by Mark Smiley | Jun 20, 2014 | Main Articles
Calls City’s Actions A ‘Sham, Disgraceful’
Will A Federal Investigation Reach Up Into The City Attorney’s Office?
In Courtroom A802 in the Alfred A. Arraj Federal Courthouse an amazing battle is taking place in which longtime federal district court judge John L. Kane is taking on large portions of the government of the City and County of Denver. His actions make it abundantly clear that he believes that the Denver’s Sheriff’s Office is corrupt along with the Internal Affairs Bureau of the Police Department. He also appears to believe little that is told to him by the City Attorney’s Office of Scott Martinez and he clearly plans to do something about it.
The case before Judge Kane was brought by Jamal Hunter, a former inmate in the city jail against the city and two sheriff’s deputies he claims brutalized him and incited other inmates to beat and torture him. Hunter was in the city jail on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge when he was placed in a pod with a group of gang members from the Bloods organization. They decided that he must be a snitch and with the help of a shockingly corrupt sheriff’s deputy, Gaynel Rumer, they decided to viciously retaliate against him by beating and scalding his genitals with hot water. Hunter brought suit against the city and taped interviews by Hunter’s attorneys brought shocking, additional allegations against Sheriff’s Deputy Gaynel Rumer who it was alleged to be drunk on the job and helped gang members run a black market involving drugs and porn at the jail.
In response, the Denver Police internal affairs started an investigation ostensibly about the deputy’s misconduct although it is unclear why the Sheriff’s Department’s own internal investigation unit was not used. The tapes of the interviews of witnesses eventually made public appear to show that the police investigators were attempting to silence and intimidate the witnesses from testifying in the civil case and not to investigate wrongdoing by the deputies.
The City Attorney’s office and private attorneys hired by t
he city fought furiously to keep the jailhouse tapes and the taped interviews by Denver internal affairs officers from going public. Legal experts indicated that Denver’s legal pleadings to the court on the matter verged on the incoherent. The city also sought to go on a public relations gambit relating to the actions of its employees.
Police Chief Robert White told Channel 31 KDVR prior to any tapes being made public that “I feel very comfortable in saying I don’t think that there’s any improprieties on the part of our investigators as it relates to this particular incident.” It was widely assumed that he could only make such a statement from reviewing the tapes which were readily available to him for months. The statement would appear to imply, if not outright declare, that witness intimidation and witness tampering are a regular part of the pattern and practices of the Denver Police Department. His statement may in the end cost Denver large monetary judgments in the Hunter case and cases to come in the future.
Judge Kane swiftly brushed aside the legal arguments by Denver against public disclosure and quickly ordered the release to the public the tapes and other evidence. Judge Kane was evidently shocked by what he heard on the investigators’ tapes. He called the city’s investigation a “sham” and the police officers’ conduct “egregious.” He declared: “The recording and the transcript of it show a deliberate process of intimidation. …”
He strongly requested that U.S. Attorney for Colorado John Walsh start “an investigation of the pattern and practice of the Denver Police Department and the Denver Sheriff’s Office.” He noted that whether Walsh does so is not “entirely within his discretion” and he would require Walsh to appear before him in public on his decision.
He also took the extraordinary step of ordering all of the city’s depositions of inmates and former inmates to be taken in his courtroom which he would attend, to be sure the city did not again attempt to intimidate or tamper with witnesses.
Kane has had run-ins with the Denver City Attorney’s Office before as he noted “the measures I take to put a stop to this are certainly influenced by previous conduct of the City and County in other cases.”
In 2011 the City Attorney’s Office repeatedly claimed it was unable to provide excessive force complaints against the Denver Police Department pursuant to discovery requests. The city settled one case for $225,000 rather than produce all the records after Kane threatened to fine the city $5,000 a day. Another excessive force lawsuit was brought by a different plaintiff and the City Attorney’s office obstruction continued. In this subsequent case Judge Kane threatened to send federal marshals over to the Internal Affairs Bureau to seize all of its files on excessive force complaints. That case was also settled for purportedly a large sum.
Lawyers from the City Attorney’s Office are reportedly fearful of appearing before Judge Kane with arguments that are to many observers at best specious. The City Attorney’s Office now hires outside attorneys in cases before Kane at an enormous cost to the city based on dubious assertions of conflict of interest.
