The most recent scandals of Mayor Michael Hancock involving his sexual harassment of Police Detective Leslie Branch-Wise and the payoffs to hide his actions with taxpayer funds, have raised the uncomfortable question of exactly what function does the 13-member City Council actually serve?
The City Council costs Denver taxpayers millions every year. The individual Council members annually make $91,197 with City Council President bringing in $102,197. They recently gave themselves a 10.3% raise to be phased in. In addition, they have a plethora of generous government perks and benefits. Each has his or her own paid assistant as well as a generous allowance for an office. But that is just the tip of the iceberg with an entire staff for the City Council as a whole, travel benefits and the list goes on and on.
What do we the citizens get for all that money? It appears to be virtually nothing. The City Council simply rubber-stamps almost every high-density development brought before them from the Community Planning and Development Department, notwithstanding the pleas and howls of residents from across the city.
Yes, we have a so-called “strong mayor” form of government in Denver but it is not technically yet a dictatorship, although a majority of the City Council seem to treat it as such. While claiming that the City Charter gives them little power, the Council a few years back gave up its role in overseeing the parks and open space in the City and County of Denver. As a result, the Mayor has destroyed or monetized park after park from City Park to Hentzell Park to Overland Park and on and on.
In theory, under the City Charter the City Council appropriates all money to run the city, passes or changes laws and investigates wrong doing by various city officials. In fact, it performs none of those functions. The mayor prepares the budget and doles out small favors to individual council members in return for passing the budget and then rubberstamps all expenditures thereafter. No meaningful legislation has been passed for years other than changing the zoning laws to make them ever friendlier to high density developers.
The joke of the investigative powers of the City Council were on full display regarding Detective Leslie Branch-Wise. Councilman Rafael Espinoza wrote a confidential letter demanding an investigation into the sexual harassment by the mayor, which was leaked to the press. The City Council first declined to investigate saying they didn’t want to re-victimize Ms. Wise-Branch. When Branch-Wise in fact demanded that they investigate and have open hearings they then stated that the City Attorney, who is controlled by the mayor, told them they can’t. Well that was easy.
In the last City Council election in 2015 we strongly endorsed Wayne New, Paul Kashmann and Rafael Espinoza. Each of them overcame long odds and all of the money of lobbyists and high-density developers and pulled upset victories. Each of them has regularly voted against the worst of the high-density developments and the destruction of open space and parks.
They are, of course, a minority of three in a 13-person council. But it is not sufficient to simply be the “vote of the people” but they needed to be the “voice of the people” and in that regard they have abysmally failed. Given their mild if not meek personalities they raise not one peep about the destruction of the city and the quality of life for its citizens. There is no public opposition in the public arena by any of them to any of the worst of the worst of the mayor’s and his administration’s actions.
Of course, while we have a strong mayor form of government, Mayor Hancock is anything but a “strong mayor” and in fact he is a total “empty suit” or more accurately an “empty workout outfit.”
Perhaps we should amend the City Charter and convert the government to one run by a High Commission. One person would be designated to it by the Brownstein Law Firm, one from the lobbying firm of CRL Associates, two from the crony capitalist executives comprising Colorado Concern with the High Commission rounded out with three high density developers. That way at least when Denver citizens petition the Denver government to address their grievances they are talking to people who could actually get something done. We would finally have that “open, honest and transparent” Denver government that Mayor Hancock spouts off about ad nauseum.
In the meantime, the 13 City Council members will continue to draw their soon to be six figure salaries while doing absolutely nothing other than ignoring the voices of citizens who still bother to go to City Council meetings having not yet heard that they are talking to little more than cardboard figures placed behind a large dais in the ornate Denver City Council Chambers. The High Commission form of government comprised of the real powers to be in Denver sounds reasonable in comparison and would be a lot less expensive for all involved.
— Editorial Board