District 4 Candidate: Colleen Zaharadnicek will run againstKendra Black for the District 4 Denver city council seat. She will rely onaverage citizen support and going door-to-door to overcome high-densitydeveloper money backing Kendra Black.
District 5 Candidate: Amanda Sawyer is challenging incumbentMary Beth Susman in District 5. Sawyer’s campaign will concentrate onneighborhood safety, property values and the economic future of the city.
by Glen Richardson
Two members of Denver City Council deemed by some to be in the back pocket of the developers are overturning quiet residential neighborhoods in favor of unpopular high-density projects and are going to be challenged this upcoming municipal election to be held May 7, 2019. Councilmember Mary Beth Susman of District 5 and Councilmember Kendra Black of District 4 will be opposed by challengers Amanda Sawyer and Colleen Zaharadnicek respectively.
Black and Susman were part of the large council majority
that approved another massive high-density development, this time at the former
CDOT property near Colorado Boulevard and Arkansas. Black and Susman were
viewed to have mocked and belittled residents of Virginia Vale who opposed the
massive development and effectively taunted residents to try to do something
about developers’ absolute control of the City Council.
Following the four-hour hearing many residents attending the
event were once again outraged by the actions of Black, Susman and the other
councilmembers. “Virginia Village is the latest victim in Denver City Council’s
efforts to force development and density into every Denver neighborhood,” said
Denver resident Florence Sebern. “Existing guidelines were either ignored or
misapplied; the registered neighborhood organization was co-opted; and the
much-touted ‘affordable housing’ will be subsidized via DURA and CHFA. No wonder
developers love them.”
But it appears that Sawyer and Zaharadnicek are going to take up the incumbent’s challenge for residents to do something about the actions of the existing council by putting their names up for election.Developers and their lobbyists are expected to heavily fund the re-election campaigns of Black and Susman while Sawyer and Zaharadnicek will depend onaverage citizens going door to door to their neighbors to get out the vote against the well-heeled incumbents.
Sawyer who is challenging Susman is a longtime resident of District 5 which includes Hilltop and Crestmoor Park with her mother and brother living in the area. A mother of three girls she is a licensed Colorado attorney with an MBA and is an entrepreneur. Her campaign will concentrate on neighborhood safety, property values and the economic future of the city.
Zaharadnicek, a University Hills resident who is opposing Black, is a real estate developer who grew up in Denver and spent time abroad in Prague, and returned to Denver in 2013 to a town she did not recognize. “The boom blew my mind. I kind of wasn’t really expecting it. . . . I saw a lot more visible homeless people. I had a lot of friends that complained about the market — they still can’t rent and they still can’t buy.”
Black and Susman have incensed some residents by pushing
heroin injection sites for local neighborhoods. A local businessperson who did
not want to be identified for this story noted: “It is one thing to destroy
neighborhoods by overcrowding and density and another to be useful idiots for
the Sinaloa cartel. Yes they would cause heroin to become essentially legal in
Denver and how many lives they would destroy is untold. It is not compassionate
to subsidize heroin use by providing needles, syringes, Naloxone and
attendants. We need City Council members who care about our kids and not making
life easier and more profitable for Honduran drug dealers. These two elected
officials are a disgrace and a danger to any community.”
Another issue which may become a hot button topic during the
spring campaign is the refusal of Black, Susman and the rest of the Council to
hold Mayor Michael Hancock responsible for his sexual harassment of Denver
Police Detective Leslie Branch-Wise and the use of taxpayer funds as hush money
to try to buy the silence of the police detective.
While beating incumbent City Council members has never been
easy in Denver the victory of Rafael Espinoza over incumbent Susan Shepherd in
District 1 in the last city election shows that in can be done.
The election date for Denver is May 7. If no candidate for
an elected office obtains 50% of the vote, a runoff of the top two candidates
will be held on June 4.
Citizens Outraged: Some voters in District 4 and 5 are
outraged at Black and Susman for voting to place heroin sites in their
neighborhoods, as well as their helping developers destroy Denver neighborhoods
with high-density developments and attendant traffic jams.