What is next? Many feel the city will now attempt to settle the Hunter case at almost any cost. It is said that both the City Attorney’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office fear the United States Attorney will look into their lawyers’ conduct in the Hunter case. Both offices were well aware of the criminal conduct of both the Sheriff’s Deputies and Denver police officers yet did nothing and repeatedly refused to bring charges against anyone or take any action whatsoever. Many believe that the corruption at the law enforcement agencies in Denver will never end until the city attorneys are investigated and brought to justice.
While the nexus of corruption may lie at the City Attorney’s Office most believe a whitewash will occur. They point to the 1960s “Robbers in Blue” scandal where over 50 Denver officers were convicted and incarcerated for robbing stores throughout Denver. Not a single ranking officer was brought to justice nor was the City Attorney’s role ever disclosed or even brought up. Historian David Johnson stated: “All the higher ups were protected which is what will likely occur once again and the corruption will continue on unabated.” Other observers note that the plaintiff’s attorneys firm, Rathod, Mohamedbhai, LLC, must negotiate with the City Attorney’s Office for settlements so they make sure that they treat those lawyers with kid gloves.
Jeri Jones, a local historian, declared that: “This is ‘High Noon’ meets ‘Shawshank Redemption.’ In High Noon, Sheriff Kane had to face the bad guys alone as the mayor and town officials leave town. That brings to mind if anybody has seen Mayor Hancock anywhere or making any input on the corruption of his Police and Sheriff’s Departments. In Shawshank Redemption the corrupt jailers beat and allowed prisoners to be tortured just like the Hunter case. Hopefully Judge Kane will bring to justice the many bad guys in this case including the higher ups.”
Judge Kane finished the June 6 hearing with a stirring declaration:
“All I want from them [the inmates and former inmates] is the truth. And I realize that many of them do not trust this institution any more than they do the others, but the fact of the matter is, is that this Court has done nothing to deserve the trust that they should have in it. So if they’ve got any place at all to be, this is it.”
by Mark Smiley | Jun 20, 2014 | Main Articles
710 KNUS Every Saturday Morning 6-9 a.m.
by Keith Thompson
The highly rated and critically acclaimed Chuck and Julie Radio Show is back on the air and can now be heard on 710 KNUS Saturday mornings. The show dominated the ratings when it was on 850 KOA but was cancelled last December as Clear Channel went into a massive cost cutting effort shelving a great deal of local programming across the country, including Denver. Whether you’re a political junkie, avid talk show listener or a mom driving kids around on a Saturday morning, the Weekend Wakeup Show with Chuck and Julie on Newstalk 710 KNUS radio is intended to reach a broad audience.
The program is hosted by Chuck Bonniwell, owner and publisher of the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle and Julie Hayden, an Emmy award-winning television reporter at KDVR Fox 31 News. The couple is married with a three-year-old son.
KNUS, which is part of Salem Communications, has decided to make a major in
vestment into local programming in Denver hiring some of the best talent available in the Rocky Mountain region. Kelly Michaels, Operations Director for Salem Communications in Colorado, stated, “We are thrilled to have been able to land Weekend Wakeup with Chuck and Julie. While our main competitors are cutting back in Denver were are expanding and we intend to make KNUS the top newstalk station in the entire area.”
Bonniwell notes, “While other radio stations are doing less local programming and relying more and more on canned, nationally syndicated shows, KNUS is dedicated to doing what radio does best and that is focus on what’s going on locally, in our own communities.”
Hayden says, “We like to keep things upbeat. We tackle serious topics but we also like to give listeners something to smile about.”
Weekend Wakeup is already breaking ground in talk radio circles. It was the only local Denver radio program to feature Dave Brat a couple of weeks before his incredible upset victory over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in Virginia’s GOP 7th District primary. Bonniwell predicted not only Brat’s victory but also the political tsunami that followed.
Other programs have featured Colorado GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Kopp. While Kopp was on air, the show broke the news that a controversial negative ad run against Tancredo in favor of Kopp was in fact funded by former U.S. Senator and Kopp supporter Bill Armstrong to the apparent shock to the candidate. That show also featured the lawyers in the center of a federal judge’s battle for justice with Denver’s Police Department (see lead story on page one).
Bonniwell says, “We’re fair, but we hold politicians’ and newsmakers’ feet to the fire and ask the tough questions. We hope our listeners come away from the program having learned something. And we encourage people who don’t agree with us to call in. A good debate gets everyone thinking.”
