12 MARCH 23-29, 2023 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | He’s also taking a tough stance on un- sheltered homelessness, using the subject as material for a television ad and promising to enforce the camping ban. “Folks living in encampments are in inher- ently dangerous situations, and I want to help the unhoused quickly and effi ciently access services they need, including stable housing and wraparound services like mental health and substance-use treat- ment,” Hansen says. Hansen has raised $575,862. Leslie Herod A resident of Colorado for over twenty years, Leslie Herod has served in the Colorado House of Representatives since 2016 as a Democrat rep- resenting Denver. Herod, the fi rst LGBTQ Black individual to serve in an elected offi ce in Colo- rado, is well known for her work on criminal-justice reform. In the summer of 2020, as protesters were demanding racial justice in the streets of Denver, Herod spearheaded a police accountability pro- posal known as SB-217, which passed out of the legislature and was signed into law that same year. Herod had already brought forward the Car- ing for Denver measure, which Denver voters ap- proved in 2018. The mea- sure raised the city sales tax, with extra revenue earmarked for mental health programs. Some of that money now funds the Support Team Assisted Re- sponse (STAR) program, which sends a paramedic and a mental health clini- cian to crisis situations that don’t merit a law enforce- ment response. Herod, who notes that she’s more introverted than most peo- ple assume, is now hoping that the skills she honed in the legislature will carry her into the mayor’s offi ce. As mayor, Herod would invest more in resources to get people living on the streets indoors. “Bold action is required to change the trajectory of the city, and we can develop so- lutions that are both safe and caring,” Herod says. “Eighty to 90 percent of unsheltered people would rather be in housing, and it costs $200 to $500 per day to house someone in the Denver jail. Denver voters don’t want to continue with failed policies of the past. We must develop a new response that includes comprehensive housing and safety programs.” Herod has raised $1,087,303. Mike Johnston A Colorado native and resident of Denver for the past twenty years, Mike Johnston has spent his career in education, the nonprofi t world and politics, specifi cally as a Colorado state senator representing northeast Denver. In his most recent gig, as CEO of Gary Community Ventures, Johnston spearheaded the passage of Proposition 123, a statewide measure that aims to raise around $300 mil- lion per year for affordable housing in Colo- rado. And that falls in line with Johnston’s major campaign focuses: housing, and ending homelessness in his fi rst term as mayor. To achieve that goal, Johnston says he’d build 1,400 tiny homes or hotel conversions in ten to twenty microcommunities that have wraparound services. These microcommunities would “create a sense of community by moving people who live together in encampments into the same microcommunities and offer a diverse array of microcommunities to meet individual needs” and also “stop eviction and displacement by investing in prevention to reduce the number of residents who become homeless,” Johnston contends. That way, Johnston could still “lead compassionate enforcement of the camping ban for those who are unwilling or unable to move into microcommunities.” Johnston made unsuccessful runs at both a U.S. Senate seat and the Colorado governor’s offi ce. The former Yale soccer player and state champion ski racer is hoping that this time around, he’ll be able to win the most powerful political offi ce in Colorado: Denver mayor. Johnston has raised $2,572,347. Aurelio Martinez Aurelio Martinez, a graduate of Manual High School, has a diverse range of experi- ences that he’d bring to the Denver mayor’s offi ce. He’s run the concessions at City Park Golf Course; he also owned and operated Don Carlos Mexican Restaurant. Since re- tiring in 2020, Martinez has done volunteer advocacy work in the Curtis Park neighbor- hood, where he lives. While he’s not the only former athlete in the mayoral fi eld, he’s the most accom- plished: He competed as a boxer at both the amateur and professional levels for ten years. And as mayor, Martinez plans to give more power to neighborhoods. “We will put together an Offi ce of Om- budsman and Liaison that will be the bond- ing of residents and the city administration to ensure neighborhoods are in control,” Martinez says. Martinez has raised $49,384. Debbie Ortega No mayoral candidate has had a longer ca- reer in politics than Debbie Ortega. A district councilwoman from 1987 to 2003 and then an at-large member of Denver City Council from 2011 through today, Ortega worked with Denver’s Road Home on the issue of homelessness between her council stints. And before Ortega was fi rst elected to offi ce, she worked for a lieutenant governor, a U.S. senator and a Denver City Council member. As some of her biggest political achieve- ments, Ortega cites her work pushing a cleanup of environmental waste in Globeville and Elyria-Swansea, as well as her efforts to bring preservationists and property owners in LoDo together to stave off inappropriate development. In her free time, Ortega loves to make jewelry; she says she gives away all of her favorite pieces. Ortega won’t have much free time if she’s elected mayor. Although Denver may be in the mood for change after twelve years of the same administration, Ortega views her own lengthy political experience as a strength. And she believes Denver needs to get more focused on certain types of crimes. “I’ll start by standing up a metro task force focused on stopping the supply of lethal drugs and guns in our community while cracking down on car, bike and catalytic converter theft,” Ortega says, adding, “We must also invest in recruitment, retention and training to stem the loss of personnel in public safety de- partments and increase neighborhood safety.” Ortega has raised $524,288. Terrance Roberts A Park Hill native and a former member of the Bloods gang, Terrance Roberts ended up turning his life around in prison, ultimately becoming an anti-gang activist. But his work in anti- gang advocacy took a hit when Roberts shot some- one at a 2013 peace rally that he’d organized. He was ultimately acquitted of attempted murder; in recent years, Roberts, who is a vegetarian for moral and health reasons, has continued his advocacy work in both the racial justice and criminal jus- tice reform worlds. He’s running for mayor on a platform of establishing a public bank in Denver and tackling poverty to get at the root causes of many of the problems with which Denver is grappling, such as homelessness and crime. “My platform calls for more public social housing with on-site services and a public banking system to pay for it. Nobody is mov- ing from a tent into what is being considered ‘affordable housing.’ After more newly built or retrofi tted public social housing, then more attainable low-income housing is needed, and then someone can transition to what is being considered affordable housing,” Roberts says. He also believes that Denver should stag- ger its let-out time in LoDo to prevent the type of violence that has become so char- acteristic in the area when bars and clubs are closing for the night. “I am actually the only candidate that has expressed this is needed since I announced my platform,” Roberts says. “Studies show it’s safer for our unhoused population, law enforcement, DUI arrest and accidents, and will add revenue to our general fund from additional sales tax dollars and tourism dollars.” Roberts has raised $100,390. Trinidad Rodriguez A born-and-raised West Denverite who’s the son of former City Haul continued from page 10 continued on page 14 Debbie Ortega Mike Johnston Leslie Herod CIT Y OF DENVER MIKE JOHNSTON FOR MAYOR ERIN MCCARLEY