Holly Street Super Block: The Denver City Council has given
approval for a 12-acre portion of the former CDOT headquarters property along
Arkansas Street. The developer and the city declined to say how they would
address the massive traffic jams the development will cause in the Virginia
Village neighborhood and along Colorado Boulevard.
by John Arthur Writer for and on behalf of the City of Glendale
The game is on. Not that game, the RUGBY game. You sidle up
to the bar or open the fridge. The choices seem almost endless, but there’s
only one thing that will do: you want the beer that’s almost synonymous with
the game. The two-and-a-half century old brewery that not only helps define the
international sport of rugby, but international itself. Guinness was
established long before rugby, and has been a staple for beer drinkers ever
since. As the game has enjoyed its rise to global status, becoming the second
most watched sport on the planet, Guinness has been alongside, quietly but
profoundly improving the experience for fans new and old, and providing the
heft of additional history to the enjoyment of beholding a sport that marries
inclusivity and athleticism.
You pop the cap. The bartender pulls the tap. Dark, cold
Guinness flows. The head is rich and creamy; making its way back up from the
bottom of the glass in a swirl that is unique to the world’s most famous Irish
Stout, and one of the best-known brands on the planet. Founded by Arthur
Guinness in Dublin in 1759, it’s not only one of the most recognizable
beverages in the world, but among the most successful beer brands ever. Brewed
with barley roasted in house, Guinness is dark- ruby red under the light — and
has a distinctive, unforgettable flavor.
Like the beer, the history of the Glendale Raptors is also
unique, particularly as one of the most successful rugby endeavors ever in the
United States. Though considerably shorter than that of the newly signed
sponsor, Glendale has been the home of American rugby for more than 10 years,
attracting international talent, coaches, the attention of a dedicated fan
base, and big-name partners like Guinness. Over more than a decade, Glendale
has established itself as the epicenter of rugby in the United States, the last
genuinely untapped market for the sport in the world. As the team has grown its
fan base, its talent pool, and its future, it has relied on sponsor partners to
help, and has delivered an impressive return on investment for those that have
seen the potential of rugby.
Guinness parent company Diageo is a global leader in
beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands including Johnnie
Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and Buchanan’s whiskies, Smirnoff, Baileys, and,
of course, Guinness — to name just a few. Headquartered in London, and operating
in more than 180 countries, they’re a force in a thirsty world. The Glendale
Raptors are proud to announce a sponsor partnership with the beverage
juggernaut, and look to reinforce Guinness as the beer of choice for American
rugby fans. Pete Javorek, Diageo Distributor Manager for Colorado and Utah,
explains that the partnership is a no-brainer when seeking to properly
represent the company’s biggest beer brand: “With consumers seeking the quality
and heritage of beers like Guinness and rugby on the rise, it was a natural fit
for us. We’re excited to be working together with the Glendale Raptors,” he
said.
Javorek works with 18 distributors in Colorado and Utah,
managing beer forecasting, planning, and distribution — ensuring proper brand representation in the
market. Aligning with the Glendale Raptors promises that representation and
recognition will only grow as the 2019 Major League Rugby season gets underway
in the new year. In addition to having other well-known Irish beers like Harp
and Smithwick’s in its portfolio, Diageo recently completed construction of a
new home for Guinness in America specifically for the United States market. The
Maryland facility will focus on new innovation beers, as well as the production
of Guinness Blonde, a relatively recent offering that, unlike the traditional
stout, is golden in color, and made with American ingredients and by American
brewers. Javorek notes that Diageo and Guinness are happy to be part of the
growth of rugby in the U.S.: “It’s a natural fit for us, and we want to use the
Raptors image and draw to expand to more professional teams in the league.
Rugby and Guinness have been around together for a long time, and it’s
something we want to continue doing. We think the sport is on the rise in the
U.S., rugby is a big draw, and we want to grow both brands together.” The
Raptors understand that draw, and look forward to a long and fruitful
relationship with the world’s most famous stout.
Photo by Seth McConnell
Glendale Raptor Prop Luke White takes the ball into contact
against the Utah Warriors in Major League Rugby. Glendale has been the home of
American rugby for more than 10 years, attracting international talent,
coaches, the attention of a dedicated fan base, and big-name partners like
Guinness.
Courtesy of Guinness
Founded by Arthur Guinness in Dublin in 1759, Guinness is
not only one of the most recognizable beverages in the world, but among the
most successful beer brands ever.