And they also have fun. Hayden says, “We enjoy doing the show, and are always impressed by how intelligent the listeners are.” She adds, “We’re working parents with a toddler, I have a grown daughter and parents who are on the other end of the spectrum. We have something in common with just about everyone and feel like we really relate to the topics that matter to our listeners, whether it’s figuring out the best school for your kids, what’s going on with the economy, as well as national and international concerns.”
Bonniwell says, “I am passionate about politics and enjoy discussing the latest issues, everything from local city councils, state and national elected officials or Iraq.”
Because of their newspaper and television careers, Bonniwell and Hayden are plugged into the latest hot topics in the news.
Admitting it’s not always easy to get up at 4 a.m. on a Saturday to prepare for the show, Bonniwell says nonetheless that it is something they are happy to do. “Weekend Wakeup is a labor of love for us. We’re grateful for the opportunity. And if you’ve been craving great, local talk radio on the weekend or just want to have something fun and interesting to listen to as you start your Saturday, we hope you tune in to 710 AM KNUS, every Saturday morning.”
by Valley Gadfly | May 27, 2014 | Main Articles
The jaw-dropping Glendale Fireworks — considered the Valley’s premier Fourth of July display — will again light up the Valley Basin on July 3.
One of the oldest and largest in the area, the powerful display of pyrotechnics has become a Cherry Creek Valley Independence Day tradition. Families and friends gather at eateries, bars, patios and porches from LoDo to the Dam to view the dazzling aerial display. The mega fireworks show will flicker across the skies at dusk (generally between 9 and 9:30 p.m.)
Best places to watch the mesmerizing fireworks are north of Virginia, south of Cherry Creek Drive South, west of Colorado Boulevard and east of Cherry Street. Many families gather in and around the parking lots at CitySet and at Whole Foods for close-in viewing. The City of Glendale sponsors the fireworks show. Rain date is July 26. Information: 303-759-1513 or www. glendale.co.us.
by Mark Smiley | May 27, 2014 | Main Articles
May 19 Denver District Court Trial Vacated
by Charles C. Bonniwell
For over two years Denver park advocates who formed the entity Friends of Denver Parks have attempted to assert the rights of citizens of Denver as guaranteed by the Denver City Charter and the Colorado State Constitution to vote on matters critical to them and in particular on whether Mayor Michael Hancock could simply trade away 11 acres of open space land for development at Hentzell Park for a rundown office building in downtown Denver.
The city, led by Assistant City Attorney David Broadwell, has blocked all efforts for citizens to have that say. First he claimed that Denver City Charter Sec. 2.4.5., that requires “approval of a majority of registered voters” for the sale or lease of any park or any portion of any park, does not apply since it had not officially been designated a park not withstanding all appearances to the contrary, and even prior statements by the Mayor of Denver in 1979 that the property was “dedicated park land.”
When parks advocates sufficiently gathered signatures under their right of referendum and initiative as seemingly guaranteed by of the City Charter Sec. 8.3.1 and the State Constitution, Broadwell instructed the City Clerk and Recorder Debra Johnson to reject the petitions. He claimed that the swap was an administrative not a legislative action and that vitiated any right of the citizens on the matter.
Municipal law experts noted that the City Clerk and Recorder position was deliberately made by the City Charter as a separately elected officer so not to be under the control of the Mayor of Denver directly or indirectly through the City Attorney. Nonetheless, Johnson took the instructions from Broadwell and rejected the petitions.
The Friends of Denver Parks then sought to have a jury trial on whether the Hentzell Park land was a park prior to 1955 or a dedicated park after that date. Broadwell fought the plaintiffs having the right to argue before a jury of ordinary citizens and demanded a summary judgment from the Denver District Court. If the Friends of Denver could have ever gotten before a jury it appeared to have a strong case, including the proffered testimony of former Denver City Councilwoman Susan Barnes-Gelt who stated that the official City Map designated the land in question as a park.
But all to no avail. On May 2, 2014, District Court Judge Herbert L. Stern III vacated the May 19 trial and awarded Broadwell and the city a Summary Judgment. Friends of Denver Parks attorney John Case has indicated he will appeal the decision but Broadwell’s record in excluding citizens from having a say in the actions of their government appears impressive.
The Real City Attorney
Few Denver citizens have ever heard of David Broadwell but many city watchers consider him for many matters the de facto Denver City Attorney and one of the most powerful people in Denver city government, even though he works very much behind the scenes.
The ostensible City Attorney is 34-year-old Scott Martinez who was appointed to the top spot in January. He is considered by many to be very much a legal lightweight. He was originally appointed by Hancock as deputy city attorney in 2011, and according to The Denver Post he got the job after the Colorado Latino Forum gave the mayor a very hard time about his lack of Latino appointments. A student at a second rate law school, University of San Diego, he apparently graduated without honors or distinction.
