An election for the mayor of Denver and the entire City Council will be held on May 5, 2015, much to the surprise of many Denver residents. Part of the reason for the lack of publicity of the election is the strange form of democracy we have going on here in Denver. Our municipality has informally adopted what they call the “one and done” rule sometimes seen in third world kleptocracies, i.e., once you are elected you never face another competitive election ever again. Unfortunately for city officeholders there are term limits in the municipality or they would never have to leave office except feet first as they go on to their heavenly reward.
By way of illustrative example, Mayor Michael Hancock has been incredibly inept in everything he has handled from the Sheriff’s Department scandals to the police protest debacle to the disastrous development policies. Succeeding two very strong mayors in Wellington Webb and John Hickenlooper, Hancock is an incredibly feckless and weak character, although highly personable.
Our mayor was at one time a mascot for the Denver Broncos football team and in office he has continued that role as the official team mascot for the greediest of real estate developers and most corrupt of union bosses. Yet he runs for a second term virtually unopposed.
Turning to the City Council, we are still attempting to determine when the last time was that an incumbent Denver City Council member lost in an election. Most incumbents never even have an opponent after their first election.
Timothy O’Brien
The reason, of course, is not that we love our incumbents so much here in Denver, but rather money — the mother’s milk of politics. To attempt to beat an incumbent in a city council district race costs at least $100,000; $500,000 for a city-wide position other than mayor; and for mayor at least $1,000,000. The only people who will provide you such sums to run for city office are real estate developers and labor unions, but they already own the incumbents and so why would anyone provide money for any putative challengers. Of course, if you are very wealthy you could self fund, but you may have noticed wealthy people do not want to run for municipal office in Denver other than perhaps mayor. The rich will consider running for governor, or senator or even congressman, but not a spot on the Denver City Council. This is why Denver City Council members are always voting themselves never-ending raises, i.e., they need the money.
As a result there is no real race for the mayor’s position or a majority of the council seats which is why the public is paying little or no attention to the election. You never saw the Russian public get real excited either about essentially non-elections in the old Soviet Union.
But that does leave elections for six open council seats as well as city auditor. These competitive races include Council Districts 4, 6 and 10 which the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle serves in whole or in part.
Wayne New
But who should one vote for in these races? It’s actually pretty easy. Go to www.den vergov.org/elections and download the financial disclosure statements of the candidates. In each race there will be one candidate that has raised an incredible amount of money. In their disclosure statements you will see the lawyer lobbyists from CRL Associates and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP as well as endless developers and real estate investors. You well also see a smattering of unions such the Teamsters Local 17 PAC. These candidates have already been acquired by those who control and own Mayor Michael Hancock.
Sadly, but understandably, another name you should be on the lookout for is the Greater Glendale Chamber of Commerce. Our publisher, Chuck Bonniwell, is a co-founder of that organization and sits on its Board of Directors but, of course, only has but one vote. Glendale since its founding in 1859, and particularly after its incorporation in 1952, has had to fight Denver tooth and nail for its very existence. Starting in the 1990s, thanks to mayors Wellington Webb and John Hickenlooper and the Glendale powers that be, there has been a rapprochement. As a result there has been the fire department merger, the beautification of Cherry Creek South and the building of the Infinity Park complex among other positive projects that have benefited both cities.
Glendale, as well as its business chamber therefore, seeks to have a positive relationship with the powers that be in Denver, which today is Mayor Michael Hancock and the people who control him. On page 24 you will locate the Glendale Chamber’s endorsements and you can judge for yourself how convincing you find its logic and rationale.
The unions, the developers and the Glendale Chamber suggest you support Kendra Black in Council District 4; Liz Adams in Council District 6; Anna Jones in Council District 10; as well as Chris Nevitt for City Auditor.
If you want more 30-story Broe Towers eliminating the view of the mountains for all of Cherry Creek and the Country Club area, along with more massive apartment buildings blocking sunlight from ever reaching certain streets in Cherry Creek North, these are your candidates. If you think that the endless traffic jams along Colorado Boulevard and 1st Avenue and the rest of the city are not long enough and can be made even worse, these are your candidates. If you want to see a corrupt and unethical Planning Board with no consideration ever for the parking and traffic concerns continue, these are your candidates. These candidates will religiously follow the political Golden Rule, i.e., he who has the gold rules, and that is not the average everyday citizen or voter.