The November 29 announcement that Susana Cordova had been chosen as the sole finalist for Denver Public Schools (DPS) Superintendent came as good news to some but an unpleasant shock to others. Ever since former DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg said on July 17 that he would step down, rumors persisted that DPS insiders had already handpicked Deputy Superintendent Cordova as his successor. But days after Boasberg’s announcement, Denver’s Board of Education (BOE) made one of their own: they would conduct an utterly transparent, community-informed, nationwide “Super Search” to find, as BOE President Anne Rowe said, “the best possible individual to lead DPS forward.”For four and one-half months, over 4,500 citizens — families, students,educators, even DPS’s staunchest critics — attended community forums to say what they wanted in a new superintendent. Then the BOE called a last-minute meeting to say they had a finalist: Susana Cordova.
Community Engagement: Many Denver citizens participated inthe Super Search Community Engagement process. On September 22, 2018, at the Montbello Community Center, a table of educators, former educators, former BOEmember and community leaders try and nail down what attributes they prize in aschool superintendent. Left to right: Rachael Lehman, Margaret Bobb, CarolMarch, Xochitl Gaytan, Amy Carrington, Earleen Brown, Jeannie Kaplan and MarySam.
Critics got their mojo back and denounced DPS for wasting
taxpayer money with the elaborate (nine Town Halls, 100 small forums, two
consulting firms) and expensive ($161,375) Super Search. But Rowe proudly
pointed to the high level of community involvement and, brandishing the 86-page
Community Report, she defended the coincidental nature of the board’s choice:
“Cordova possesses every attribute the community said it wanted.”
Was Susana Cordova truly the best person to lead DPS
forward? Or had the Super Search been, as many claimed, a “super sham?”
Continue Or Confront?
Part of the answer, some said, lay in the mess Boasberg left
behind as he flew off to Singapore for his new job. Besides scandals at several
high schools, a more difficult-to-address mess lay in the educational policies
Boasberg had cemented into the city’s school system, policies that a new
superintendent would either continue — or confront.
Many parents and educators agree with East High Principal
John Youngquist’s statement that “DPS needs to address failure.”
For 15 years, DPS has hewed to only one education theory:
the data-driven “reform” model. Boasberg did not just follow his friend and
predecessor Michael Bennet’s reform ideas. Aided by an unusually long tenure
(10 years) and cooperative (or convinced) boards, Boasberg brooked no
opposition as he installed reform notions like high stakes testing, evaluating
teachers on student test scores and closing neighborhood schools.
In recent years, however, evidence has flowed in that reform
educational notions make bold promises but bear little fruit. The Gates
Foundation admits “We haven’t seen the large impact we had hoped for.” Closer
to home, in April 2018, the National Association of Education Progress (NAEP)
released data showing DPS’s “achievement gap” between low-income students and
those from more affluent backgrounds as unusually large. Another study showed
that gap to be third largest in the nation. Even pro-reform groups like A+
Colorado admit “Denver has “some of the largest [achievement] gaps between
different groups of students.” Since 70% of DPS students are black or Hispanic,
a majority low-income, many parents have grasped the significance of the
achievement gap.
Increasing numbers of Denver parents and teachers haveformed and joined community groups to “take back” their public schools. Manyworked to elect school board candidates who felt similarly. This last election,two such candidates, Dr. Carrie Olson and Jennifer Bacon, won seats — and on November 29, voted “no” on the resolution to approve Cordova as sole finalist.(There were three finalists, but two dropped out.)
Educational Activists: Education activists, who representdifferent groups and perspectives, but are united in their belief that DPSneeds to create loving and safe neighborhood schools — left to right, frontrow: Xochitl (Sochi) Gaytan and Earleen Brown; back row: Sadie Castleberry,Samantha Pryor, Brandon Pryor, H-Soul Ashemu, Cassandra Craft-Johnson, DeronnTurner, Alan Belliston, Mr. Gaytan, Mary Sam, Jeannie Kaplan, Kelly Molinet,Gabe Lindsay. Ashemu, Craft-Johnson, and Gaytan are leaders of Our Voice OurSchools (OVOS); Craft-Johnson is a leader with the Black Child DevelopmentInstitute of Denver (BCDI) and the Pryors are activists with Warriors for HighQuality Schools.
