Go to: Denver Post Voter Guide • Candidate Q&A home page

Briefly describe the single most urgent issue facing the city of Denver and how it should be addressed.
We are facing a housing crisis: housing is too expensive, it’s not located where people want to live, and there isn’t enough of it. One approach I will take is to elevate the housing crisis as a regional issue: first, passing affordable housing mandates in each municipality in Denver Regional Council of Governments; second, working regionally to ensure each municipality meets Prop 123 requirements; and third, coordinating regionally for state and federal dollars to increase access to affordable housing. My collaborative approach will also extend to fostering public-private partnerships to expedite the building of affordable housing units.
What should Denver leaders do to address the city’s lack of affordable housing?
First, Denver must fast-track the building of affordable housing by reducing bureaucracies that increase costs. I propose adding 10 new FTEs to the permit team immediately. Our 2024 budget must provide rewards, bonuses and OT tied to reducing backlog and permitting time to 90 days. Second, I will work alongside council colleagues and the new mayor to map out vacant city properties and expedite the building of deed-restricted, affordable housing. And third, city government must provide leadership in the conversion of office space into affordable housing to reinvigorate downtown.
Do you support redevelopment at the Park Hill golf course property? Why or why not?
Yes. As a parks advocate with 30 years of experience increasing park space and the quality of existing parks across the city, I know it’s unprecedented to have 80-100 acres of dedicated park space donated to the city. The park, trails and playing fields will provide access to a vast green space that historically has not welcomed the historic black community surrounding it. The development provides deed-restricted rental apartments, workforce housing for teachers, firefighters, and working families who are currently priced out of Park Hill, as well as incentives for a grocery store and targeted incentives to increase BIPOC businesses.
What should Denver leaders do to revitalize downtown Denver?
Denver leaders must reduce crime, incentivize businesses to adopt a 4-day employee-in-office work week, and design programs to bring crowds to the Central Business District. We must prosecute habitual offenders committing crimes while increasing the continuum of services from outreach workers and STAR team to support unsheltered residents. Let’s foster the vibrancy and creativity of downtown spaces by scaling up DDP pop-up strategies to include artists and small performances like David Byrne’s Theater of the Mind. Finally, let’s invest in outdoor concerts and signature events in front of Union Station and in Civic Center Park.
What is Denver’s greatest public safety concern and what should be done about it?
Denver’s greatest public safety concern is the growing sense that crime does pay. There must be consequences for criminal behavior and penalties for criminals stealing cars, conducting open air drug deals, and harassing residents and visitors when they walk or roll on the 16th Street Mall or ride the mall shuttle. As we execute on police reforms, we must also revisit criminal justice reform. Public safety also includes our streets. Vision Zero can no longer be a slogan: we must reduce vehicle and pedestrian deaths in the city. We also must increase shared streets, protected bike lanes, and safe sidewalks.
Should neighborhoods help absorb population growth through permissive zoning, or do you favor protections for single-family neighborhoods?
This is not an either-or question. Throughout Denver’s history we have done both. Neighborhoods like Capitol Hill and Cheesman Park demonstrate that single-family homes with gentle density like carriage houses and duplexes in the same neighborhood have worked for at least a century. That mix of housing has provided affordability while single-family homes in those neighborhoods continue to increase in value. For the children and possibly parents of families currently living in primarily single-family zoned neighborhoods today to be able to afford to return to their neighborhood, we must increase gentle density options.
Should the city’s policy of sweeping homeless encampments continue unchanged? Why or why not?
No, it’s not compassionate for over 300 residents to die unsheltered on our streets every year. I support the camping ban, but sweeps without services and housing are a failure. We must implement Community Solutions Built for Zero program and have an accurate count of every resident living unsheltered in Denver. We must provide one-for-one transitional housing options for every person living unsheltered. This must be a regional effort. Increasing 10-fold sanctioned outdoor spaces throughout the region as well as increasing transit between all regional transitional housing options including SOS and motels to service providers and healthcare providers is crucial.
Should Denver change its snow plowing policy? Why or why not.
The track record of mayors keeping their jobs after not plowing the streets quickly is not a good one, and I’m certain a similar impact flows to council candidates not demonstrating dexterity in their answer to this question! I will tread lightly. Yes, change is needed. Our current policy takes into consideration historical “sun melt” of cross streets as a mitigating factor for not rolling out plows. Impacts of climate change must be taken into consideration when we forecast snowfall, snow melt and the speed of “sun melt.” An all-hands-on-deck approach can provide the plowing service our residents expect.
What’s your vision for Denver in 20 years, and what would you do to help the city get there?
Denver 2043 will be a healthy, micro-transit city with bus rapid transit along main parkways Colfax, Federal, Broadway, and Speer. We will have narrower tree-lined streets, buffeted by vertical parks along major parkways with protected bike lanes, and wider sidewalks in every vibrant neighborhood. DOTI-managed free micro-transit electric vehicles will cut by 75% individual car usage and reduce the carbon footprint for the first and last mile to regional transit options. We will accomplish this by fully funding CASR and DOTI to meet sustainability goals. Over time, creating and funding local transit priorities will augment RTD’s reduced bus service.
How better can city officials protect Denver’s environment — air quality, water supply, ground contamination? And should the city take a more active role in transit?
The next councilperson must lead local, state and federal officials to go beyond monitoring air quality to levy impactful penalties to change polluter behaviors. In addition, the city must reduce its water use. CASR should increase xeriscaping incentives for residents and the city should eliminate lawn-only options in future developments, while redoubling efforts to plant and care for trees. DOTI must expand micro-targeting transit options like the Montbello connector in every impacted neighborhood. Finally, our city needs to lead – not lag – in recycling and composting.

Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot.