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
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