Connor declines to endorse in CD7

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.

Aide to winning seats on Denver City Council

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.

Predictions found in Westword comics

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."

POLL: City Council District 7

Opinion Polls & Market Research

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

Video Interview: Julie Connor (CD7)

Colorado Confidential interviewed Julie Connor, City Council candidate for District 7.

Describing the district and her constituent services in Councilwoman Kathleen MacKenzie's office, she jokes that she is a "professional meeting-goer." As for particular accomplishments, she notes improved bicycle pathways in the Gates redevelopment and a new South Broadway business improvement district.

Perhaps the most telling question was what would change in the District 7 council office if Julie were elected. She remarked, "On Monday nights [weekly City Council meetings] I have to sit on the dias and vote. That's how things will change."

She also makes the case for focusing on city government, and how fixing potholes can expand horizons for local residents.

Denver Politics endorses... Julie Connor in District 7

What do you look for in a City Council candidate? We think four things are paramount:

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

City Council District 7 is fortunate to have several committed candidates. But in terms of the listed characteristics, one stands above the rest: Julie Connor.

Connor knows the ins and outs of city government, having worked in constituent services for outstanding representative Kathleen MacKenzie. She knows each and every major (and minor) question before our district, and she has developed the personal relationships necessary to achieve desired outcomes.

Even more importantly, she identifies with ordinary citizens, helping the advantaged and disadvantaged alike to participate in city government. As a historian, I was impressed by Connor's dedication in finding common ground in the contentious DeBoer Historic District, reconciling divergent interests so that a compromise could be reached.

And she is smart. Watch the forums, read the interviews, and talk with her. She is sharp, alert, and alive with the issues. That's the sort of person I want on City Council.

Chris Nevitt is also a great candidate, with both the "common man" viewpoint and the intelligence to carry through the work, but he has been on the fringes of public policymaking. Meanwhile, Shelly Watters has become a favored candidate, raising lots of money from development interests. But the trust of such well-heeled insiders and politicos leads to questions of access, fairness, and perspective. I want someone who will hear the rest of us: new participants and old hands, small donors and no donors, and previously-excluded as well as seasoned veterans.

Connor has been committed to public service from the Peace Corps to the present day, in wide-ranging issues facing the district in all of its complexity. For all these reasons, we enthusiastically endorse Julie Connor as our next City Councilwoman from Council District 7.

Divided Council District 7

Daniel Chacon of the Rocky Mountain News has written about the chasm between communities in City Council's District 7.

The article was entitled: "In divided District 7, there are two sides to everything: East, west zones split by wealth, development."

In some ways, [Councilwoman] MacKenzie said, District 7 is "like two different districts."

"On the east side of the river, I get constant complaints about scrape-offs and infill developments because there's so much private investment, and people want it to stop," she said.

"But on the west side of the district, they'd love to have pop tops and scrape-offs and that kind of investment that indicates that people want to stay in the community."

The candidates mainly offered platitudes about spreading the wealth, encouraging redevelopment in the western "areas of change" and supporting the eastern "areas of stability.

In terms of neighborhood character, three of the four were in agreement:

Connor, Watters and Nevitt said they support private investment but would work to preserve neighborhood character.

The fourth candidate, Dennis Smith, a teacher at South High School and the only Republican in the nonpartisan race, said the development in the east side is "a nice problem to have."

Watters was described as "supported by development interests," while "Nevitt and Connor have received campaign contributions from several labor interests" and "Smith is neither soliciting nor accepting campaign contributions."

Biographical sketches and forums below:

JULIE CONNOR
Age: 40
Occupation: Senior analyst for MacKenzie.
Family: Single, no children.
Etcetera: Speaks Spanish and served in the Peace Corps in Paraguay.

CHRIS NEVITT
Age: 45
Occupation: Political economist. Former executive director of the Front Range Economic Strategy Center.
Family: Married, no children.
Etcetera: Born in Thailand and has lived in Africa, Australia and Russia, among other places.

DENNIS SMITH:
Age: 48
Occupation: Teacher at South High School.
Family: Married, two sons, ages 12 and 8.
Etcetera: Serves on the Denver Parks and Recreation advisory board.

