from 7 AM - 7 PM on Election Day, Tuesday, May 1.

All sites will be open from 7 AM - 7 PM on Election Day.

Ballots MUST be in NO LATER than 7PM on ELECTION DAY.

O'Malley in the hot seat

2007-04-23T19:05:00.000-06:00

At 11:09 am today, Channel 7 became the first media outlet with enough cohones to investigate allegations of impropriety by an incumbent in the Denver municipal elections.

Stephanie O'Malley hasn't been elected before, but she is the appointed Clerk & Recorder, which means we can evaluate not only her statements, but also her performance on the job.

We invite all voters to read "Foreclosures Held Up Because Of Clerk's Failure To Follow Law" and decide whether the allegations represent a serious public failing.

Below is an excerpt:

Hundreds of mortgage foreclosures worth millions of dollars are being held up because the Denver Clerk and Public Trustee failed to follow state law.

The state law requires that homeowners be notified of the foreclosure within 20 days before proceedings can move forward, and a Notice of Election and Demand must also be recorded by the Denver Public Trustee. The law is in place so that a homeowner is given time to pay any back payments and fees.

Stephanie O'Malley was appointed Clerk and Public Trustee by Mayor John Hickenlooper in January, and is running for election as the permanent Denver Clerk and Recorder, which would make her responsible for fixing the city's troubled elections.

When O'Malley took the job of Clerk and Public Trustee, she inherited a backlog of hundreds of foreclosures.

The build up may mean some Denver residents get to stay in their homes for free.

"It takes time for me as an individual to get up to speed, to understand the nature of the business around here. You know, as much as I want to sit here and claim I've been a clerk and recorder before or a deputy public trustee, I have not," O'Malley said.

...There have now been almost 1,000 foreclosures withdrawn.

O'Malley's critics question her ability to run elections in light of the problems with the foreclosure issue, but she said she can do the job if she has enough people and resources to make it work.

Update 4/23: Dear Denver has offered a longer view of failures in the Clerk & Recorders office, trailing back to Rosemary Rodriguez's tenure in that office. She also notes that if all of these appointed leaders are failing, perhaps those placing them in the office (namely, John Hickenlooper over the last 4 years) are also failing us.

Gallagher's spaghetti remarks

2007-04-23T16:35:00.000-06:00

Denver Direct has videotaped the Denver Democrats spaghetti dinner, and offers the following vignette of Dennis Gallagher on the campaign trail, complete with glad-handling, puffery, and jokes in Latin.

POLL: City Council District 7

2007-04-21T17:53:00.000-06:00

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Official Disclaimer: Internet polls are NOT scientific and anyone who suggests otherwise is a fool.

What's at stake in the Clerk & Recorder election

2007-04-21T17:45:00.000-06:00

Rocky Mountain News reporter Daniel Chacon has offered an excellent, balanced review of the current Clerk & Recorder race.

The post not only provides biographical details about the candidates, but actually discusses the real issues behind the race itself and plans to implement once the election is decided.

I highly recommend review of the article, entitled "Two vie for clerk and recorder post: Candidates' views differ on precincts vs. vote centers."

Historic hangar left hanging

2007-04-21T17:27:00.000-06:00

On behalf of Lowry rsidentcs, Dino Maniatis sent a letter to Councilwoman Marcia Johnson expressing frustration over the desired preservation of historic Hangar #2. The Cherry Creek News recently published the correspondence as "A Letter from Lowry," as excerpted below:

Most of your constituents I have spoken to overwhelmingly oppose the demolition of Hangar 2, regardless of the reason. A fraction of those are uninformed or indifferent, and even fewer than that support such a proposal at all...

We are writing to you not just as residents of Lowry and citizens of Denver, but as stewards of our community. The planning of Lowry did not and does not include the convenient disposal of what is considered the architectural cornerstone of this community. These hangars represent more than just heritage and history. They serve to remind us all of the remarkable efforts and sacrifices of many great Americans. It would be a very grave error indeed should we find ourselves incapable of safeguarding a legacy that helps define the meaning of the word, American.

