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Denver City Councilman Rafael Espinoza’s call for an investigation over improper texts Denver Mayor Michael Hancock sent to Denver police detective Leslie Branch-Wise when she was a member of his security detail circa 2011-2012 is not being echoed by other members of the panel. The Denver City Council has now issued a joint statement that essentially shrugs off the need for such an inquiry while calling for greater transparency related to any assertions of sexual harassment by officials. Yet the information that led to this decision was dispensed at a closed-door meeting, during executive session.

This community center in Pueblo uses peer mentors to help those with mental-health issues.

Denver City Councilman Rafael Espinoza has asked for an independent investigation of Denver Mayor Michael Hancock following his video apology for sending inappropriate texts to Denver police officer Leslie Branch-Wise in 2011 and 2012, when she was on his security detail. But the controversy has also sparked renewed interest in stories from that same period suggesting that Hancock had been a client of the Denver Players/Denver Sugar prostitution ring, originally headed by former professional skier Scottie Ewing. The latter tale got another workout yesterday, March 12, when Ewing took to the local airwaves to attack a weekend column by Chuck Plunkett, the Denver Post’s editorial-page editor. Plunkett had co-starred alongside Ewing in a recently broadcast recording from the period when the newspaper was investigating the Hancock claims. In the piece, Plunkett called Ewing a “professional liar” while detailing the Post’s investigative process, and in conversation with KNUS talk-show host Peter Boyles and me, Ewing returned the favor.

In a strongly worded letter accessible below, Denver City Councilman Rafael Espinoza calls out Denver Mayor Michael Hancock over improper texts he sent to Denver police detective Leslie Branch-Wise when she was a member of his security detail circa 2011-2012. Espinoza refers to the actions as sexual harassment, an assertion Hancock has denied, and advocates for “an independent investigation by an outside party, selected by Council, to delve into this matter and provide a full accounting,” with particular focus on settlement payments made to Branch-Wise and former Hancock friend Wayne McDonald.

The morning after last week’s Colorado caucus, we knew that former Colorado treasurer Cary Kennedy was the big winner among Democrats running for governor. Days later, however, there are still no definitive results in regard to Republican gubernatorial hopefuls, since the Colorado GOP hasn’t released official statewide totals regarding the straw poll conducted on caucus night, nor does it plan to do so. But based on information shared by some key counties, as well as a recent survey, it appears that Colorado treasurer Walker Stapleton currently leading the pack.