SHELLY WATTERS
Age: 61
Occupation: Former aide to at-large Denver City Councilwoman Carol Boigon and former Councilwoman Joyce Foster.
Family: Married, one adult daughter.
Etcetera: The New York native has lived in Denver for more than 30 years.

CD7: In-depth analysis of campaign finances - and by extension, the race itself

Money tells a lot about a candidate. In that spirit, we have analyzed the contributions in the City Council District 7 race to tell a more complete story of this highly-competitive race.

Currently, Nevitt and Watters are battling for supremacy in terms of total dollars raised:

Chris Nevitt $65,209
Shelly Watters $52,723
Julie Connor $21,800

But of course, such raw numbers tell only a small part of the story. Trends over time and changes within the donor base are also crucial. For instance, even at the beginning of the race, there was a great deal of money ($41,775 to be exact). Since then, the scale of monthly contributions has risen somewhat unevenly: Shelly Watters' contributions have diminished while Nevitt has surged and Julie Connor is increasing the pace.

Chris Nevitt has the lead in the total number of contributions, with an especially big surge in March.

But the most significant difference between the candidates is their reliance on big-ticket donors. Whereas both Julie Connor and Chris Nevitt have a roughly even split among their donor base, more than 80% of the contributors to Shelly Watters campaign have donated $250 or more.

Who are the primary donors financing this race? A small number of stalwarts are the real power behind each candidacy, giving maximum $1000 contributions. Below is a list of "maxed out" donors for each candidate:

Shelly Watters: David Kenney, Brad Buchanan, Doug McKinnon, Elaine Berman, Eric Miller, Evan Makovsky, Foster Graham Milstein & Calisher, Greg Stevinson, Harold Grueskin, Harvey Deutsch, Howard Greinetz, Jay Kamlet, Jennifer Watters, Joyce Foster, Marcia Robinson, Marilyn Schwartz, Mark Goldberg, Medical Property Holdings, Norman Brownstein, Paradise Properties, Sage Hospitality, Sheldon Steinhauser, and Sherri Way

Chris Nevitt: Audrey Nevitt, Robert Nevitt, Carpenters Union 55, Chris Mygatt, Colorado Machinists, CSCEW, Firefighters Local 858, Int'l Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Int'l Union of Painters, James Mauro Jr, Jessica Brady, Joanie Condoret, Jon Condoret, Journeyman Plumbers, Kristen Stoever, Local 720 PAC, NECA, Refrigeration & AC Assoc, Service Employees Local 105, Sheetmetal Workers, Teamsters Municipal PAC, and Transit Union Workers #1001

Julie Connor: Ajay Kapoor, Denver Police, Michael Stratton, Tom Connor, United Food & Commercial Workers

These folks can no longer give. But will they support another candidate? It appears unlikely. Although we often assume that donors give money to multiple candidates ("playing the odds," as it were), that phenomenon has been remarkably limited in this campaign. Of the 799 contributors, only 14 have (so far) given money to more than one candidate.

David Cole ($200 to both Julie & Shelly, $50 to Chris)
Sherri Way ($1000 to Shelly, $250 to Chris)
Jim Jones ($500 to Shelly, $250 to Chris)
Rich Delanoy ($350 to Shelly, $250 to Julie)
Sharon Withers ($250 to Shelly, $50 to Chris)
Charlotte Winzenburg ($200 to Chris, $50 to Julie)
Gertie Grant ($200 to Chris, $25 to Julie)
Joe Cannata ($100 to both Chris & Shelly)
Lynn Pressnall ($100 to Chris, $75 to Julie)
Jeff Leventhal ($100 to Chris, $25 to Shelly)
Brenda McHenry ($50 to Julie, $25 to Shelly)
Sheila Robinson ($50 to Chris, $40 to Shelly)
Tom Parsons ($50 to both Chris & Julie)
Charlie Busch ($50 to both Julie & Shelly)

In the end, we are left with several strong impressions:

• Chris Nevitt has a strong lead in campaign financing, not only because he has the overall margin but because he has energized a wide base of donors. He also has the most institutional support through a variety of union connections.
  
• Shelly Watters' financial backing is dominated by wealthy, business-oriented contributors in the legal and land-development communities. Her initial lead is now lost, and neither the percentage of "maxed out" donors nor the small number of ordinary contributors bodes well.
  
