Monday, August 22, 2005

Public Comments on new Denver Justice Center The public has a chance to comment on the new Denver Justice Center Wednesday night from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in the Webb Municipal Building, 201 West Colfax Avenue, according to The Cherry Creek News. Category: Denver May 2005 Election 9:42:24 PM

	Friday, June 3, 2005

Justice Center Here's an article about fundraising and other issues around the new justice center from the Rocky Mountain News [June 3, 2005, "Justice center blitz set record"]. From the article, "Backers of Denver's justice center raised a record $685,000 in campaign contributions to win voter support last month, according to post-election campaign finance reports filed Thursday. Justice center opponents raised $1,265 during their campaign and collected in-kind contributions worth $76,000...Since the election, justice center opponents have filed two complaints with the Denver Election Commission. Denver Voters for Responsible Spending, a coalition of civil rights and government watchdog groups, is seeking an investigation into the amount of city resources that may have been 'inappropriately' spent to persuade voters to approve the project. Opponents are also seeking an investigation into a separate campaign committee they say proponents formed to promote the jail, but failed to disclose." Category: Denver May 2005 Election 6:11:30 AM

	Sunday, May 29, 2005

Justice Center Vote Cooked? Here's an article from the Denver Post about the Denver Election Commission and the justice center vote [May 29, 2005, "Election panel reforms sought"]. From the article, "New questions about the panel arose this month with a federal lawsuit filed by a longtime city election staffer. Fred Sandoval alleges that election commissioner Wayne Vaden called for his firing after Sandoval said the city intentionally limited turnout by changing balloting methods for the May 3 election that approved a $378 million justice center." Category: Denver May 2005 Election 8:25:05 AM

	Friday, May 20, 2005

Voting Irregularities? Here's a short article from the Rocky Mountain News about Denver's handling of the justice center vote [May 20, 2005, "Charges fly on jail vote"]. From the article, "In the meantime, six more elections workers called Mayor John Hickenlooper's office to complain about the way the election was handled. In his suit, (Fred) Sandoval alleged that the Denver County clerk tried to hold down turnout in the May 3 election by not allowing a mail ballot and by limiting voter registration sites. But the director of the commission vigorously disputed that claim." Category: Denver May 2005 Election 6:23:21 AM

	Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Robb on the Justice Center Vote Councilwoman Jeanne Robb (District 10) summarizes the results from last week's election in a story from today's Cherry Creek News. This is way cool. I first saw the article in my news aggregator. I like the idea of a neighborhood newspaper. Category: Denver May 2005 Election 9:29:05 PM

	Thursday, May 5, 2005

Justice Center Here's an article, for you numbers junkies, from the Rocky Mountain News analyzing the vote for the justice center [May 5, 2005, "Three M's carried day for new center"]. From the article, "The strongest support for the planned $378 million justice center came in Denver's more affluent neighborhoods, according to detailed election results." Category: Denver May 2005 Election 6:00:44 AM

	Wednesday, May 4, 2005

Justice Center Election news from the Rocky Mountain News [May 4, 2005, "City voters say OK to justice complex"]. From the article, "Hickenlooper thanked a broad canvas of politicians, political operatives, neighborhood leaders and law officers for the victory during a speech Tuesday night. But there was little doubt that one of the major winners was the mayor himself. He had taken a perennially unpopular issue - jail building - and won by a large margin." Here's the coverage from the Denver Post [May 4, 2005, "Justice center prevails"]. From the article, "Hickenlooper's campaign was well-funded and had the backing of the neighborhood where the jail will be built. The proposal also garnered support from the Denver school board, the City Council and most of the state legislators representing Denver. City officials intend to issue $378 million in bonds for the justice center as older debts are paid off. As a result, Denver taxpayers would see no increase in their net property-tax bill." Voter turnout was pegged at 23 percent of active voters in Denver cast ballots (58,604 of 250,389 active voters in Denver). The justice center vote was also a referendum on Mayor Hickenlooper's popularity, according to the Rocky [May 4, 2005, "Big win for jail plan a victory for mayor, too"]. They write, "Perhaps the biggest winner in Tuesday's election wasn't even on the ballot: Mayor John Hickenlooper. The first-term mayor prevailed where his veteran predecessor had not." The Denver Post lines out what will be done next [May 4, 2005, "Design phase next, with rehab study"]. They write, "The city's preliminary schedule for the rest of the year calls for selling bonds to finance the project, selecting a design for the complex through a competitive process, soliciting community input and preparing for construction of an adjacent parking garage. If construction schedules hold, the city will open the complex's parking garage in late 2006, open its jail and courts in 2009 and complete renovations at the Smith Road jail by 2011. Meanwhile, a newly seated Crime Control and Prevention Commission will study diversionary programs and alternatives to incarceration, with the aim of recommending the best programs for Denver to use." More praise for the mayor from the Denver Post [May 4, 2005, "Mayor tapped his popularity to put new jail in the bag"]. They write, "By most accounts, it was the mayor's consensus-building skills and popularity that soundly snagged Denver a new jail and courthouse on West Colfax Avenue." The Denver Post editorial staff weighs in on the jail vote [May 4, 2005, "Green light for Denver jail"]. Here's a short article about Referred Question 1B from the Rocky Mountain News [May 4, 2005, "Proposal to merge fire departments gets go-ahead by ratio of 3-1"]. From the article, "Most of Glendale's firefighters will now join Denver's ranks as first-grade firefighters, earning the top pay of nearly $60,000 annually. That reflects a $20,000 bump in pay for nearly all of Glendale's firefighters. A no vote on Question 1B would have left Glendale firefighters, currently in training at the Denver fire academy, without a job." Here's the coverage of Referred Question 1B from the Denver Post [May 4, 2005, "Firefighters in Denver, Glendale hail merger"]. Category: Denver May 2005 Election 5:58:27 AM

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