After the resolution passed, 5-2, Cordova said, “I learned a
lot from Tom, but I am not him … I’m a much more collaborative leader.” Some
believed Cordova was signaling her intention, once appointed, to listen more
closely to the community than Boasberg ever did.
The BOE is due to appoint someone — almost certainly Cordova
— on December 17. Until then, Cordova anticipates showing — at community
meetings around the city — ”what I believe and who I am.”
Who Are You?
Referencing the list of attributes the community said it
wanted, one DPS principal said, “They want an educator above everything. Susana
has spent her entire career as a teacher, principal, administrator. Check. They
want someone committed to Denver … who sends their kids to DPS schools. Check,
check, check …”
Board Vice President Barbara O’Brien said Cordova fulfills
other community requests “coming from the Latino community and being
bilingual.”
On December 5, at North High, in Cordova’s first appearance
since being named finalist, a colleague described Cordova as “warm, caring and
sensitive,” then opened the floor for questions.
“What will you do about the achievement gap?” a parent
asked.
“Being Latina … the achievement gap is very personal to me,”
Cordova began. “I know what that gap means to families … jobs …” She then
proceeded to deliver upbeat generalities; e.g., “With support, our schools can
improve”; “We need to value our teachers more”; which caused an observer to
mutter, “Platitudes will get her nowhere. She needs a specific plan!”
Only when asked twice if “school closings are still on the
table, “ did Cordova go specific. “I think [closing a school] has to be one of
the tools in our toolbox,” she finally said.
Why Not Cordova?
“The strategies [Cordova] championed as deputy
superintendent are now being held up as examples of why the reform movement is
not working,” says teacher Anna Noble.
Final Candidate: Denver Public Schools has advanced just onename for its top job: Susana Cordova. The current Deputy Superintendent forDPS, Cordova would succeed longtime superintendent Tom Boasberg, who announcedhis retirement in July.
“If these policies aren’t working, why would we want someone
who believes in them to be superintendent?” says former BOE member Jeannie
Kaplan.
“I went to the [December 5] meeting with an open mind,” says
Jane Diamond, activist and DPS parent. “I believe that Susana is a bright and
sincere person. What I didn’t hear was passion, innovation, energy, anything
new or inspiring.”
“New direction is needed,” insists DPS parent Maggie Miller.
Activist Brandon Pryor recently brought attention to
Cordova’s involvement in the “AmeriCorps scandal.” The AmeriCorps program,
overseen by Cordova and two others, was terminated in June 2018, when a state
agency discovered DPS hadn’t complied with requirements and must pay the
program back. “This will set taxpayers back millions,” said Pryor, who said the
real scandal was Cordova’s complicity “with a program that allowed unlicensed
individuals to teach in DPS classrooms.”
Conflict Of Interest?
Cordova is married to Eric Duran, Managing Director in the
Denver office of D.A. Davidson, a firm that has participated in bonds where
Denver tax dollars go to a charter school. Contradicting O’Brien’s insistence
that “there is no conflict of interest … Eric’s firm has not done business with
DPS charters for 10 years,” public records show only a few years back, Duran’s
firm did an $8.3 million-dollar deal with a DPS Charter School known as
Highline.
Duran’s firm has pledged “not to conduct business with DPS.”
But some point to Cordova’s already profiting from charter school bond deals as
sufficient conflict of interest.
A Little Help From Her Friends
Months before the Super Search meetings began, parents and
community leaders were urged through phone calls from a DPS insider to be “part
of the campaign to support Susana Cordova.” One parent said the caller
“insisted ‘Susana was her own person.’ So I asked, ‘Then why does she support
Boasberg’s policies?’ and they said, ‘Oh, she can’t say no to her boss!’”
“It could be Susana has been in DPS too long,” mused Kaplan,
whose vast store of knowledge about DPS and fairmindedness are respected on all
sides. “But maybe … she’s biding her time, waiting till she’s confirmed to
break out of the mold.”
Endgame
In a November 28 post on her blog Kaplan for Kids, Kaplan
gave a blistering assessment of DPS’s history and suggested that DPS, rather
than learning from failure, seeks to hide that failure by appointing Cordova.
In a more recent conversation, Kaplan said she wished
Cordova well. “I want her to succeed! And I think she could, if she sees this
as a great opportunity. But in order to succeed, she has to reach out to the
other side.