• Julie Connor has the highest percentage of small dollar donations and the smallest percentage of "maxed out" donors. Her finance options are therefore the most promising, with an opportunity to exploit her attractiveness to ordinary voters and/or squeeze higher dollar values from her base. But this financial gap needs to be closed for uninvolved or undecided voters to hear her message.

Virtual bull-session at ColoradoPols

The folks over at ColoradoPols.com are having an virtual bull-session about several City Council races. Among the highlights:

• Mountain Man predicts victories for Shelly Watters in CD7 and Carla Madison in CD8. Others tout Chris Nevitt and Julie Connor.
  
• Is CD8 really a "black seat"?
  
• The under-the-radar CD3 race gets some attention.
  
• Cuervo71 dreams of Charlie Brown's defeat in CD6.
  
• Mtnpublius imagines a race between Rick Garcia and Andrew Romanoff in US Congressional District 1.

Profile: Julie Connor (CD7)

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

Below is the response of CD7's Julie Connor:

Experience you consider most relevant to Denver City Council service:
My current position as aide to Councilwoman Kathleen MacKenzie makes me the only candidate with exactly the experience and knowledge needed to represent District7 residents. Additionally, my stint in Peace Corps provided community development experience in an especially challenging atmosphere.

The University of Denver describes itself as a “private institution for the public good.” If the University were to ask you for suggestions as to how this could be accomplished in the years ahead, how would you answer?
First and foremost, get students out of their cars. (And the city can work on getting non-students out of their cars.) The tree-planting program in conjunction with the Park People is a stellar community service. A couple off-the-cuff ideas for enhancing the public good using university resources would be to find ways to incorporate into the curriculum students serving on city task forces, and establishing citizen academies (dealing with topics such as urban design, small-business planning, legal workshops, etc.) that could be facilitated by students.

What are the top three issues affecting District 7 that you intend to tackle after being elected to City Council?
I’ve got four: 1) Focusing on zoning as it pertains to keeping stable neighborhoods stable and directing investment to neighborhoods that desire it; 2) Enhancing public safety vis-à-vis police technology, infrastructure improvements and code compliance enforcement; 3) Fostering local business and neighborhood schools; and 4) Promoting environmental principles.

CD7: Candidates take on zoning issues

Kevin Dickson, chair of the Overland Neighborhood Association, sent all of the City Council District 7 candidates a set of question affecting his neighborhood. Among the questions were:

1. What is happening with zoning changes afoot in the District?
2. What do you think should be done?
3. How will the Zoning Code Update address the wishes of the neighborhoods?
4. What do you perceive are the wishes of the individual neighborhoods?
5. Do the wishes of the neighborhoods align with what's best for the city overall?

Each candidate provided a statement. The full statements from all District 8 City Council representatives has been posted online.

Below are excerpts from the candidates who are on the May 2007 ballot.

First, from Shelly Watters:

In 2001 the Denver City Council adopted Blue Print Denver as its land use and transportation plan. According to the Denver Regional Council of Governments, the Denver region is expected to grow over the next twenty years from 2.5 million to 4 million people. Blueprint Denver is an attempt to rationally plan for that growth. Blueprint Denver divides the City into areas of change and areas of stability. It calls for growth to be directed to areas of change and for tools to be developed to protect the character of our existing stable neighborhoods. Last year the Community Planning and Development Department convened a broad based task force to look at Denver’s outdated zoning code to eliminate barriers to implementing Blueprint Denver. I worked with my neighborhood, other neighborhoods and City Council members to successfully put pressure on the task force to make developing tools to preserve the character of our existing neighborhoods their first priority. I believe the task force which includes realtors, developers and neighborhood activists, among others, is the best place to deal with this issue. The Task Force seems to be headed in the right direction. It is currently looking at different neighborhood typologies to develop tools specific to that neighborhood rather than a generic one size fits all solution. I support Blueprint Denver and want to see it implemented.

