Local Politics

Boulder judge rejects restraining order against city's most annoying critic

Update: Today, Judge David Archuleta rejected Boulder's request for a permanent restraining order against Seth Brigham, a vocal critic whom a workplace-violence expert deemed dangerous without having met him and sans any actual attacks or explicit threats; see our previous coverage below. Brigham is ... More >>

Michael Hancock takes cabinet to community for a preview of tonight's de-Brucing briefing

Mayor Michael Hancock held his second "Cabinet in the Community" town-hall meeting Saturday morning at the transformed Rude Recreation Center in west Denver -- a physical manifestation of his campaign promise to "reconnect people to their government." Even if there were more government representativ ... More >>

Michael Hancock's State of the City speech: Police reform and e-Denver

A year after taking office, Mayor Michael Hancock delivered his first State of the City address this morning, promoting a range of priorities, including restructuring the police department, increasing programs for children and a new online initiative he is calling "e-Denver." That's right, Denver is ... More >>

Denver City Council one of the worst for allowing public comments? Not anymore

After months of research, Denver City Councilwoman Robin Kniech concluded that Denver's city council was among the worst in the country when it came to allowing public comment. Heated debates followed. But this week, Kniech successfully lobbied her colleagues to agree to a change in standards that ... More >>

Doug Linkhart, ex-councilman, hit while cycling to Bike To Work Day event

This was not how Bike To Work Day was supposed to go. Sitting in on part of a Denver City Council retreat yesterday, Westword learned that ex-councilman Doug Linkhart, who ran for mayor last year, was hit by a pickup truck while cycling to a Bike To Work Day event with the mayor and current counci ... More >>

Celena Hollis murder: Michael Hancock says gang speculation a distraction

Since Denver cop Celena Hollis was shot and killed over the weekend, there has been a lot of speculation concerning the possible gang-affiliation of the suspect -- but according to Mayor Michael Hancock, reporters are asking the wrong questions. In this case, the gang question, Hancock told Westword ... More >>

Plastic bags ban in Denver? Officials considering fees and more

They clog up waterways. They end up in landfills, where they take thousands of years to break down. And they kill turtles and dolphins. Plastic bags of the sort used in grocery stores are a top enemy for environmentalists, and Westword has learned that some Denver officials are considering policies ... More >>

Boulder files restraining order against its most annoying critic

Update below: Boulder has filed a temporary restraining order against Seth Brigham, a local known for irritating officials in public places -- once by stripping to his boxers at a city council meeting (more on that below). A city spokeswoman cites an expert on workplace violence who sees Brigham as ... More >>

Photos: Denver City Council preliminarily passes urban camping ban

Before last night's epic Denver City Council meeting started, and well before its members voted nine to four to preliminarily approve the proposed urban camping ordinance, the line for public attendance stretched far outside the City and County Building. Many of these people left during the followin ... More >>

Urban camping: A timeline of how the ban began -- and where it's headed

Although there have been rumblings about it for months, Denver's proposed urban camping ordinance has only been circulated in draft form for the past few weeks. In this week's feature, "For the homeless, 'urban camping' is no picnic," Jef Otte took a look at its direct implications by spending a nig ... More >>

Urban camping ban: Denver City Council delays vote -- for a week

Today, after the Commission on Homelessness called for an additional four weeks to consider an urban camping ordinance, Denver City Council moved its final consideration date to May 14, one week later than previously scheduled. The decision came with a final vote of four to three. If approved, the b ... More >>

Urban camping ban: Denver Police Department promises restraint in enforcement

At a city council meeting yesterday afternoon, Police Chief Robert White outlined what he called a "passive" plan for the Denver Police Department to enforce the urban camping ban if it is passed. As drafted, the strategy calls for law enforcement to partner with outreach workers, and White promises ... More >>

Alex Martinez, Denver's new Manager of Safety and DPD overseer: What would you ask him?

Have something you want to ask Alex Martinez, Denver's new Manager of Safety? This is your chance: Westword writers will be meeting with the former Colorado Supreme Court justice this morning, to get an overview of the office and ask about some specific issues, including the recent rulings overtur ... More >>

Wil Alston, ex-Denver communications director, takes finance gig created by Michael Hancock

After six months at the head of Mayor Michael Hancock's communications staff, Wil Alston began a new position yesterday leading the same function for Denver's finance department. Hancock created the position specifically for Alston, who joined his administration in July 2011 and has long been a frie ... More >>

Occupy Denver: Why did city not cite conference call about occupiers in open records request?

Michael Hancock.​Update: Westword recently received a copy of Kilmer, Lane & Newman's updated CORA request from investigator Christopher Dodd. The document is blunt: In it, Dodd references the existence of an Occupy movement-related U.S. Conference of Mayors conference call involving Mayor Mic ... More >>

At Mayor Michael Hancock's first public forum, education and communication issues popular

Michael Hancock​ Concerns about public education and the need to improve communication between city officials and citizens about everything from parking to park usage were hot topics this morning at Mayor Michael Hancock's first community forum. Comments such as "City personnel need to be more ... More >>

Chris Romer: Could big dog have transformed into underdog to win Denver mayor's race?