Paul Kashmann
That is not to say Black, Adams and Jones are not pleasant people, but so is Hancock. On a personal basis, we particularly like Anna Jones who has an infectious laugh and wonderful wit. But she served on the mayor’s Planning Board for several years and that is a disqualifier for us.
Concerning the auditor’s race Chris Nevitt is their choice. He is the councilman from District 7 who brought you the hideous twin 30-story Broe Towers. Unlike their other candidates, Chris Nevitt is most definitely not a nice person. He is best known, by most, for his screaming rants at citizens who came to City Council to oppose projects Nevitt’s money men backed. One longtime Denver resident and politico, whose opinion we respect, said of Nevitt, “He is the worst human being I have ever met on the Denver City Council and that is saying something as there have been some real doozies.” Nevitt at one time was simply a union shill on City Council but in recent years he has expanded to prostituting himself out to every developer in Denver he could find. He has no background in, or experience, auditing and wants to use the office as a stepping stone, God forbid, for a run for mayor after Hancock is term limited. He is the weakest and least qualified candidate for any office in Denver in many a year, which no doubt explains why he is undoubtedly the favorite in the race.
So who should you vote for? Well, in the auditor and in District 6 races there are only single opponents. Luckily Timothy O’Brien in the auditor’s race and Paul Kashmann in District 6 are wonderful candidates who need no introduction to many voters. O’Brien, in fact, is a C.P.A. who is qualified and experienced in auditing, having served as the Colorado State Auditor. He is a resident of southeast Denver, and he and his wife are proud parents of three daughters. He is also truly independent and not beholden to anyone. While an argument can be made for endorsing an Anna Jones for City Council, no one with a straight face can claim that the morally repugnant Chris Nevitt deserves to be elected over the qualified, decent and honorable Timothy O’Brien. But this is politics in Denver and the normal rules of minimum decency simply do not apply.
Halisi Vinson
Kashmann is the longtime publisher of the Washington Park Profile who just recently sold his interest in that well-respected and beloved publication. A gentle and convivial soul, he prides himself in seeing an issue from many different sides. He even has a Colorado State Senate Commendation for 20 years of community service. He is not a believer in the political Golden Rule, but rather the original one of treating people as he would like to be treated himself. Kashmann would actually listen to citizens who would come before the City Council to make their case. Any municipal council, but in particular the Denver City Council, would benefit from having a Paul Kashmann.
In the other two races there are a myriad of candidates. In Council District 10 the person who has the greatest prospect of beating the money boys behind the mayor is Wayne New, the past long-term president of the Cherry Creek North Neighborhood Association, who has been fighting the good fight for decades. For our tastes we would prefer if New would have battled the greediest of the developers in Cherry Creek North even more fiercely, but that is not his personality. He wants to make things work for all involved.
Wayne New apparently has the money boys a little worried as they sent out the dirty tricks guys to gin up a phony ethics violation by the contemptible Colorado Ethics Watch. A neophyte at campaign financing, he forgot to add to some of his campaign literature the standard “Paid for by Wayne New for City Council” in microscopic print. Oh, No! The crooks behind the mayor are really, truly desperate to defeat Wayne New which in our book is all the more reason to vote for him.
Finally in District 4 the person putting up the best fight is Halisi Vinson who has the backing of major park advocates as well as Wellington Webb. Webb, like many Denverites, is desperate to have at least one park advocate on the City Council. When he wrote to the Friends of Denver Parks, “First they took our park and now they want to buy a council seat,” he was directly referring to Mayor Michael Hancock and his despicable developer friends. Webb’s daughter Stephanie O’Malley is Hancock’s Manager of Safety and his support for Vinson could cost his daughter that highly coveted job. We at the Chronicle agree with former Mayor Webb in this instance, that the only honorable thing to do is to stand with Ms. Vinson.
We ask you to consider the candidates in your District and vote for the ones who might actually make a difference at the City and County Building. In our mind the choices are clear.
— Editorial Board