I do not believe in freezing neighborhoods in time. Neighborhoods need to constantly change and regenerate in order to remain healthy. Families want larger houses than they did in the past. However, I do believe the diverse character of our neighborhoods is one of Denver’s greatest assets. We need to find ways to allow for growth and change while still maintaining the existing character and scale which attracted people to the neighborhood in the first place. Many of us do not want to see the same fake stone generic, suburban house throughout Denver.

Some neighborhoods are looking at rezoning from R2 to R1. R2 allows duplexes and triplexes and R1 only allows single family homes. These neighborhoods have had many single family homes scraped and replaced with duplexes that take up the whole lot. They see rezoning or historic preservation as the only tools available to them to protect their neighborhood’s character. Sloan’s Lake was directed by the Planning Department to submit an application for a defined area that included all properties in that area. West Washington Park is meeting with homeowners in a specific area (I don’t believe the area has totally been decided, it will be based on the amount of support.) The difference is West Washington Park will only include those homeowners who want to rezone. I believe this is the right approach, even if there are pockets of homes which do not have their zoning changed. I support the right of these homeowners to rezone their properties...

Second, from Chris Nevitt:

Zoning is one of the most important areas of responsibility for City Council. It lies at the heart of our aspirations for our city and our neighborhoods – how they look, how they feel, how they function. It’s wise, therefore, of the Overland Neighborhood to subject candidates for City Council to close scrutiny in this area.

... a good approach to “right” zoning is, I believe, an effort I am currently helping lead in my own neighborhood, West Washington Park. Ours is a grass-roots, entirely voluntary effort, pursued by individual home-owners, working together, to “right” zone their own properties in an effort to preserve the character of the neighborhood they love. Our effort respects individual property rights, and the inevitable disagreements among neighbors, while nonetheless moving forward to make the greatest possible impact on a widely-shared concern.

Here is the problem we face: much of the zoning in my neighborhood is R-2, which allows for multiplex units. For most of the last century, however, the neighborhood has maintained a stable single-family character more consistent with R-1 zoning. That character is now under serious pressure. The steady escalation in per-square-foot prices, combined with the much greater square-footage allowed by current zoning, has created a perverse incentive for developers to pursue a speculative scrape-and-flip business model.

Some of the new homes are welcome additions to the neighborhood; some of the homes we’ve lost won’t be particularly missed. More often, however, it is perfectly good old brick homes that are being knocked down, replaced by oversized, shoddily-built, poorly designed, multiplexes. This is neither good for the neighborhood nor sustainable as a longterm development pattern. We should be discouraging this kind of short-term land speculation, and encouraging, instead, long-term investments by residents in the value of both their property and their neighborhoods.

The problem faced by my neighborhood is not unique. With different local variations, it is a problem shared by many of our neighborhoods. I have always been a strong believer in the power and value of focused, intelligent, and determined local action. I am pursuing that action with my neighbors. I encourage others to follow suit, and I will help them every way I can. But such action also needs to be supported by the City. And the City needs to do more to make it easier for residents to improve their own properties, to make the kind of long-term investments that build stable, healthy, and attractive communities.

With some leadership, and some luck, we should be able to end up with both “good” zoning and “right” zoning – zoning that promotes the kind of quality, community-sustaining development we want to see, while preserving and protecting the unique character of the Denver neighborhoods we love. I look forward to working with all of you – and working constructively through the disputes and disagreements – to achieve those ends.

And finally, from Julie Connor:

1. What is happening with zoning changes afoot in the District?

...Zoning issues in Overland, Athmar Park, Godsman, Ruby Hill and College View have tended to revolve around out-of-date PUDs (i.e., Catholic Charities housing project in Ruby Hill), neglected opportunities (i.e., Evans light rail station area in Overland) and undesirable adjacency issues (i.e., RTD bus barn across the street from single-family homes in College View). Heretofore, these types of zoning issues have been dealt with on an ad hoc basis rather than by zoning language amendments or policy changes, and this is unlikely to change much in the near future. (Although problematic adjacencies are a citywide issue so it might be addressed in the zoning code update.)

All of these zoning issues require vigilance, creativity and persistence in trying to reconcile what’s permitted with what’s wanted so we can get to and encourage desirable investment in every neighborhood.