Chris Romer.​Can the big dog ever win a mayoral election in Denver? Since 1983, the victor has always been an underdog, someone who barely registered a blip on the radar five months before the first round of voting. Chris Romer was definitely the big dog in this mayor's race, and he wound up ... More >>

Aurora City Council members will earn more after they retire than on council

Duane Senn​While Denver City Council's vote to raise councilmembers' salaries continues to raise questions -- and tempers -- on the Denver mayoral campaign trail, an activist in cash-strapped Aurora has determined that retiring councilmembers there will get an even bigger payday.

Chris Romer is the Lady Gaga of the mayor's race: Kenny Be's Speed Candidating

​ Ballots for the 2011 General Municipal Election are due on May 3, 2011. With less than a week left to vote and nine candidates running for Denver mayor, voters will need to keep a "cheat sheet" handy. My Speed Candidating profiles cut through the political song-and-dance to find the mayoral ... More >>

Carla Madison, Denver City councilwoman, dies after cancer battle: Colleagues pay tribute

Carla Madison.​District 8 councilwoman Carla Madison has been battling colon cancer for about two years, but the fight didn't seem to slow her down. That's why her sudden death yesterday came as such a surprise. Below, read the city's official goodbye to Madison, featuring remembrances from co ... More >>

Needle exchanges: City council approves making Denver ordinance allowing them more flexible

​Update: Last night, the city council voted 10-0 to approve amendments to the city's 1997 needle-exchange ordinance. The decision thrilled Lisa Raville, director of Denver's Harm Reduction Action Center, whose mission is to empower and advocate for injection drug users.

James Mejia: Ex-safety manager Fidel "Butch" Montoya endorses him, dumps on Chris Romer

Butch Montoya.​Former Denver Manager of Safety Fidel "Butch" Montoya is switching his endorsement in the upcoming mayoral election to James Mejia. In a strongly-worded letter e-mailed to friends Monday evening, Montoya writes that he originally intended to endorse former state senator Chris Ro ... More >>

Gays and porn big issues in Colorado Springs elections, according to Focus on the Family

​Are gays and porn really two of the biggest issues in the upcoming Colorado Springs municipal elections? According to Focus on the Family, they are. As noted by the Colorado Springs Gazette, FOTF has assembled a candidate survey in advance of the April 5 vote -- and three of its eight questi ... More >>

Ken Simpson: A Denver mayor's race profile

Ken Simpson.​With John Hickenlooper serving as Colorado's governor, we know Denver will have a new mayor this year, and the race is wide open. To introduce you to the players, we're offering profiles of official candidates. Next up: Ken Simpson. "I believe that one person can make a differenc ... More >>

Doug Linkhart, Denver mayoral candidate, is pro-pot legalization & he's got Rob Corry's vote

Doug Linkhart.​The other night a pothead friend was complaining to me about the lack of any candidate he could support in the Denver mayor's race. I noted that Doug Linkhart, the Denver city councilman who tried to extend reviews on MMJ grows but couldn't muster the votes, has said he supports ... More >>

Theresa Spahn: A Denver mayor's race profile

Theresa Spahn.​With John Hickenlooper having taken office as Colorado's governor, we know Denver will have a new mayor this year, and the race is wide open. To introduce you to the players, we're offering profiles of official candidates. Next up: Theresa Spahn. "I'm not an elected official," ... More >>

Bill Vidal has said he won't run for mayor, but a petition aims to change his mind

Bill Vidal.​Mayor Bill Vidal made some noise yesterday -- without calling a press conference. It might have been hard to hear over the roaring of all those rescued lions (and the media hubbub), but his recording welcoming travelers to Denver is now live on the train at Denver International Air ... More >>

Bill Vidal not running for mayor -- but he does accuse John Hickenlooper of throwing tantrum

Bill Vidal.​Given how many people are running for Denver mayor, it's a relief someone has said no. But interim mayor Bill Vidal's latest statement that he won't join the race was preceded by an e-mail to supporters sent when he was considering a bid -- and its blunt language, including an accu ... More >>

Gourmet food trucks collide with confusing Denver regulations

​Gourmet food trucks were the surprise hit of 2010 -- by December, over 150 mobile food vendors had been licensed in Denver, which almost put the movement on par with the medical-marijuana dispensary business. And like dispensaries, the food trucks have been causing some headaches for the city ... More >>

Denver mayoral races are not easy to predict

John Hickenlooper will walk from city to state office a week from today

John Hickenlooper, governor-elect​A week from today, at 8:30 a.m., John Hickenlooper will resign his job as the mayor of Denver, then leave his office at the City and County Building (where he had a stripe painted around the top of the room at a point exactly a mile high) and walk across Civic ... More >>

Danny Lopez: A Denver mayor's race profile

​With John Hickenlooper having been elected Colorado's governor, we know Denver will have a new mayor next year, and the race promises to be wide open. To introduce you to the players, we're offering profiles of official candidates. Next up: Danny Lopez. Danny Lopez hopes that not having an o ... More >>

