Find Equitable Solutions to the Housing Crisis

We all know Denver needs more housing to meet the needs of all our residents. My experience will be an asset in moving us forward:

1. • As a state representative, I passed legislation in 2000 that provided tax exemptions for public housing authorities.
   • I served on the board of the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority which is dedicated to financing affordable housing. 
   • As a public finance lawyer, I understand the financial incentives that will encourage developers to build affordable housing. I also know expediting permitting can support smaller, local developers willing to meet or exceed affordable housing targets.
   • We can’t rely on one development to solve our housing shortages; affordable housing must be dispersed throughout the city where jobs exist.
   • Support affordable home ownership that promotes the path to the middle class.

Join with Regional Communities to Transition the Unhoused

Denver can only solve the unacceptable plight of the unhoused by partnering with regional, state, federal, and nonprofit agencies and businesses. I’ll be a strong advocate to:

• • Negotiate with Denver Public Schools to convert vacant buildings into safe shelters
  • Establish one-stop permitting for shelters that want to expand but now face delays coordinating with multiple agencies and sometimes conflict agency demands
  • Advocate for state funding
  • Engage neighborhoods in an open and honest process for locating shelters and transition housing

Reimagine Community-Focused Public Safety

Reducing crime and restoring trust in our public safety system demands urgent, bold action.

• Our understaffed police force offers an opportunity as well as a challenge.  I will work to help local law enforcement agencies to aggressively recruit a more diverse workforce. I know from uncles who were policemen that recruiting the kids who grew up in the toughest neighborhoods is more likely the ones residents trust. 
• I co-chaired the community committee that recommended establishing Denver’s Independent Monitor to hold rogue cops accountable. Costly settlements over police misconduct give good cops a bad name and undermine public trust. I will continue this work on the city council.
• I support Denver’s Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) Program which sends Emergency Medical Technicians and Behavior Health professionals to help persons with substance abuse and other mental illnesses and will expand the program.  Not every 911 call requires a pistol or a taser.

Protect the Environment and Open Space

Parks and open space should complement – not compete with – Denver’s rapid population growth and density. These are among the reasons I have fought to honor the conservation easement taxpayers paid for to preserve Park Hill Golf Course for open space and recreation.  

• Not all neighborhoods enjoy short walking access to nature and recreational opportunities that promote healthy lifestyles and renew our spirits. 
  
• Open space can restore our tree canopy and water and reduce the threat of floods and excessive heat. 
• Denver’s park access of 9 acres per thousand residents is already well below the national average of 13. 

Enhance Public Transit

COVID and changing work habits have magnified the challenges to local and state government efforts to expand public transit that is affordable, convenient, and safe.  My experience prepares me to be an effective broker for creative solutions.

• If we want Denver to thrive, we need to provide accessible ways to connect residents to life’s essentials: work, school, medical care, play, and so forth. I will increase our public transportation capacities, starting with the most underserved neighborhoods.