“A perfect way to do that,” Kaplan said, “would be to name
Antwan Jefferson — he does amazing work — as deputy superintendent. That would
bring a whole other part of the community into this discussion.” “She could, if
she really wanted to, be a bridge-builder! And that would be so amazing for
DPS.” Others say that Cordova should pick a deputy superintendent that aligns
with her as well as the majority of the BOE opinions.
It is said that politicians are attracted to money like
flies to a dung heap. In Denver no one loves the smell of money more than City
Council President Albus Brooks, a close ally of ethically challenged Mayor
Michael Hancock. He is expected to succeed Hancock in four years assuming
Hancock prevails in his quest for a third term this spring.
Brooks has the full confidence and support of the
high-density developers that own and control Mayor Hancock. Brooks’
subservience to developers has gotten him in trouble at times with some of his
constituents in District 9. Developers have begun to gentrify his district with
high-density developments driving some African American families out of Denver
where they have lived for generations. His tone deafness over the Ink! Coffee
shop controversy highlighted how out of touch he was with the many issues
important to the residents of his District. Brooks has only exasperated his
problems by his remarks on Colorado Public Radio where he appeared not to grasp
the concept that “involuntary displacement” was very much of a concern to
homeowners in Five Points, Elyria-Swansea and other neighborhoods in his
District.
Brooks infamously declared on the radio: “Displacement is
not in the home ownership category. It’s in the rental category and someone
cannot afford what their landowner is jacking up the price with, right? And so,
that is something that we are working very hard on.”
These comments helped Candi CdeBaca decide to run against
him this spring in the city election. She has stated: “He didn’t understand the
nuances of involuntary displacement. That is directly connected to his power
and his purview. He should know all of the ins and outs of it.”
What Brooks does understand is money or more specifically
how as a politician he gets his hands on as much of it as possible. While high
density developers strongly support him as he does their bidding, he is not
particularly liked by them on a personal basis. His cryptic nickname among some
developers and lobbyists is “The Buddha.” It is not that he has any interest in
that Eastern religion but rather the fact that many statues of the Buddha have
him sitting with his left palm pointing upward. According to his critics Brooks
shakes your hand with his right hand while his left palm points upward to be
greased.
This leads to his latest money-making scheme — heroin
injection sites. There is big money to be had by politicians in drugs these
days. On the Republican side Colorado Senator Cory Gardner and former Speaker
of the U.S. House John Boehner have become ardent advocates for the
legalization of marijuana across the country notwithstanding spending most of
their political careers adamantly opposed the same. What changed? Once pot was
legalized in states like Colorado and California there arrived a river of money
for politicians and lobbyists who would help overcome federal constraints on
the drug.
Brooks’ nose for money has led him to an even more lucrative
drug field — heroin. Mexican drug cartels are facing a crisis. With
legalization of marijuana in various states no one needs the cartels to grow
marijuana in Mexico and ship it across the border. Moreover, cocaine is no
longer the drug of the young and the hip and usage is dramatically down. What
is up is opioid addiction and in particular heroin addiction. What is holding
back this growth market is the terrible stigma attached to heroin use.
That is where politicians like Brooks can help. He has
gotten the Denver City Council to approve so called “safe injection sites.”
Heroin users are provided free needles, syringes, septic pads and a private
place to shoot up. Medical attendants will be there to administer Naloxone in
case of an overdose. Of course, once you have one site you will need many more
as addicts driving to and from a single injection site to get their multiple
daily fixes is generally not to be encouraged.
If you want more of something you subsidize it, but that is
not the key service Brooks is providing to the cartels. What the cartels need
to grow their heroin businesses is for the stigma of heroin use to disappear.
What better way than state and municipal sanctioned and supported “safe”
injection sites to say to today’s youth that the hellish existence of a heroin
addict is just one of many different but acceptable lifestyle choices. In
places like Vancouver, Canada where there are safe injection sites, the use of
heroin has skyrocketed and while there are no reported deaths at the sites
there plenty nearby.
The Buddha, of course, is just trying to be “compassionate”
to heroin users and the cartels who support and nurture them. Brooks will get
rich in the process. If there is any justice in this world, kids and their
families who become addicted to heroin because of the actions of Councilman
Albus Brooks will someday go visit him in what grand mansion he will be
ensconced in to personally thank him for the destruction and damage he has wrought to them.