Michael Hancock: A Denver mayor's race profile

Michael Hancock.​With John Hickenlooper having been elected Colorado's governor, we know Denver will have a new mayor next year, and the race promises to be wide open. To introduce you to the players, we're offering profiles of official candidates. Next up: Michael Hancock. "It's not about co ... More >>

John Hickenlooper does the math, stays at City Hall until January

John Hickenlooper isn't turning his back on City Hall ​Even as John Hickenlooper was heading to the Capitol the day after the election to discuss his plans for the state, city employees were reading this e-mail from the governor-elect: "Many of you have already asked what happens now. As excit ... More >>

Seth Brigham's $10,000 payment for dropping trou: Did it influence Boulder decorum rules?

Seth Brigham under arrest.​Seth Brigham's nipple-baring appearance at a Boulder City Council meeting in February to (sort of) protest a proposed nudity ordinance that would have banned female nipples displays led to Brigham's arrest -- an action that recently cost Boulder $10,000. But did it a ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Rob Corry issues notice to sue if Plants 4 Life, Castle Rock can't agree

Rob Corry.​In January, we told you about Plants 4 Life, a Castle Rock dispensary the town attempted to shut down via an emergency ordinance despite granting it a license to operate. Now, attorney Rob Corry has sent the city formal notice that, sans a resolution, he'll file suit, with damage cl ... More >>

Doug Linkhart leads charge against $25 million jail expansion

Doug Linkhart.​At 2 p.m. today, Denver City Council members will be voting on a 384-bed expansion of the Smith Road jail, a bond-fueled construction contract worth about $25 million. But expect at least one strongly dissenting vote from Councilman Doug Linkhart.

Denver City Council collectable back-to-school lunchboxes: Kenny Be's Fotochop Friday

Full-sized art below.​Out in the real world, "there ain't so such thing as a free lunch," but don't tell that to Denver City Council. Mayor Hickenlooper has asked every department in city government to reduce their budgets by ten percent. City Council has only been able to find a 4 percent sav ... More >>

Nudity and mask-wearing ban proposal: ACLU says decorum rules go too far

Seth Brigham being arrested in February.​The February arrest of Seth Brigham, who stripped to his boxers at a Boulder city council meeting in reference to a possible nudity ban, has led to proposed rules of decorum that prohibit disrobing and more. To Judd Golden of Boulder's ACLU branch, the ... More >>

Medical marijuana booster hit by Fountain city councilman near mayor, district attorney

Harold Thompson.​How to liven up a boring city council meeting? Get one of the councilmen to throw an elbow to the face of a medical marijuana patient who's just called him a son of a bitch. That's apparently what happened at the Fountain City Council meeting last night in an altercation betw ... More >>

Nipple-baring commentator's free speech rights violated, too? A Boulder councilwoman thinks so

Not Seth Brigham's boxer shorts.​Last week, we shared the story of Seth Brigham, who decided to speak at a Boulder city council meeting wearing just his boxer shorts -- a comment on a proposal that threatened to criminalize nipples. The measure's intended to throw a towel over annual events li ... More >>

Looks like the mayor's Facebook page needs a status update

Wake-Up Call: Los Angeles puts a lid on medical marijuana dispensaries

​"We don't want to become another Los Angeles," Denver city councilman Charlie Brown said after touring that city's pot dispensaries, which outnumbered L.A.'s Starbucks outlets, in urging his fellow councilmembers to come up with some regulations for Denver's booming medical marijuana industry ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: Bill Ritter's job push

​Governor Bill Ritter hosted more than thirty business leaders at the Governor's Mansion yesterday for a roundtable discussion of one of his major priorities for 2010: job creation. But Ritter had already given job creation a major push the day before, when his official announcement that he w ... More >>

Knock, knock. Who's there? Interrupting chicken...

Say, you know what makes a boring city council meeting less boring? Furries. Just ask the Durango City Council, which was visited by a human-sized hen Tuesday night during a debate about a chicken ordinance. Watch the faux feathers fly above. All in favor of live personifications of agenda items ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: Putting a lid on the pot party

​Welcome to cannabis Colorado. This weekend, at a gathering of publishers from across the country, all the talk was about Colorado and pot -- and they weren't just asking if I was carrying. No, they wanted to know about the booming business in medical-marijuana dispensaries in this state -- a ... More >>

Jobbed: John Hickenlooper Wants You (to work for free)!

Having trouble finding work? You're not alone. Follow Jobbed every week as we troll for the weird, the wacky and the worst of what the recession-era world of job ads has to offer. The Job, as posted here: Communications Intern -- Denver Mayor's Office Pay: Unpaid

Can municipalities get away with regulating medical marijuana?

​With the Justice Department's announcement last week that it won't be prosecuting medical marijuana cases in states where the practice is legal, the feds loudly and officially passed the buck on the subject. That leaves it up to medical-marijuana states and their municipalities to determine j ... More >>