His prior appointment even as a deputy city attorney was greeted in some quarters with less than high praise. Then Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives Frank McNulty declared at the time: “Mayor Hancock should hope that Scott Martinez brings a higher level of professionalism as a member of the city attorney’s office than he displayed as a Democratic hack in the reapportionment process.”
The City Attorney’s office has over 90 attorneys, with the bulk of the staff serving under a myriad of appointed City Attorneys who come and go on a fairly regular basis and not always under the best of circumstances. Then Mayor John Hickenlooper’s City Attorney appointee Larry Manzanares committed suicide while in office after being caught stealing a government laptop and allegedly placing child pornography on it.
While many attorneys in Denver have a very low opinion of Scott Martinez, both personally and professionally, the opposite is true of Broadwell. A graduate of a highly regarded law school, University of North Carolina, he also holds a Master’s Degree in Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina and he has worked exclusively for municipal governments since 1980 including being the lead attorney of the Colorado Municipal League. He has lectured and written articles relating to municipal law and has received various awards for his work.
At the City Attorney’s office, Broadwell, keeps a very low profile including not even being listed as part of the so-called Senior Management Team of 11 lawyers. One Denver City Councilmember who did not want to be quoted for attribution stated, “When David Broadwell gives you a legal opinion you pay attention. When Scott Martinez opines people simply roll their eyes and hope he checked first with Broadwell or someone else who actually knows what they are talking about.”
Ignoble Ends
If there is a criticism of Broadwell, it is that he utilizes his considerable talents and skills for ignoble ends. He has been the lead attorney in ensuring that Denver’s civil forfeiture laws whereby the city seizes the property and assets of sometimes innocent citizens never gets to the courts for review. “Asset Forfeiture Reform Long Overdue,” David Kopel, Independence Institute.
Parks advocate Mary David noted, “Broadwell has managed to manipulate the system so the everyday citizens have no role in important decisions that affect them regarding parks in Denver. That allows Mayor Hancock to get away with his various sleazy development deals. Does he think that the hundreds if not thousands of people that have been involved in the Hentzell Park fiasco think better of their government or the court system after this?”
Another parks advocate Susan Johnson added, “We have had our eyes open about how corrupt our government and legal system really is. At the start of the 20th century when the Denver city government and the courts were controlled by crooked cops and saloon owners the right of the people to vote on key matters was fought for and won. Mayor Hancock, his disgraceful developer buddies and Broadwell have begun to destroy those rights. Maybe David Broadwell ought to look in the mirror some time and see what he has become with all of his many skills. Maybe if he stood for something he wouldn’t be stuck for his legal career in the middle of bureaucratic jungles having to ostensibly report to sad sack city attorneys almost half his age like Scott Martinez.”
by Mark Smiley | Apr 29, 2014 | Main Articles
by Mark Smiley
The municipal election set for April 1, 2014, in the City of Glendale was cancelled due to the exact amount of candidates vying for four open council seats. Paula Bovo and Dario Ka
tardzic were re-elected and will each serve four year terms. Doris Rigoni and Joseph Giglio were newly elected to the City Council. They replaced Ricky King and Pat Opper who each served eight years on the council and were term limited. Rigoni will serve until 2018 and Giglio’s term will end in 2016.
Doris Rigoni has been active in Glendale, serving as Planning Commissioner for the past two years, and is passionate about the redevelopment of Glendale. Ms. Rigoni is an Assistant Vice President for Mile High Banks Commercial Real Estate. She specializes in commercial real estate loan origination, special asset restructuring, and disposition. Prior to her time at the bank, she spent 10 years in commercial real estate on the title/due diligence side of transactions. Her early career was in the public sector working directly for Colorado Governor Bill Owens in the Economic Development Community and for the Denver International Airport Partnership.
Rigoni graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder, holds her Colorado real estate broker’s license, is a past Board Member for the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), and is currently active with the local NAIOP Chapter, sitting as the Membership Chair. Rigoni says she doesn’t have any specific plans for her four-year term but rather wants to listen to her constituents. “It is less about what I would like to see happen and more about what the citizens want to see 
happen,” said Rigoni.
