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.
Climate change — it impacts homelessness, affordable housing, our healthcare, clean water, and our city’s infrastructure. The climate emergency is already happening, and we need to focus on being resilient to its inevitable effects by having a plan for those who are most vulnerable and working to reverse the harm currently being inflicted on people. When we are talking about expanding transportation, access to healthcare, affordable housing all these issues are intersectional with this impending disaster, we no longer have the luxury of time.
What should Denver leaders do to address the city’s lack of affordable housing?
Denver is facing a homelessness and housing affordability crisis, people are being forced out of Denver to find more affordable places to live, wages are not rising while costs are, and attainable units are not being built in a quantity to keep up with the rising need. We need to expand accessory dwelling unit zoning so more families can grow and stay together. We need to have more first-time home-buying grants. We need to build more attainable units around public transit. We must also support the funding of tenant education programs, legal counsel for tenants, and enforcement of state tenant and housing laws.
Do you support redevelopment at the Park Hill golf course property? Why or why not?
I strongly oppose the project being worked on by the city and Westside Investment Partners! Residents of Denver spoke loud and clear when they passed 301 in 2021. I commit to fighting to keep the golf course 100% open space. The developers want to convince us the only way we can get a grocery store and affordable housing is through this project, but we can bring more of both into the district and keep our open space. It is a lie that the land must remain a golf course. Once the space is gone, it will be lost forever!
What should Denver leaders do to revitalize downtown Denver?
We must transform underutilized commercial space into more residential housing. The pandemic has transformed how our city works and we must keep up with those changes by reimaging large swaths of our commercial space downtown.
What is Denver’s greatest public safety concern and what should be done about it?
We should redirect large portions of their budget to the STAR program and other similar measures and devote more resources to community-based violence interruption, housing, education, and substance and mental health treatment programs so we are using more of our resources on helping people and preventing crime and less on enforcement of a broken system. We must remove law enforcement as the default first responders when individuals are experiencing mental health or substance use crises, or other medical emergencies best addressed by health professionals.
Should neighborhoods help absorb population growth through permissive zoning, or do you favor protections for single-family neighborhoods?
We should rezone as much single-family zoning as possible to allow accessory dwelling units so families can grow and stay together. As we develop our city I would want the homeowners to see the benefit of this increase in density over the developers. I would not like to see it go further than that because what we are seeing in East Colfax where luxury condos are being built out of character of the current neighborhood is causing gentrification and is displacing our neighbors. We must develop more transit-oriented developments around our RTD lines to meet the needs of Denver.
Should the city’s policy of sweeping homeless encampments continue unchanged? Why or why not?
We need to end the sweeping of homeless encampments. We must support programs that care for homeless individuals with dignity and respect through direct shelter, job placement, and mental health services; while opposing policies that harass and marginalize individuals in need.
Should Denver change its snow plowing policy? Why or why not.
Absolutely, we must plow every street! I live in Montbello and we seem to be forgotten in most situations (and even sometimes the maps) and the plows seems to be no exception. If we can send the trash trucks down every street I’m sure we are capable of accomplishing the same thing with our snow plows.
What’s your vision for Denver in 20 years, and what would you do to help the city get there?
I want to live in a Denver where people my age are able to buy homes and afford to build a family. A Denver where our air is clean, our streets are safe, and my neighbors in mental health emergencies can find an inpatient bed to receive treatment and are not left with an unaffordable health care bill by doing so. I want to live in a Denver where the developers are not the ones calling the shots in our city government and those decisions are returned to the people. We must fight for this future.
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?
We must expand key programs we already have such as the heat pump program to help buildings and homes offset energy cost. We must prioritize meeting the renewable standards set for our governmental buildings running on 100% renewable energy by 2025 and currently we are far from that important benchmark. We must create an envelope program that certifies that structures are 100% energy efficient. RTD, Denver Department of Transportation, and DPS must work on electrifying buses. Lastly, I would work to expand the newly created Denver Department of Transportation, to aid in inequitable access of transportation.

