President Larry Ambrose Replaced By J.J. Niemann In 45 To 42 Vote
by Glen Richardson
The Denver Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation (“INC”) is the umbrella group of all the registered neighborhood associ
ations and others. It has been one of the few official outlets for neighborhood groups unhappy with the high density developments overtaking Denver.
The Annual Delegate Meeting was held on March 12, 2016. Neighborhood activist Dave Felice described the meeting as “a coup d’état by interests aligned with Mayor Michael B. Hancock’s agenda to develop and increase density at all costs.” Neighborhood champion Larry Ambrose, a law graduate and Metro State teacher was replaced as President with J.J. Niemann, whose job experience is apparently limited to modifying skateboards. He had been a loud supporter of the zoo gasification plant until that plan was terminated by the Zoo Board, much to the embarrassment of Niemann and similar supporters.
The seizure of control of INC was greatly facilitated by the sudden registration of various Business Improvement Districts as voting members of INC which allowed the developers to win the close vote.
Ambrose had been a thorn in the side of Mayor Hancock for years and was even the recipient of the largest number of write-in votes in last spring’s election in the history of the city notwithstanding the fact that Ambrose did not campaign or seek out votes. Felice indicated that “Ambrose irritated City Hall because he speaks truth to power . . . and [is a] tireless advocate for the well-being of Denver residents and the neighborhoods.”
The overthrow of Ambrose was orchestrated according to insiders by a troika of developer and mayor supporters — Joel Noble, a Denver Planning Board member; Andrew Sense, an ally of Denver City Councilman Albus Brooks; and Michael Henry, the only paid employee of Denver Board of Ethics. Niemann himself is considered by many to be an intellectually challenged front person for more powerful interests.
The Denver Planning Board is wholly appointed by the Denver Mayor. Under the leadership of Executive Director Brad Buchanan the Board and the Denver Planning Commission itself are considered by some as ethically suspect and little more than bureaucratic allies for the Mayor’s favored developers.
Noble is considered a leading apologist for the Denver Planning Board’s conduct, writing, for example, a guest editorial in The Denver Post on March 28, 2015. In the article he defended the appointment by Hancock real estate developers on a purportedly civilian Planning Board claiming the Board needed “diverse perspectives.” He was also appointed by the Mayor as the spokesperson for “Vision Zero Coalition” regarding traffic deaths. Noble is also the President of Curtis Park Neighbors considered by some as little more than a developer front group.
When Anna Jones ran with heavy developer and lobbyist support against Wayne New in District 10 (Cherry Creek) for Denver City Council many voters stated that her serving on the Denver Planning Board effectively disqualified her from ever holding public office.
Michael Henry is the only paid city employee of the Denver Ethics Board which has come under heavy criticism for virtually never finding an ethics violation regarding anyone in the Hancock administration. Political consultant Ellie Reynolds said of the Ethics Board that “it’s an Orwellian named entity whose principal purpose appears to excuse and validate the most unethical conduct imaginable.” Ethics Board members assert that their hands are tied by a weak and ineffective Ethics Code which city officials have no intention of ever substantively changing.
Henry effectively ran INC prior to Ambrose being elected in 2011. Ambrose took what was a somewhat somnolent organization and transformed it into a strong voice for neighborhoods. Henry was forced out when complaints began to arise noting his conflict of interest being a city em
ployee controlling what was supposed to a neighborhood organization. Many expect Henry will now resume, at least in part, his influence over INC.
The last of the troika is Andy Sense, a somewhat shadowy figure. He has described himself as “President of the City Council District 9 Office” although no such position appears to exist, at least according to Councilman Brook’s office. The councilman is a close ally of Mayor Hancock and Brooks is believed to want to succeed Hancock as Mayor of Denver. In 2014, Brooks, apparently believing that existing neighborhood groups in his District were not sufficiently pro Hancock, he formed his own City Park Neighborhood Advisory Committee to which Sense was appointed.
When local neighborhood groups began opposition to the City Park gasification project, Sense, like Niemann, became a leading critic of the residents. In a letter to the Chronicle published in January of this year he called the opponents “extremists” and “un-neighborly” and said that INC under Ambrose was spreading “divisiveness” with “extreme resolutions.”
Sense, Niemann and other advocates for the gasification plant (including The Denver Post) were e
mbarrassed when the Zoo essentially acknowledged the critiques of the opponents by cancelling the plans for the plant adjoining City Park.
After the takeover INC passed a series of innocuous resolutions including one concerning the highly controversial Platte to Park Hill Stormwater Project saying the city’s decision should be based “on full study and meaningful neighborhood involvement.” The weak resolution was quickly ignored by the City.
The ouster of Ambrose and the pro-neighborhood advocates reminded many of Hancock orchestrating the removal of all the members of the Denver Parks Advisory Board who opposed his Hentzell Park open space giveaway. They were replaced by developer lobbyists including Marcus Pachner or longtime supporters of the Mayor such as “Happy”” Haynes’ sister, Khadija Haynes.
As for the future for INC many neighborhood groups and advocates are not sanguine. “All that will happen now is that INC will hold a worthless awards dinner and send out pro Administration propaganda pre-approved by the Mayor and his developer friends,” stated political consultant Ellie Reynolds.
As for Larry Ambrose he plans to take the Colorado Bar this summer and continue the fight for Denver neighborhoods even if INC is now little more than an adjunct of the Hancock administration. He plans to stay actively involved in the controversial Platte to Park Hill Stormwater Project by “keeping them honest, or more accurately, making them honest.”
Dave Felice notes that while some question whether INC will have any remaining relevance now that it is under Hancock’s control, the committees on Zoning and Parks retain strong neighborhood advocates.
Ambrose also thinks Niemann and the power brokers behind him like Noble will find that shoving all the neighborhood outrage back in the bottle will not be easy. “Not all of the delegates of INC will go quietly into the night. There are some real advocates for the neighborhoods who will be challenging for Noble and his buddies to try to shut up.”
Many citizens are actively beginning to advocate Ambrose to run for the Mayor’s office and he has not ruled out the possibility. He knows it will take money and the lobbyists like CRL Associates and Brownstein, Farber will dump huge sums into Hancock’s coffers. But the run of Bernie Sanders and his amazing success in raising money with small donations is encouraging to Ambrose. “You never know what the future may bring,” stated Ambrose.
