Finding the right mayor in a large field of candidates
Re: “Mike Johnston for mayor,” March 12 editorial
The Denver Post Editorial Board’s endorsement of Mike Johnston for mayor is a blatant continuation of the past 12 years of Michael Hancock’s power alliance with wealthy business owners and lobbyists. The contributions to Johnston’s campaign are proof that the imbalance of power would continue to the detriment of the needs of the masses.
As an owner of a commercial property with small business tenants and a community equity activist in Globeville for many years, it is another betrayal of promises, passions, and stakeholder investments of time and energy in low- income neighborhoods such as Globeville. I fear that with Johnston as mayor, the leastresourced neighborhoods will continue to bear the brunt of the most egregious problems in the city: homeless encampments, crime, drugs, non- existent basic infrastructure, toxic pollution, and more. Denver needs a mayor that has worked tirelessly in the trenches for its citizens and businesses and has the record to prove it: Debbie Ortega!
— Nancy Grandys- Jones,
Littleton
Talk about a straw man argument. The Post’s editorial argued the “All Lives Matter” slogan implies there is no police brutality in the United States.
What nonsense. The slogan means what it says in light of the fact that twice as many white people are killed by police each year. While police shoot and kill Black people at a per capita rate two to three times higher than white people, Black people also kill Black people at a higher rate — more than five times higher — than white people kill white people. In all, police kill 1,000 — 1,100 people per year.
We should explore laws and policies that reduce violence against everyone in our communities rather than race- baiting for political purposes.
— Brad Rehak, Denver
The hot topic for candidates is addressing homelessness and affordable
housing, and rightly so.
Most of the candidates have been focusing on causes, mainly mental and substance issues. Additionally, a bill is in the works promoting rent stabilization in the legislature. In every article I have read, seniors have not been addressed by any candidate.
Seniors need help now. Recent articles have shown that more seniors are falling into poverty and that in order to sustain living in retirement, more than $ 1 million is needed. Just yesterday I met a senior working at a popular box store. In our conversation, she mentioned that after having retired, she is now working full- time to meet her obligations. What will happen to her when she can no longer work? Where is she and the rest of us seniors going to find help?
I want to hear from every candidate about how they plan to protect seniors during their administration. Is their plan to let us end up in a tent or homeless shelter? Huge rent increases in senior communities are eating up our money. We are a separate group and need specific protection.
Because of the pandemic, inflation, the war in Ukraine and supply issues, seniors are finding themselves in a crisis situation. Many of us can no longer afford to live, given our current monetary situation.
In your editorial endorsing Mike Johnston, I didn’t see the word senior mentioned once. One candidate who has mentioned seniors is Debbie Ortega.
I’m requesting The Post to interview each of the candidates regarding this issue.
— Rochelle Padzensky,
Denver
The election process for selecting Denver’s mayor is clearly flawed. Seventeen candidates, really? Under the guise of appearing to be more “democratic,” the process is anything but.
Denver now has a system in which a candidate may be able to reach the run- off stage with less than 20% of the vote in the first round. If elected in the second round, this could mean that Denver would end up with a mayor that more than 80% of the voters initially did not want.
One should be able to see how outside Independent
Expenditure ( IE) groups ( Denver’s version of Super PACS) would be able to influence the election through their purchase of television ads. More than $ 800,00 has been spent by IES so far. What we have created is a system that is prone to money manipulation by small groups of wealthy people.
hen the number of candidates reaches the level that requires a spreadsheet to keep track of them, voters will be either unable or unwilling to sort through all the possibilities. It will be interesting to see if this drives down voter participation.
A possible solution is to raise the bar for candidates. What would be wrong with needing 3,500 signatures ( 0.5% of Denver’s population) and requiring the raising of $ 10,000 in campaign contributions of $ 20 or less ( which could be done with 500 contributors) in order to qualify?— Guy Wroble, Denver
Look, without a doubt, affordable housing is a big issue, but it is not the only issue. We must applaud those throwing their hat into the ring. That being said, any candidate asking to become your city’s next leader had better bring the whole enchilada to the table. One has to be skeptical when everyone jumps on the affordability bandwagon, then offers a two- sentence response to the problem.
Thus far, the solutions proposed ( for example — parks, homelessness, infrastructure, local business owners, law enforcement, city finances, city planning, treatment of the incarcerated, minorities, a place to raise your family, and the city’s approach leading the way for the metro area and all of Colorado) have been overall weak and seemingly without too much thought. Let your candidates show you what they’re really made of, and don’t let special interests tell you how to think.
I hope that Denver’s residents embrace this moment, think about what the next mayor needs to do to represent all of Denver, and cast their votes accordingly. The rest of us depend on it.
— Gary Rauchenecker,
Golden