Critical Issues Up For Vote Include National Western & College Scholarships
What You Need To Know for Nov. 3
Later this month and early next, Denverites vote on taxes, School Board candidates, revenue sharing with Adams County, and college scholarships.
“There are 346,595 Registered Voters and we never predict turnout,” says Alton Dillard of the Denver Clerk and Recorder’s office. “All eligible voters receive a ballot in the mail and have numerous options by which to return them.”
If past recent elections are any indication, less than one-third of those eligible are likely to vote. Fewer than 90,000 people voted in the latest election for mayor and city council.
2C: $1 Billion for the National Western & Convention Center
Referendum 2C – “Revenue Bonds and Tax Extension, National Western and Convention Center” – is the most costly issue on the ballot.
While city government officials are prohibited by law from using taxpayer resources to campaign for the passage of 2C, promoters are calling it “A Smart Deal for Denver.” A significant amount of private money is being used to convince voters to say yes.
Critics, however, call the proposal to approve nearly $1 billion for the project a “blank check” for the administration of Mayor Michael B. Hancock. There is also concern that, like the veteran’s hospital and the airport hotel, the 10-year project will cost well more than estimated.
Northwest Denver political activist Thad Tecza says the major defect is failure to consider alternatives for spending a projected $856M, raised mostly through tourism taxes.
“A group of the city movers and shakers decided that the Stock Show should stay at its present location [and] be expanded, and then searched for a source of revenue to achieve their desired outcome,” says Tecza. “When they stumbled on extending the Lodgers and Car Rental Taxes, they thought they had struck gold.
“Despite what you are being told, this constitutes a new tax, and they are required to put it to a vote of the people. As a result, they have to convince us yokels to approve the plan.”
By getting voter authorization for a 1.75 percent tax on hotel rooms and car rentals, Smart Deal promoters promise an improved multi-use year-round facility at the National Western complex north of Park Hill. The scheme includes a partnership with Colorado State University and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. CSU seeks a greater presence in the Denver area to compete with the prominence of the University of Colorado.
The deal also involves cleaning up the South Platte River in the area of the Stock Show and improvements to the Globeville, Elyria, and Swansea neighborhoods of north Denver, along with modernization of the Colorado Convention Center downtown.
The city has already applied for $117M in state tourism funds. Final funding depends on private investment and contributions from CSU and National Western.
Gearing up for 2026 Olympics?
While the neighborhoods appreciate the opportunity of a financial infusion, some complain that the deal amounts to a choice of accepting the city plan or get nothing and remain poor. Even neighborhood leaders are split on the proposal.
“The tax extension is expected to finance approximately $581 million in borrowing. Of that, $476 million would be dedicated to the Stock Show and $105 million for the Colorado Convention Center,” notes Tecza. “But the real issue is if this is the best possible use of this money. To achieve the best outcome for our dollars, economic rationality would suggest that we ought to consider several options. After all, if we decide to extend these taxes we only will get one shot at this money and once it is gone it is gone.”
Well-known Elyria neighborhood activist Tom Anthony cynically sees a long-term ulterior motive.
“You might say anything is better than nothing, but the real driving force on the National Western Center seems to be the 2026 Winter Olympics, here in Elyria,” claims Anthony. “Nobody in authority will admit it but the initial plans kept mentioning ‘Olympic Sized Speed Skating Arena.’ And since the city quietly ignored constant neighborhood nattering for a new school by North Side Park, we’ll have to assume the city has other plans more compelling for its 22-acre weed patch.
“Vail will get its train, Denver will showcase its wonderfulness (to foreign visitors), and Elyria will emerge 12 years from now as an up-and-coming enclave for the aspiring skaters and horse doctors of the metro area.”
2A: Denver’s college scholarship plan
A second proposal – Referendum 2A – would increase the sales tax by 8-cents on a $100 purchase to raise money for a Denver “College Affordability” scholarship plan.
Council members Mary Beth Susman, Wayne New, and Kevin Flynn express opposition. Flynn has been colorfully quoted as saying the city is “pulling up to the wrong fuel pump.”
Stephen Jordan, President of Metropolitan State University of Denver, led a task force that came up with the plan. There was no involvement by the general public in developing the proposal.
“Higher education shouldn’t be Denver’s responsibility,” says Susman, in exclusive comments for Greater Park Hill News. “The proposal compromises Denver’s clear division of responsibility and doesn’t require accountability from the colleges that would receive our support.”
Susman, a former educator, points out that Denver has enormous obligations for infrastructure, affordable housing, safety, human services, parks, and public works. “How can we ask Denver taxpayers to support something that won’t address these needs? Taxing Denver for challenges that are the state’s purview without any direct accountability to the city may be tackling the wrong end of the problem and definitely with the wrong resources.”
District 8 Councilman Chris Herndon is one of the key supporters of 2A.
“The chances for students from low income families to afford college are slim, meaning thousands of qualified, smart, and talented Denver students will skip college simply because the skyrocketing cost of tuition is putting college out of reach,” he says.
The money would be collected like any other sales tax, and would be distributed by the Denver Scholarship Fund, a private foundation. Up to 2,500 students would be eligible. Students would have to be Denver residents for the past three years, complete the federal application for financial aid first, maintain satisfactory academic progress, and be under age 25. Scholarships are limited to $4,000.
Reformers versus traditionalists
There’s a high level of contention in the Denver School Board races. The fundamental differences among candidates are those who support neighborhood schools – sometimes known as traditionalists – and those who seek improvement through “reform” and more unconventional approaches.
The only race that Park Hill residents will weigh in on this year is the at-large seat, in which neighborhood school advocate Robert Speth is challenging incumbent School Board President Allegra “Happy” Haynes. (For more on this race, including the candidates’ positions, see Education Update on page 1.)
The other school board races involve candidates running to represent other parts of Denver.
In southeast Denver, reformist incumbent Ann Rowe is being challenged by Kristi Butkovich, executive director of the Denver Alliance for Public Education.
In District 5 in west Denver, neighborhood school advocate Michael Kiley is running against reformist Lisa Flores to fill the vacancy created by term limits on Arturo Jimenez.
Marijuana taxes, revenue sharing, election details
There’s little controversy over two other ballot issues.
Referendum 1A calls for the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) between Adams County and Denver to be amended to increase revenue sharing. Adams County would get one-half of the revenue from Denver International Airport to promote growth and job opportunities. There is no readily identifiable opposition.
State of Colorado Proposition BB is required by the state’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). The measure asks voters if the state should retain or refund $66.1M in marijuana tax revenue.
The measure’s author, Sen. Pat Steadman (D-Denver), says he wrote the language to encourage voters to allow the state to keep the money for school construction and other projects. If the measure is defeated, 62 percent of the money would go back to those who paid it, cannabis growers and users, and the remainder would be refunded to all taxpayers.
Lawmakers also approved elimination of the marijuana tax for one day to meet a TABOR mandate based on a change in the amount of revenue collected.
Ballots will be mailed to all voters, and drop-off ballot boxes open on Oct. 12. Voter service and polling centers open Oct. 19 through Election Day, Nov. 3. The actual Coordinated Election Day is 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Complete election information is available at: https://www.denvergov.org/content/dam/denvergov/Portals/778/documents/2015KeyDatesandLocationsCoordinatedElection.pdf
Additional information on all the candidates is available online. Those who do not have home computer access can go to public libraries and most schools for assistance.
Dave Felice is Chairman of Greater Park Hill Community Inc. He is a member of National Writers Union Local 1981, and recipient of an award this year from the Society of Professional Journalists for news column writing. He can be reached at chair@greaterparkhill.org.