2. What do you think should be done?

One thing that needs to be recognized is that different neighborhoods have different needs and character. The current zoning code treats every R-2 in every neighborhood essentially the same. A common complaint of Quick Wins II is that it solved a problem for University Park and Hilltop neighborhoods, but created worse problems for others. Whether that is the general consensus or not, it is clear that zoning categories probably need to be differentiated in some way from neighborhood to neighborhood, in addition to having a transparent and predictable zoning code and maintaining private property rights.

Another measure requiring action is the creation of interim tools. The zoning code update is held up as a forthcoming panacea, but in the meantime, divisive battles are being fought with the paltry land use tools available. In neighborhoods concerned about the loss of neighborhood character, interim tools need to be employed or invented prior to the completion of the zoning code update. A couple possible intermediary steps between here and there might be conservation districts or pattern books.

As stated in the first question, industrial/residential and commercial/residential adjacency issues need to be addressed in the zoning code update. How they are addressed should be tackled by the consultants.

A final matter I think needs looking into is our public hearing process for rezonings. Although the City Planning department encourages public notification and input on rezonings prior to submitting an application, essentially the public hearing (and thus, the legal protest process) comes at the end of an arduous, expensive and time-consuming course. I would not support doing away with people’s right to protest at the last possible moment, but I think the process might be better organized with the aim being to reduce the number of contentious rezonings, which leave both sides battered and resentful.

3. How will the Zoning Code Update address the wishes of the neighborhoods?

There seems to be the intention to create more zoning categories, which would provide a wider range of options, and therefore, theoretically, provide better fits for various areas. For instance, there might be a residential zoning for narrow lots in the urban core (such as the Speer neighborhood) and a residential zoning for large lots in the suburban-like areas (such as College View). Additionally, as mentioned above, these various zoning categories could drill down to even more specificity to address the individual characteristics of a neighborhood while still providing the freedom to expand or scrape and rebuild.

4. What do you perceive are the wishes of the individual neighborhoods?

To protect their quality of life and maintain their property values seems to be what I hear most from residents. Typically, conversations revolving around what people want for their neighborhoods includes the desire to preserve trees, reduce vehicle traffic, maintain a residential character while having access to amenities nearby, diminish crime and graffiti, and support and improve our schools.

5. Do the wishes of the neighborhoods align with what's best for the city overall?

In the general sense that pretty much everybody’s looking for a good quality of life, yes. Where we diverge is when one person’s version of quality of life precludes another person’s version – and they’re both defining it for the same area. Those conflicts simply have to be dealt with as they arise, with respect for all perspectives.

Sometimes what's best for the city overall is a theoretical vision of what we would like to see 20 years from now. But implementing that vision can have impacts and consequences for residents living here today. Regardless how laudable the vision might be, the real-time, on-the-ground effects of implementation cannot be dismissed and need to be addressed. A council person should work to blend these sometimes disparate voices and visions into a coherent course of action that ideally is better than what was originally proposed because it achieves the vision while alleviating or mitigating the impacts. But if that synthesis cannot be achieved, at the end of the day, my job is to represent the concerns of District 7 residents.

Anything happening?

ColoradoLib's MountainMan was recently wondering "Anything Happening In City Council Races?"

The ensuing discussion was interesting, both in terms of the jockeying between campaign staff members, financial details of the CD7 race, and various endorsements. Among the observations:

• Mr Toodles likes Paul Lopez in CD3.


• Money is flowing in the CD7 race, with $43k to Shelly Watters, $38k to Chris Nevitt, and $18k to Julie Connor.


• According to The Denominator, Julie Connor's campaign claims the support of 6 of the 10 presidents of RNOs (registered neighborhood organizations), so she certainly has a lot of the activists on her side.

Candidate forum at Denver Young Democrats meeting

TakeBackTheHouse has provided a terrific first-hand account of a recent candidates forum hosted by the Denver Young Democrats. I highly encourage you to read the entire article at SquareState, but include excerpts below for your convenience.

