Disagreement over costumes escalates

A Denver city councilman is facing complaints from an activist who is demanding an apology or his resignation amid a disagreement over Halloween costumes the councilman considers offensive.

On Oct. 30, Councilman Paul López posted Facebook photos of the costumes he saw for sale at a local store, including a border agent and a package labeled “Mexican man,” complete with long mustache, sombrero and colorful poncho.

“Utterly insulting to see that both my ethnicity and the oppression we face are still Halloween costumes,” López wrote, urging people to complain to stores selling them. Victoria Reynolds shared López’s post on her Facebook account and, in Spanish, criticized his belief that the costumes were offensive.

At one point, Reynolds posted a photo of herself trying on the border patrol agent costume inside a store.

Reynolds and López both attended a Feb. 3 meeting of the House District 4 Democrats in northwest Denver, where she was a surrogate for absent House candidate Ed Britt. Britt is running to represent the heavily Latino district.

López said he thought those who had just listened to Reynolds at the forum should know that she pushed back on Facebook against his view that the costumes were racist.

But Reynolds, 49, said in an interview that she felt under attack by López, 39, who is serving his third term. López has said he is considering running for Denver clerk and recorder in 2019.

Reynolds appeared before the city council last week to complain about her treatment at the Feb. 3 meeting by López , whom she accused of targeting her unfairly in public, calling her a racist and using an expletive.

“I want this person removed from the City Council — unless he’s willing to do a public apology with a press conference,” said Reynolds, who also is Hispanic. She spoke during a public comment session before Tuesday night’s council meeting, and 11 of the 13 council members were there.

López later denied acting inappropriately or using a misogynist expletive, and he rejected her suggestion that he step down or apologize.

“Did I give her heat as a surrogate, representing a Democratic candidate — did I ask a tough question, did I criticize that photo? Yes,” López said. “Did I use that language that she’s talking about? Absolutely not. … When you’re in a forum, and you’re taking questions from Democrats, it’s fair — it’s a fair question to ask, especially in a Latino district.”