Briefly describe the single most urgent issue facing the city of Denver and how it should be addressed.
It does other issues a disservice to say they are less urgent, particularly because the issues are interconnected, and housing is the most common issue voters are concerned about. Working families can’t afford to live here, and the city has left too many behind. I believe the city should expand its own stock of affordable housing, building on mixed-income social housing on land it owns. We also need land use reform, encouraging denser housing types, renter protections — the needs are many, and we will need all the tools the city can find.
What should Denver leaders do to address the city’s lack of affordable housing?
I believe the city should expand its own stock of affordable housing, building on mixed-income social housing on land it owns, and looking for ways to partner with Denver Public Schools and RTD on workforce housing. We also need land use reform, encouraging denser housing types and eliminating parking minimums near transit, so that we can develop with our broader climate and transportation and equity needs in mind.
Do you support redevelopment at the Park Hill golf course property? Why or why not?
I am a no on lifting the conservation easement for the Park Hill Golf Course. While I do not want a defunct golf course, nor did the vast majority of community members I spoke to who oppose this plan, a common theme is a lack of trust from folks who’ve been harmed by similar plans in the past. Our dialogue should be to investigate the best outcomes for community benefits and community control, since most of the units will not be affordable to most working class Denverites. I am committed to the messy middle and working with all parties going forward to 1.) Ensure that the people’s will is respected and upheld; 2.) Maintain a use for this parcel that meets the people’s needs; 3.) Co-creating a shared vision for future use.
What should Denver leaders do to revitalize downtown Denver?
As a transit advocate, my first idea is to better connect our Downtown areas with the rest of the city. Denver’s e-bike rebate program is booming, and many places around the country have seen a boost in small business formation and success when regions become more walkable and safe for non-car users. We also need the city to work with small businesses looking to operate in the Downtown area, ensuring a variety of business types to create a more competitive business atmosphere.
What is Denver’s greatest public safety concern and what should be done about it?
Denver has many public safety concerns — we’ve seen gun violence rise, traffic fatalities near a record high, car and bike thefts, and also the inequities of selective policing which undermine public trust. I believe taking public safety seriously means using evidence-based and restorative practices which aim at the underlying conditions for division and dysfunction – like expanding programs like STAR, where mental health professionals are responding to mental health crises, or using automated traffic enforcement to free up police resources for other needs.
Should neighborhoods help absorb population growth through permissive zoning, or do you favor protections for single-family neighborhoods?
I support upzoning across the city toward more dense, walkable communities, especially around transit stations. We need to rethink our land use policy, aiming for 15-minute neighborhoods, while also limiting grass lawns and promoting gardens/xeriscape. We need to be thoughtful and deliberate about risks of gentrification and displacement, overburdened infrastructure, and lack of service for new development, but those concerns should not stop us from meeting the city’s need to grow.
Should the city’s policy of sweeping homeless encampments continue unchanged? Why or why not?
I don’t believe the sweeps are working, and after a decade of enforcement, the evidence points that way too. We need lasting solutions on homelessness — Safe Outdoor Spaces, purchasing hotels and properties to provide housing and behavioral health services, and expanding the Social Impact Bond Initiative.
Should Denver change its snow plowing policy? Why or why not.
Yes! I’ve worked with disability groups in my time at RTD, and none of them would say the city’s plowing policy treats them the same as it treats residents who drive. We need an equitable policy, where snow banks aren’t pushed onto sidewalks for pedestrians to summit, and where bike lanes are cleared with equal frequency as roads.
What’s your vision for Denver in 20 years, and what would you do to help the city get there?
I believe the health of our city is the wealth of our city. In addition to plans on housing, transportation, and public safety, I believe in leading on public health – clean drinking water, cracking down on air pollution, building up local farms for providing health produce, improving mental health supports for all ages, and expanding even further Denver’s many recreation centers and opportunities for physical fitness.
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?
On air quality, we know that transportation is a major source of pollution. Denver needs to boost its efforts toward multi-modal transit, and speed up projects in tandem with RTD and CDOT to get bus rapid transit in high-traffic corridors across the city. The e-bike rebate program is effective so far, and needs more support, as do micromodal pilots like the Montbello Connector. On water, in addition to using IRA funds for cleaning up lead pipes, the city should be taking more direct responses to Suncor’s polluting of waterways like the Platte River.

Briefly describe the single most urgent issue facing the city of Denver and how it should be addressed.
The skyrocketing cost of living in Denver for families and seniors is the single most urgent issue facing Denver. We need to address this issue by focusing on lowering the cost of housing, transportation, utility bills, and other essential parts of residents’ budgets so we do not displace more families, and make sure that Denver is open and accessible to our children when they inherit this city.
What should Denver leaders do to address the city’s lack of affordable housing?
I believe we need to build more affordable housing in District 8 for young families, seniors on a fixed income priced out of their homes, and everyone else who isn’t a millionaire. We need to listen to community and find innovative ways to solve multiple community needs with limited land. Denver should incentivize and streamline the transformation of empty parking lots into mixed use projects backed by the community, like FreshLo, which will combine a grocery store, retail, community services, and affordable housing. Or like the Rose on Colfax, which will have an ECE center on the first floor and affordable housing above it. We can solve multiple challenges for Denver families if we replicate these projects all over District 8 and Denver.
Do you support redevelopment at the Park Hill golf course property? Why or why not?
All Denver families deserve a home we can afford, healthy food, and parks where our children can get fresh air. As the proud dad of two little girls, I know how important each of these things are.