Joseph Giglio has been a Glendale resident since 2001 and has served on the Planning Commission since 2012. Giglio is President and CEO of Oncology Trials Insights, a Colorado company that works with drug developers, research institutions, and patients to improve the speed and effectiveness of oncology research. Previously, he served as President for Accrual Solutions, a Denver-based patient accrual management firm.
Giglio is originally from Rochester, New York. He received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Buffalo and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Rochester.
by Mark Smiley | Apr 29, 2014 | Main Articles
Highly Controversial Development May Yet Fail: Neighborhood Groups Rally
Johnson Admits To Rigged ‘Courtesy Zoning’ On Lowry Vista
by Glen Richardson
Amemorandum dated November 15, 2013 by Assistant Attorney General for Colorado Jennifer Robbins has thrown the entire massive Lowry Vista development into doubt. Eight years ago International Risk Group (IRG) got the City of Denver and Lowry Redevelopment Authority
(LRA) to transfer to an IRG affiliate, IRG Redevelopment I, LLC (IRG-I), 80 acres of land for nothing that was supposed to be used only as a park or open space. Months later IRG sought and was eventually given the right to put a massive mixed use development on the property even though the land was supposed to be so contaminated that even watering the property would present a substantial risk to the public. Lowry Vista is located on East Alameda across from Windsor Gardens.
Open Space To Massive Mixed Use Development
The Denver City Council approved the rezoning of Lowry Vista in January 2010 by a 12 to 1 vote despite adamant and overwhelming opposition from citizen and neighborhood groups. The push for the development by Councilwoman Marcia Johnson in whose district the project was located resulted in such a outcry that Johnson did not run for reelection in 2011 and her actions regarding Lowry Vista permanently stained her reputation in many neighborhoods in the district and across the city.
AG Letter
The Attorney General’s November 15 letter informed IRG that before the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (Colorado Health) could consider approval of preliminary development activities for Lowry Vista, IRG-I would need to get the Air Force to void its restriction on its original deed that Lowry Vista could only be used as “open space/non-irrigated park” and to get the Air Force to agree to remain liable for land fill contaminants even if the property was developed, an action which the Air Force previously refused to do.
On December 13, 2013, IRG-I wrote to the Air Force requesting such action in a very oblique manner. Experts indicate there is no reason for the Air Force to subject itself to the potential liability that would result from IRG-I’s requests. They, however, also note that there is a reason why lobbyists in Washington, D.C. are paid millions to accomplish the seemingly impossible from the federal government on behalf of clients.
Moreover, insiders indicate that Mayor Michael Hancock is rumored to be strongly lobbying on behalf of IRG to do away with the open space restrictions. Hancock’s lobbying actions are reportedly being kept sub rosa as he is already in political hot water for destroying open space at Hentzell Park for a development, all the while claiming he is a strong supporter of parks and open space.
IRG has been in an ongoing battle with Colorado Health over Lowry Vista ever since the Denver City Council approved the massive development. In a letter dated November 29, 2013, Ann K. Wei as “Counsel” for IRG-I argued that the term “open space/ non-irrigated park” was not defined and therefore IRG-I’s developmental activities for a massive mixed-use development were somehow not inconsistent with the terms. In the letter IRG-I asserted Colorado Health’s claims to the contrary were “overreaching, arbitrary and capricious.” The Assistant Attorney General’s November 15, 2013, letter basically shot down those claims on behalf of Colorado Health.
The Attorney General’s Office appears to have questions concerning the trustworthiness of IRG-I. On November 18, 2013, Jennifer Robbins for the Attorney General wrote directly to Sam Rupe of the Air Force explaining what it was requiring and why, rather than having IRG act as an intermediary.
IRG-I’s Sly Request
Brent Anderson’s (CEO IRG-I) letter of request dated December 13, 2012, on behalf of IRG-I to the Air Force is a model of obliqueness. It never refers the fact that the Air Force placed a restrictive covenant of use to only “open space/non-irrigated park” nor does the cover letter note that IRG was asking the Air Force to remain on the hook for contaminant liability even when IRG was changing the use to a massive mixed use development. Instead Anderson simply asks that the Air Force should acknowledge that IRG-I’s actions are consistent with the restrictive covenant.
Whether the Air Force will see through the IRG-I sly verbiage whereby a massive mixed use development becomes “consistent” with a restrictive covenant that the property be used only for “open space/non-irrigated park” is unclear and it is unknown what effect Mayor Hancock’s apparent lobbying efforts will have.