First came the Mayor:

He pointed towards future issues such as global warming as a place where simple changes on the municipal level could have ripples of impact. "Even if there is a 2% chance that 95% of leading scientists are right, we'd be insane not to spend billions." He didn't propose any billion dollar programs, but he did point to increasing the City's tree canopy as a way that we could have a real impact on the use of domestic and automotive air conditioners. The solutions he was looking for on all topics; environmental change, crime, etc. were ones where you were "not just throwing money at the problem," but ones that led to intelligent solutions. Putting more police on the streets was obviously a large contributor to Denver's 2006 10% drop in crime, but so too was the implementation of new systems that chart the hot spots in real time and help plan the new deployments.

Michael Hancock then followed:

He told us to be prepared to make some difficult decisions, and to decide if we were, "ready to pay more for a better managed government." He said that his constituents tended to make good decisions when given good information, but we have, "lost our way on some issues that are very very very germane to being Democrats." He encouraged the young crowd to become an army ready to knock on doors and to go around the media and the national organizations and find out again what changes the people really wanted in the neighborhoods. He looked around the room at all the hopeful candidates and said he had no doubt all of them were able to do the job, but wondered if all of them could look the people in the eye and make the hard decisions.

Doug Linkhart offered brief remarks about returning Denver to being a "shining example of Democratic values.":

After joking that he remembered what Denver politics was like back when he would march with Sojourner Truth, he said that this race today was mistakenly called 'non-partisan'. He said that it was very partisan, but that we were all on the same side. Aligned against us were the challenges we were facing.

Rick Garcia then spoke:

The very popular Councilman spoke of the great economic advantage brought to our businesses by foreign born residents, and how the research and policy dynamics in this region were changing with 12,000 people per day turning 60 years old.

Then came Clerk & Recorder candidate, Stephanie O'Malley:

She wants to be at the helm of the new office because, "It's no one's place to disenfranchise anyone from casting a vote." Obviously, conduct of the elections will be a large part of her role, but the Clerk's office also deals with many other issues. Increased foreclosures mean increased documentation flow. She says she intends to prepare the office to meet the statutory requirements of the greater workload, and improve accessibility by moving the old paper and microfiche documents into electronic form.

The narrator unfortunately missed the presentations of Kevin Slevin (write-in candidate for Clerk and Recorder) and Danny Lopez (mayoral candidate).

While you are at it, someone tell me where Paige Wolf came from. She is managing the campaign for Carol Boigon, and she has ~wunderkind~ written all over her. She is young, charismatic, and smart, so of course I am instantly suspicious. She made a very able surrogate for the Councilwoman-at-Large, and ran through her employer's accomplishments, including the redevelopment of the Lowenstein Theater into the Tattered Cover Bookstore. My job has me constantly researching the Council Members, and Boigon has easily the most interesting corners. She supports working family issues and development interests, her donors include labor, community leaders, and her husband's large oil company law firm buddies. I do not envy her having to appeal to the amazing clutter of an At-Large seat.

After a staffer for District 5 Councilwoman Marcia Johnson said a few words, two challengers were invited to speak:

R. J. Ours, a former government relations director for the American Cancer Society, spoke of building coalitions and investing in infrastructure. He said if we were going to spend, "three quarter of a billion of your tax dollars, I want the best price, best projects, and the best quality." He spoke of his work on Amendment 35 which increased the tobacco tax, and he advocated for smoke free casinos.

There was another candidate for District 5. He called himself a 'property rights advocate' and called for the abolishment of historic preservation designations. He talked about his experience in the 'energy infrastructure business.'

Then came Julie Connor for District 7:

As aide to the outgoing Mackenzie, she has the right to claim she represents a continuity of knowledge. Like my favorite candidates in the municipal elections she is an unashamed lover of provincial politics. Zoning issues, potholes, overlay districts; she loves that stuff.

Finally came the candidates for the District 8 City Council seat [it should be noted that although the description of all candidates seems exceedingly fair, the author of this account is himself a Darrell Watson supporter]:

First up was the very accessible Carla Madison. She shares Darrell Watson and Julie Conner's love for urban policy. She spoke about her work with the zoning code and about increasing density on the corridors of neighborhoods while preserving the character within them. She proposed a good idea about establishing a Senior Advocacy Hotline, and she finished with a statement that sounded a bit darkly cryptic, "Welton St. is sad. The 16th St. Mall is ailing. There are a lot of reasons. I won't go into why that is."