But that’s not the reality in Park Hill right now, as I’ve learned after listening to longtime Park Hill families in District 8. Housing prices are out of control, grocery stores have long since vanished, and there isn’t enough real park space where kids can safely play.

The good news is that there’s a solution. The Park Hill Golf Course has been sitting empty for years since it closed in 2018. But there is now a plan I support to deliver a 100-acre Denver park, 1000+ new trees, 550+ permanently affordable for rent and for sale homes, and space for a grocery store. It’s the right thing to do.
What should Denver leaders do to revitalize downtown Denver?
Three actions:
– Activate downtown by making it safer and easier to get to and travel around downtown by walking, biking, and taking the bus.
– Convert commercial buildings into residential and transitional housing where possible.
– Create gathering places for families, downtown workers, and visitors to Denver to stay for more than a few hours.
What is Denver’s greatest public safety concern and what should be done about it?
The greatest concern I hear from District 8 voters is the increasing average 911 response times. We need to ensure our public safety professionals are appropriately resourced to respond to urgent, high-priority calls quickly in every part of the city.
Should neighborhoods help absorb population growth through permissive zoning, or do you favor protections for single-family neighborhoods?
I believe neighborhoods should be able to better advocate for the positive changes they want to see around zoning, whether it’s more space for locally owned businesses you can walk to, affordable housing for seniors and families close to parks, transit, and grocery stores, or more unique community-generated ideas for spots that cater to the community’s needs.
Should the city’s policy of sweeping homeless encampments continue unchanged? Why or why not?
Denver should be focusing on ensuring we have adequate low-barrier to access shelters, Safe Outdoor Spaces, transitional housing, and permanent affordable housing, all with wraparound supports needed to build trust and relationships to help reduce the number of people camping on our streets and getting the services they need.
Should Denver change its snow plowing policy? Why or why not.
Denver’s snow plow policy and decision making should better take into account the weather after a snowstorm so we don’t accumulate the ice that stayed recently, which is so dangerous to people walking, biking, taking the bus, and driving.
What’s your vision for Denver in 20 years, and what would you do to help the city get there?
My vision for Denver and District 8 in 20 years is one in which you don’t need to be a millionaire to live in. One where we have abundant housing for all at various income levels, where everyone has green space nearby, and it’s a place where families can thrive. We can get there if we listen to and learn from the community, ensure we have responsible development, and execute a smart plan for the future of Denver.
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?
Denver should continue to empower the CASR office to develop innovative programs that make our housing, buildings, transportation, and living spaces greener. I believe Denver should take a more active role in both quickly developing the infrastructure for bus rapid transit lines throughout District 8 and our City, as well as expand the Denver Connector (formerly known as Montbello Connector) to all NEST neighborhoods. Eventually, every neighborhood with the challenge of “last mile” transit accessibility should get a Denver Connector-type service so that everyone can get around sustainably.

