by Mark Smiley | Apr 25, 2016 | Main Articles
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.
by Mark Smiley | Apr 25, 2016 | General Featured
Four New Members To Represent The City
by Mark Smiley
The Glendale City Council experienced a dramatic shakeup in 2016 from just a year ago. For its first regularly scheduled council meeting in April, four of the six regular councilmembers that represented the city one year ago have exited and four new members have entered. Jeff Allen, who served for eight years was term limited, Paula Bovo and Scott Franssen resigned having moved from the city, and Joe Gigglio opted not to run for another term. Mike Dunafon was re-elected as Mayor of Glendale in April for a second four year term.
Lindsey Mintz (appointed in January 2016), Scott Norquist (appointed in March 2016), Storm Gloor, and Scott Brock joined the Glendale City Council on April 12, 2016. Doris Rigoni and Dario Katardzic were the only carryovers with Rigoni appointed Mayor Pro Tem.
Glendale was founded in 1859 and is the second oldest town in Colorado, formally incorporating in 1952. One of the challenges facing Glendale is it is difficult to recruit persons to run for City Council. As the residents are often on the go, few individuals are willing to make a four year commitment to stay in the city as a councilperson.
In December 2015 an anonymous flyer was sent out titled “Glendale Needs You. Be a Hero” declaring it was “Easy to run for Mayor or City Council” and “Earn $1,000 per month for attending a few monthly meetings and get free health care.” Many assumed it was sent out by the city itself but it was not as it contained numerous misstatements of fact.
It is, of course, never “easy to run” for public office no matter where you are and it can be expensive. As a councilmember you are expected to do far more than just attend a “few council meetings.” You are expected to attend council meetings, study sessions and represent the city on various local and regional committees and boards as well as representing the city at various important county and state functions. One can expect to spend significant hours studying the issues facing the city as well as regularly meeting with and answering questions from constituents who tend to call at all different times and throughout weekends.
Councilmembers have the same health insurance as any other employee of the city, meaning they have to pay for spouses and other family members, and like any other health insurance plan these days employees are responsible for significant co-pays for medical services provided.
When the Chronicle investigated who had, in fact, sent the flyer it was traced back to Kyle Miller of the public relations firm of Stratton-Carpenter & Associates that represents Mohammad Ali Kheirkhahi and Authentic Persian & Oriental Rugs. When contacted by phone by the Chronicle on why he sent out an anonymous flyer to all Glendale residents, Kyle Miller sounded stunned that he had been found out. He declined to answer any questions. A few days later the Chronicle received an e-mail from Stratton-Carpenter & Associates asserting that the flyer was that of Authentic Persian & Oriental Rugs and other “individuals and businesses” to “ensure [the people of Glendale] have factual, truthful information about running for elected office in the City.” It did not address why the names of the persons who were behind it had not been revealed.
Former Glendale Councilman Jeff Allen opined, “It’s the usual phony, underhanded misinformation that Kheirkhahi seems to specialize in.”
Notwithstanding the misinformation in the anonymous flyer, Mayor Mike Dunafon strongly adopted the concept of getting more people to run for City Council or even mayor as he was having difficulty recruiting people willing to serve on the City Council. “It is a significant investment of time and energy to be a councilmember, and if you do not do what people like Kheirkhahi want, you can be expected to be screamed at and attempted to be intimidated.”
While several of the new members have been active in the Glendale community, none have ever served in elective office.
Storm Gloor is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Music and Entertainment Industry Studies at the University of Colorado Denver. He holds an MBA degree from West Texas A&M University. Gloor spent 13 years in music retail and wholesale, most of them as Director of Music Operations for Hastings Entertainment, based in Amarillo, Texas. He has served on several committees and participated in panels for 
NARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers), and is a member of MEIEA (Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association), as well as the Americana Music Association.
“I’ve been a Glendale resident for almost 10 years and have enjoyed all of the great things about living here,” said Gloor. “There’s so much to do and enjoy, and such a rich diversity. I’m anxious to ‘give back,’ in a sense, by serving and representing the citizens of Glendale. I hope to help assure that Glendale remains a great place to live and/or work as we all pursue our life and career goals.” In addition to his duties as Glendale Councilmember, Gloor serves as the Chairman of the Glendale YMCA Board of Advisors.
Scott Norquist elevated to the City Council from the Planning Commission where he had served since February 2013, when Mayor Pro Tem Paula Bovo resigned after moving out of Glendale. Norquist is the Tax Manager for Hanson & Co. Certified Public Accountants in Denver. Norquist is experienced in many aspects of individual, corporate, partnership, trust and gift tax compliance and planning. He graduated with a Master’s degree in Taxation from the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver and has worked at Hanson & Co. since 2006.
His undergraduate work was at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo where he earned a B.S. in Business Administration and Public Accounting.
Norquist serves on many boards including the Glendale YMCA Boa
rd of Advisors and the Davis Contemporary Dance Company.
“As a council member, my goal is to represent the interest of Glendale’s citizens, and to fairly, accurately, and confidently convey their interests to my fellow council members. As a long-term Glendale resident I know where we have been, I know where we can go, and I know what it will take for us to get there.” Norquist said.
Scott Brock is another business owner in Glendale and is equally as excited to join the council. He owns Custom Executive Security whose main client is SmokinGun Apothecary. Brock served in the Air Force from 1979 to 1988 and has used his military experience in his endeavors since.
“I am happy and honored to be able to serve as a city councilman in our wonderful city,” said Brock. “It is my goal for our citizens to be able to enjoy all the benefits and opportunities the city has to offer, and to further and strengthen the business growth of Glendale in projects such as our [Glendale] 180.”
Lindsey Mintz has been part of the Glendale community for over nine years. After attending Villanova University and the University of San Diego on academic scholarships, she found herself moving to Colorado and establishing her roots in Glendale. Lindsey opened her first business in Glendale, the T-Bar, in July 2014.
Since opening, Mintz has worked diligently with the Greater Glendale Chamber of Commerce, the Glendale Police Department, and other local business owners to prepare the city for its urban revival — the G180 Project.
“I am truly blessed to have been chosen to represent the citizens of Glendale and their values and ideas,” said Mintz. I look forward to spending the next four years representing and serving them and being their voice. This is an incredibly exciting time in Glendale’s history. The G180 project has been the vision of Glendaleans for many years and I am honored to be a part of helping that vision come to fruition. Along with Rugb
ytown USA, the G180 project will make Glendale an international entertainment destination.”
Mintz was unanimously appointed to the City Council in January 2016. Her current responsibilities include representing Glendale on the Denver Regional Council of Governments and the RTD Committee. In her free time, Lindsey loves to enjoy the outdoors — doing everything from biking, running, climbing Colorado’s infamous “Fourteeners,” backpacking, hunting, and finding the craziest obstacles races she can compete in.
The city council meets at Glendale City Hall at 950 S. Birch Street the first Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. For more information, visit www.glendale.co.us.