Greg Rasheed opened with a song. Really. "Helloooo Young Democraats wherever you arrrre. I hope yooou willlll vote for meeeeee..." Really. He sang. Then he talked about gang issues. Coming out of a childhood surrounded by gang culture he wants to "give young people hope." Part of that is starting a 'Youth Advisor Council'. "I'm not looking for the A students. I'm looking for the hard heads." He spoke about students, "already being earmarked not to pass."

....After a long day and too many speakers, I was ready to take a nap, but with incredible energy [Darrell Watson] moved around the room and woke people up. "Who here, who in this corner right here, which of you thinks City Government should work for you?" Darrell did, and he explained his vision for a 'City that Works'. Darrell can cover a lot of territory in two minutes; culture of the neighborhoods, economic development, safety, broken windows, bike lanes, advocacy for the people... but obviously you can't get into detail on anything in that time. So instead of just keeping it vague and running off, he stuck around for a long while to answer all the questions. An evening that started with a room full of politicians ended with a room full of active Young Democrats and a candidate interested in helping them make the city a little better.

Again, I highly recommend that you read the full account at SquareState.net.

Candidates Fail To Report Donor Details

RMN political reporter Daniel Chacón today exposed widespread violations of the city's campaign finance laws.

According to the law, candidates must report both the occupation and employer of all donors who give more than $200.

However, they are failing to do so. Mayor Hickenlooper and Auditor Gallagher are among the violators, while Julie Connor's campaign seems to have been cleared. Other candidates were not mentioned in this story.

The only reason violators haven't been caught is that the Clerk & Recorder's office isn't doing their job and auditing any of these statements. Stephanie O'Malley is looking into the matter.

The full story can be found online: "Campaign Finance Laws Being Violated."

Profile: Julie Connor (CD7)

The candidates for the District 7 city council seat were all profiled in the March 2007 edition of the Washington Park Profile.

Julie Connor's candidacy was described as follows:

Julie Connor’s initial contact with her current boss, Kathleen MacKenzie, occurred a few years back when she questioned the District 7 City Councilwoman’s position on the issue of making public places free from secondhand cigarette smoke.

“Bureaucrats are not just faceless creatures without feelings. She was concerned about the effect on small businesses, understandably,” said Connor. “I just felt she should take a stronger stand for public health.”

Before hiring on as MacKenzie’s aide in July 2004, Connor built a diverse resume ranging from experience as a freelance journalist and graphic artist following her college years at University of Colorado, to a stint in the Peace Corps promoting modern health techniques in Chilean villages, and teaching English as a second language in Santiago, Chile.

She believes the experience she has garnered working in the District 7 office will pay off for the district’s residents. “I’m able to provide continuity. Not necessarily of policy, but of experience. A lot of major projects – the Gates renovation, the Broadway NEPA study, a number of larger zoning cases – are in the works now, and how fast you can hit the ground running will make a difference in your ability to serve.”

She would like to see the city more inclusive in its approach to government. “I like that Hickenlooper’s been willing to burn political cachet on the homeless and the environment, but he’s a businessman, and he’s used to doing things by unilateral decision, behind closed doors. A lot of people are turning away from civic involvement, and many of those that haven’t don’t feel like they’re being heard.

“One of the tenets of good business is efficiency. Maybe a tenet of the public process is a little bit of inefficiency. I think we’ve gone too far with efficiency. I think we need to put the ‘public’ back in public process.”

Connor disagreed with MacKenzie’s ultimate decision to support the recent special election. “I didn’t think we should spend the money, and I don’t think an elected clerk is the answer. I’d have delayed the vote ‘til the May ballot.”

The conflict between preservation and development is not always as simple as it seems, says Connor. “Part of the problem with scrape-offs is that a 75-year-old tree is gone that hid the house beneath it, that wasn’t all that much. The new house that’s built might look much better in balance, but the tree is gone, and it’s a shock. The Mayor’s idea for planting new trees has some good points, but maintaining a solid tree protection ordinance is equally as important.”

“Council is a combination of pro-active and re-active,” said Connor. “You take all the information coming in to you and distill it into cohesive policy. Whether the topic appears petty, mundane or even ridiculous, there are underlying issues you can deal with on a policy level.”

For information, visit www.connorforcouncil.com.