Briefly describe the single most urgent issue facing the city of Denver and how it should be addressed.
The most urgent issue facing the City of Denver is the cost of housing. There are a few factors to include: Creating and training a workforce for the jobs of the future that pay wages that create generational wealth for those vulnerable to displacement, recruiting and retaining city employees that can streamline city systems and processes, creating opportunities zones that prioritize transportation centers to fast track building contracts and building permits. Work with state legislators to create property tax caps and rental cap legislation, helping to reduce the cost of building supplies by creating or strengthening local supply chains.
What should Denver leaders do to address the city’s lack of affordable housing?
Affordable housing requires the cost of building supplies to go down. Affordable housing requires a strong and diverse economy. Affordable housing will require the leaders of our city to be creative on how to cap rent increases.
Do you support redevelopment at the Park Hill golf course property? Why or why not?
I do support the redevelopment at Park Hill golf course. I believe owners and investors should build a mixed-use development. This should be done with the community and the history of the community in mind. There should be smart and environmental ways to produce housing, green open spaces, and multi-modal infrastructure. The WHOLE neighborhood should be engaged and kept involved in every developmental phase. The community engagements efforts should be robust and include those living in the area, those displaced, and those vulnerable to displacement.
What should Denver leaders do to revitalize downtown Denver?
Leaders should work with the Denver Downtown Partnership to recruit organizations that will live and work downtown. We should work with the mayor’s office to find ways families can live and work downtown. We should recruit more artists and theater to make the art seen more robust downtown.
What is Denver’s greatest public safety concern and what should be done about it?
The greatest public safety concern is the eroding mental health of our residents. There is a strong correlation between addiction, domestic abuse, suicide, homelessness, and the declining mental health of our population. There are a few ways to address it: Creating properly trained citizen patrol groups to address safety and provide wellness checks. The principal purpose of these groups is to coordinate community policing with police officers and other public health officers/offices.
Should neighborhoods help absorb population growth through permissive zoning, or do you favor protections for single-family neighborhoods?
Neighborhoods should help absorb the population growth through permissive zoning. This may be unpopular but could help single-family homes offset some of the rising costs of living in the city.
Should the city’s policy of sweeping homeless encampments continue unchanged? Why or why not?
We should treat people who are unhoused with dignity. We should create thoughtful and caring policies that will not demonize people in these very unfortunate circumstances. With that said, we should be more creative and mindful about the public health implications of homeless encampments. I do not support sweeping homeless encampments; we have to find a better way! With the cost of living in our city, at any given moment, this could be us, our friends, or our family members. Most of these people do not choose to be in these situations.
Should Denver change its snow plowing policy? Why or why not.
I am not sure I know enough about the snow plowing policies to give a meaningful response.
What’s your vision for Denver in 20 years, and what would you do to help the city get there?
I think our city could benefit from a more diverse population. We should be mindful about welcoming a large block of the population back that were forced out due to the cost of living. We can do this by lowering rent and housing costs. We can do this by creating BIPOC welcome centers in order to recruit the brightest, the kindest, and the best people from all across the world, including the people who are not BIPOC. We should decrease our carbon footprint as a city and build the workforces of the future. We can do this by investing more dollars in the private and public sector to encourage and incentivize people to use public transit, buy electric vehicles, make safe and active routes to work and school, and use alternative energy in and on homes and businesses.
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?
We should rely on officials who test and monitor our air quality, water supply, and ground contamination to protect our environment. We can work with universities to recruit and retain students to work with the city. I was on the project teams that brought the Montbello Connector and the GES Connector, a point-to-point fair free shuttle, Denver’s first transportation project since creating the voter-approved Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. I am very proud to be on this team and believe we should expand the program to other neighborhoods. We have collected some important data that shows this service positively impacts economic and environmental factors in the neighborhoods.

Briefly describe the single most urgent issue facing the city of Denver and how it should be addressed.
We are going backwards! Safety, housing affordability, pollution and livability in our city have all declined in recent years.
What should Denver leaders do to address the city’s lack of affordable housing?
Seek out incentives and subsidies for developers to build affordable housing and continue to build housing at all price levels.
Do you support redevelopment at the Park Hill golf course property? Why or why not?
No. First, it shouldn’t be considered “redevelopment” because it under a conservation easement and was never developed in the first place. Overturning an easement and building on open space should be a last resort. There are plenty of potential redevelopment parcels surrounding this historic green space in addition to development opportunities surrounding the nearby 40th and Colorado light rail station.

I’d like to amend the easement to remove the golf course language and my hope is to see the land become a regional park accessible to all Denverites.
What should Denver leaders do to revitalize downtown Denver?
Make it easier to convert existing buildings from commercial to residential use, add more public restrooms, and increase mental health and substance abuse outreach workers to assist citizens in crisis.
What is Denver’s greatest public safety concern and what should be done about it?
Many of our citizens are suffering from mental health crises, and sadly, finding immediate and effective help is very difficult. I’d like to seek more mental health and substance abuse solutions.
Should neighborhoods help absorb population growth through permissive zoning, or do you favor protections for single-family neighborhoods?
Zoning for additional units on existing properties, such as accessory dwelling units, should be allowed.
Should the city’s policy of sweeping homeless encampments continue unchanged? Why or why not?
No, the current policy isn’t working. Our shelter system warehouses dozens of people per room. It is unsafe and uncomfortable, and drives many of our unhoused neighbors to seek alternatives. Until we have a safe and more effective shelter system, we will continue to see tent camps.
Should Denver change its snow plowing policy? Why or why not.
Yes, in situations like we had last month – several days of freezing weather – we should plow side streets so they don’t become ice rinks.
What’s your vision for Denver in 20 years, and what would you do to help the city get there?
I’d love to see a Denver that is diverse, affordable, and livable. I will seek any and all solutions to help get us to that goal.
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?
Supporting a robust transit system is Denver’s key to protecting its environment. Our city doesn’t have a safe and reliable transit system, and until we do, most residents will continue to use cars, which degrade our environment. Stronger enforcement over industrial polluters is also vital for a healthy city.

Candidates are ordered alphabetically by last name.

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