The Rise And Fall Of Councilwoman Marcia Johnson
While the City Council’s approval of the Lowry Vista project occurred January 25, 2012, its sordid circumstances reverberate still today. Prior to the Lowry Vista debacle Marcia Johnson was generally a well-respected councilwoman first elected in 2003 and re-elected in 2007 and best known for her work on Westerly Creek. After the Lowry Vista affair she has become loathed by many residents throughout the Cherry Creek Valley and her name synonymous with what is what wrong with the Denver City Council. Even though she was eligible to run for re-election in 2011 she declined to do so as neighborhood groups were out canvassing to find a candidate to oust her. She has, however, continued to assert that she did nothing unethical or wrong regarding Lowry Vista.
Secrets Uncovered
It was discovered by the Chronicle (October 2008) that in 2005 even before IRG got LRA to essentially give it 80 acres of prime land for nothing, a secret $1 million payment had been committed by IRG affiliate to Denver for acceptable zoning for the landfill. Opponents called the million dollar payment illegal contract zoning. Neighborhood groups also discovered that Johnson had taken various campaign contributions from IRG partnerships and affiliates which helped explain to them why it appeared that she was in the back pocket of the developer since 2006.
However, what particularly shocked neighborhood groups was that under the Denver City Council’s unwritten practice of so called “courtesy zoning” all IRG had to do was get Johnson’s acquiescence to its scheme and the rest of the council would turn a blind eye to what was occurring. The outrage by neighbor groups across the city over the Lowry Vista hearing before the City Council on January 25, 2010, continues to this day.
Larry Ambrose, president of the Sloan’s Lake Neighborhood Association in northwest Denver and president of the Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation — the umbrella organization for all neighbor associations in Denver — several months back (December 15, 2013)wrote a guest commentary in The Denver Post titled “Why Developers Win Out In Denver.” He stated: “The most notorious example of the dangers of courtesy zoning is displayed in the Lowry Vista Rezoning in 2009. Eighty-seven percent of the speakers, including every registered neighborhood organization in Southeast Denver, spoke against the plan and stayed at City Hall until 2 a.m. to hear the outcome. Despite the fact that the site was an unmitigated toxic waste dump and citizen testimony was overwhelmingly against the plan, the council obediently followed (by a vote of 12-1) the recommendation of Councilwoman Marcia Johnson to pass the 400,000-square-foot development, which remains vacant today. All that was necessary were the magic words uttered by one council member and the votes fell into place.”
Johnson replied back in The Denver Post two weeks later (December 28, 2013) under the title “Process Was Ethical in Lowry Vista Rezoning” in which she declared:
“When looking at zoning change applications, I applied a bull’s eye with those closest to the center having the most impact on my decision. This parcel is directly across from Windsor Gardens, a community of well over 3,000 people. Residents told me, in public meetings I held, that having a grocery store, the proposed anchor, and other shops just a shuttle stop away would be a huge help since some use public transportation when shopping. Those 3,000 voices were represented by one person in favor of the zoning change, at the public hearing.”
Neighborhood Outrage
Neighborhood groups found her admissions in the article shocking. “Her problem,” stated Mayfair neighborhood resident Trish Abbott, “is that she never was a particularly good liar. She appeared to be in the back pocket of the developer from the beginning. In her entire eight years on City Council she never gave a damn about Windsor Gardens or the retirees that live there. She apparently didn’t even pay any attention at the hearing. The Board of Windsor Gardens before the hearing revoked its original support for the development. She really is one despicable human being.”
In addition Johnson in her article did not dispute Ambrose’s charge that the Denver City Council works on the unofficial policy of rigged “courtesy zoning” which means a developer only needs the support of the councilperson for the district where the development occurs to gain approval from the whole Denver City Council. As a result council members pay absolutely no attention to what the public has to say at public hearings. Johnson confessed “courtesy zoning” had occurred declaring in the article “My colleagues believed I had done my homework and concurred. This deference is hardily unethical.”
Abbott responds, “Of course what she is admitting to in the article is extremely unethical if not outright illegal. What is the point of a public hearing in which citizens give testimony if the council pays no attention to it? If all that happens is her fellow council members ‘believe’ she has ‘done her homework’ and the public be damned then the system totally falls apart. She did not testify or give admissible evidence. She admits that her fellow council members did not consider the five hours of public testimony but acted solely on the belief she had done her homework. This should make the entire Lowry Vista rezoning void. I am not sure that what she is admitting to in the article may not be criminal in nature. It’s time an honest DA or the Colorado Attorney General look at what is going on at Denver zoning approval meetings and bring indictments where appropriate.”