Imagining Hickenlooper's second term

2007-04-21T17:09:00.000-06:00

When everyone is ac-centuating the positive, it's especially important to inject a dose of reality into the discussion. That's just what the Cherry Creek News did yesterday in an article entitled "Sending Hickenlooper Back."

Rising above a bland retelling of Mayor John Hickenlooper's fan base, the News investigates some of the soft spots in his strength. They especially note the departure of senior staffers such as Michael Bennet and Cole Finegan, which has left City Council members and others "uncertain as to who to go to on given issues."

The article also discusses serious shortfalls in the current administration:

In three substantial policy areas, Hickenlooper has disappointed: economic development, health care, and community planning. In economic development, the city and region continue to lose headquarter companies, and long term that impact will hurt everything from wages to philanthropy. In building small businesses and attracting start-ups, the cover remains relatively bare. The city desperately needs to pioneer new economic development strategies that go beyond the tired patterns of the past. In health care, Denver’s number of uninsured continues to grow. Hospital beds, trauma care and basic health services continue to leave the city, leaving a crisis for the future. The glacial pace of a zoning update that would protect neighborhoods, and effectively balance scrape-offs with the need for new investment and housing stock has been disastrous. Many neighborhoods are changed forever, and much of the city’s historic character and livability are at risk. Replacing hundred year-old homes with disposable development that won’t last more than thirty years makes today’s bad decisions a painful legacy for future generations.

Video Interview: Shelly Watters (CD7)

2007-04-21T17:02:00.000-06:00

Colorado Confidential's Kerri Rebrush interviewed Shelly Watters, City Council candidate for Council District 7.

Watters speaks to her personal background and work with former City Council Councilwoman Joyce Foster and current Councilwoman Carol Boigon.

She speaks to her knowledge of zoning and constituent services, and discusses the fun of running for City Council.

As for the locus of her support, she indicates that she is the only candidate who served on a neighborhood board.

Her top issues are safety and graffiti. She indicates that the rebuilding of higher-density homes is a real issue on the east side of Council District 7 (in contrast, Julie Connor and Chris Nevitt see that as an issue on the west side of the district).

She goes on to talk about the public schools and the impact of city government on the daily lives of citizens.

She pledges to locate her Council office in the district itself, instead of downtown at the City & Council Building, as well as meet regularly with the presidents of registered neighborhood organizations.

Deactivated voters in a sonorous campaign

2007-04-21T16:52:00.000-06:00

Guerin Lee Green of the Cherry Creek News provides a good overview of the controversy and fallout of the Election COmmission's decision to decommission Denver's active voter list in "One hundred thousand voters disenfranchised for May election." An excerpt is provided below:

“With more than 20,000 voters leaving the polls in Denver on November 7th, 2006, the Denver Election Commission’s decision to not mail ballots to the additional 50,000 voters who voted in 2004 is adding insult to injury,” said Rich Pelletier, Colorado State Director for America Votes. “It is all of our sincere hope that the DEC will reverse its decision and not multiply the awful effects of the 2006 election here in Denver.”

...Denver Election Commission spokesman Alton Dillard says the Election Commission has ordered four hundred thousand ballots, enough for all of the “inactive” voters. Voters in Denver unsure of their status can call the Election Commission at 720-913-8683 to reactivate or confirm their status.

What the city should call foreigners who aren't allowed to work in the US

2007-04-21T16:40:00.000-06:00

A "Tempest in a Teapot" has arisen over the correct phrasing of "undocumented workers" or "illegal aliens," as reported by Dear Denver.

Councilwoman Judy Montero initiated the conversation in a 1-minute segment of a recent City Council meeting.

Meanwhile, Mayor John Hickenlooper denies any official city policy regarding the matter.

Update 4/24: The persnickety George in Denver is outraged by the comments. See his post entitled "Judy Montero - Patronized and Pandered" for his seething anger.

Don't let the dogs in

2007-04-21T16:23:00.000-06:00

In an article entitled "An Election? What Election? Oh, You Mean the Developers Dream Team!" George in Denver echoes other discussions of Denver's boring elections. But he offers a twist. Actually, two.

First, as the title indicates, George recognizes that in the absence of public interest, special interests will rule. And who are foremost among those special interests? Developers.

Second, George decides to do something about it. Rather than vote at all, he decides to cast his ballot for his dog.

Will that scare the special interests? I doubt it. I'd rather investigate the candidates, participate in the public process, and vote.

Don't leave city government to the dogs.

Video Interview: Greg Rasheed (CD8)

2007-04-21T16:08:00.000-06:00

Colorado Confidential's Mark Mehringer interviewed Greg Rasheed, City Council candidate in Council District 8.

The YouTube servers were having trouble with these videos at press time, so the URL is presented here without comment.

Video Interview: Carla Madison (CD8)

2007-04-21T16:05:00.000-06:00

Colorado Confidential's Mark Mehringer interviewed Carla Madison, City Council candidate in Council District 8.

She discusses her background in physical therapy and discusses some of the most important issues to her, including zoning, affordable housing, and neighborhood preservation.

Youth was another major focus, including public schools and gangs.

A new question also popped up in this interview: "what is it like to be a candidate?" Madison speaks of the roller coaster experience, with great highs such as the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News endorsements.

Later questions went to business needs, vacancy rates, and the like.

Video Interview: Darrell Watson (CD8)

2007-04-21T15:50:00.000-06:00

Colorado Confidential's Mark Mehringer interviews Darrell Watson, City Council candidate in Council District 8.

Unlike other interviews, Watson cleverly sat himself in front of a projected image of his campaign advertisement. The camera isn't well placed, however, placing Watson on the extreme right of the screen and washing out his visage.

To more substantive points, Watson begins with biographical details, including his large family and upbringing in the Virgin Islands. He discusses educational concerns, partnerships with private foundations, and community policing.

He also discusses zoning as a long-term planning tool, ensuring higher density structures among major thoroughfares and opposing comprehensive overlays as negative expressions of neighborhood fears.

Profile: Stephanie O'Malley (Clerk & Recorder)

2007-04-21T15:39:00.000-06:00

We found it! For the first time, we can actually access Stephanie O'Malley's own online presence at her campaign website.

We have no idea how long it's been online, but persistent efforts to locate the same (as outlined in several previous posts) finally paid off.

You are invited to visit her site for more details on O'Malley's candidacy, but we found her biography most interesting. Why? Because she utterly failed to mention who her parents were. They were kind of important to Denver, and to her governmental appointments.

What an interesting (and yet understandable) omission.

Turnout so far... and where to vote

2007-04-21T15:36:00.000-06:00

Colorado Confidential's Mark Mehringer reports that 30,000 voters have submitted ballots in May 2007's all-mail election, representing roughly 16% of the electorate.

That percentage seems fairly healthy given the recent delivery of ballots and the weeks remaining until D-Day, but is perhaps less impressive considering the nearly 100,000 people who are no longer counted as "active" voters.

Folks who haven't yet submitted a ballot by now to get out and vote. To that end, Mehringer also offers the following public service message:

Voters have until 7pm on May 1 to get their ballots in to the Election Commission by either mailing them in at a cost of 63 cents in postage, or dropping them off at one of 14 locations across the city.

April 23-27 and April 30, 8am to 7pm
Denver Election Commission Office - 303 W. Colfax Dept. 101

April 23-27 and April 30, 10am to 7pm
Athmar Recreation Center - 2680 W. Mexico Avenue
Barnum Recreation Center - 360 Hooker Street
District 3 Police Station - 1625 S. University Boulevard
Eisenhower Recreation Center - 4300 E. Dartmouth Avenue
Harvey Park Recreation Center - 2120 S. Tennyson Street
Wellington Webb Building - 201 W. Colfax Avenue
Scheitler Recreation Center - 5031 W. 46th Avenue
Montbello Recreation Center - 15555 E. 53rd Avenue
Montclair Recreation Center - 729 Ulster Way
Tattered Cover Bookstore (Lodo) - 1628 16th Street
Tattered Cover Bookstore (Colfax) - 2526 E. Colfax Avenue

May 1, 7am to 7pm
Denver Election Commission Office - 303 W. Colfax Dept. 101
Drive Thru Ballot Drop Off - Court Place off of Colfax Ave

Election information on Channel 8 TV

2007-04-21T15:12:00.000-06:00

Channel 8 TV is patting itself on the back, calling itself "the one place where you can compare candidates, explore the issues and get all your election information."

That may be a bit self-congratulatory, but since they're not running for office, we'll let it pass.

And we do encourage you all to visit their election programming online for "candidate introductions, community-based debates, complete transcripts and Election Night results."

Take special note of the navigation bar on the right, with the full Meet The Candidate links and an ever-expanding list of community forums to watch.

You should have your ballot by now

2007-04-21T15:06:00.000-06:00

If you haven't received your ballot yet, it's time to be worried. The Denver Election commission has issued the following press release regarding ballots:

Active Denver voters who haven’t received their ballot for by their regular mail delivery time on Wednesday, April 18, should contact the Denver Election Commission to get a replacement ballot form.

The DEC can be reached at 720-913-VOTE (8683). The office is located at 303 W. Colfax Ave. Dept 101 and will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through April 20.

Beginning Monday, April 23 through Friday, April 27, the office will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and also on Monday, April 30. The DEC will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day and replacement ballots may be requested on Election Day.

Ballots must be returned to the Commission by 7 p.m. on May 1. Ballots received after 7 p.m. will not be counted regardless of postmark.

Did the Clerk & Recorder election break election laws?

2007-04-21T14:48:00.000-06:00

According to former Denver Election Commissioner Jan Tyler, Denver's January 2007 election violated Ordinance #851. It was conducted after just 30 days notice, yet the controlling ordinance requires at least 60 days notice.

Dear Denver wonders "What if, on May 1, a judge declares Denver's January special election void?"

In essence, the judge would have to decide whether the election violated city election laws. And if so, what's the remedy?

It's possible that our current Clerk & Recorder race between Stephanie O'Malley and Jacob Werther would be for a non-existent seat. We'd have to have another special election to validate the need for an elected Clerk & Recorder, and one more special election for the potential candidates for this seat. All of this would be the result not of some "mad" judge, but of the city's failure to follow its own ordinances.

What a shame. But what a question. Where do you think it'll land?

More details available from Lisa Jones in "Can An Election Be Nullified"?

Video Interview: Niccolo Casewit (CD3)

2007-04-21T14:39:00.000-06:00

Colorado Confidential's Mark Mehringer interviewed Niccolo Casewit, City Council candidate for Council District 3.

Casewit focuses on the use of Federal Boulevard as a pedestrian zone, instead of just an automotive thoroughfare. As a working architect, he believes he has special insights into zoning concerns. As a lifelong Barnum resident and graduate of the public schools, he believes he understands the special qualities of the district.

As for crime, Casewit talks at length about graffiti, illegal dumping, and gangs.

Whereas most CC interviews have ranged from 10-15 minutes, this discussion extended to nearly a half an hour. We welcome visitors to view the entire discussion.

Denver Direct posts impugning the Madison candidacy

2007-04-21T14:20:00.000-06:00

Does Denver Direct have it in for the Carla Madison campaign? A series of negative posts this week seem to run a one-note theme.

The Darrell Watson campaign has previously indicated that the author of Denver Direct supports their candidate. However, the site does not indicate open support of any other candidate, and the posts (which are listed below) provide objective data, so visitors are welcome to interpret the posts however they choose.

April 17th - "Flag This" about Madison's use of the Colorado flag into campaign materials.

April 18th - Financial hope and resignation in the City Park West Neighborhood Association, suggest improprieties in the Madison's leadership.

April 19th - "The Overlay Railroad" questioning whether Madison "implemented a 30-block overlay with 100% approval."

Update 4/24: A new post has now been added, with the author converting an informal interview after the Denver Democrat's spaghetti dinner into a series of questions and answers. While we were not there, "Why are You Being So Mean to Me?" seems to offer rather unfair characterizations of candidate Madison's statements, and thus strikes us as more attack than journalism.