López continued from page 8 projects. We need to be in Sun Valley. We need to be in Montbello, where there are access is- sues. We need to be on the other side of I-70, where there are geographical nightmares in terms of barriers with that damn highway. Not everything happens online. You can’t expect people to come to government. You’ve got to go to the community. I’ve hired a com- munity engagement team, and one of my youngest ones, she’s amazing, she’s from Fort Morgan. I said, Here’s the agenda: One, I need you to get in the door. Two, get to know their story. Three, I need you to understand the issues in their story. Four, voting as a solution, action as a solution. This is what I was taught. This is what Saul Alinsky taught. Fred Ross, César Chávez. This is their model. Ricardo Mar- tínez. Dolores, right? Dolores Huerta. I think you are saying that the most skilled community organizers can inspire eligible but unregistered voters who may feel alienated from society to evolve into becoming active in every type of election. And that was my shit, back when. That was my specialty. But is that either because they have made up their minds, or have we failed to understand their story? I knew a million people on the Westside: Politics sucks, you suck. You didn’t pave my street. And I would sit there with them. I would hold the damn hose while they were wa- tering their lawn. I got them registered, right? We need to fi gure who are our eligible unregistered. And check it out: The eligible but unregistered population, guess where they are at? It’s the inverted L, which is the segregated city of Denver. Child obesity, higher in these areas. Poverty, higher in these areas. Arrests, higher in these areas. Lack of sidewalks, higher in these areas. Tree cano- pies, lower in these areas. Access to grocery stores, lower. And then people who voted. So your overall goal is increasing participa- tion in democracy through voting? It’s bigger than that, and deeper, and more long-term. Long after I’m done with this role, we want to create a culture of participation. There should be no question from one gen- eration to another. President Barack Obama was giving a speech to the Air Force Academy. And he was talking about how people third-party the government. Well, if you live in a dictator- ship, [the enemy] is the government, right? But in the United States, we are the people, the government is the people. And we cannot forget that. You hear all these people say, The government, the government, the govern- ment. But the government is the people. It is ours to change. And we have the ability to do it. And you know what? All it takes is one vote. I say that because these elections are close. In a city of 715,000, it can come down to just a handful. What’s your feeling about the state of the city right now? I feared this as a councilman. I feared the time when Denver would become so popular. Remember, I was a recession-era councilman. Property values weren’t high. We were cutting budgets, not fi guring out how to spend. And I am very, very, very worried about those es- sential workers being able to call this city home. A city that they defended and kept afl oat. I am panicky about schools closing in neighbor- hoods where kids and families need a school. I’m worried about the city changing so rapidly and us not even having rent control, or policies in place to be able to keep people in the city. Whatever happens is going to come not at the hands of electeds, it’s going to come at the hands of voters. I fought like hell for my district on the Westside so that we had playgrounds, so that we had libraries, so that we had access to groceries, so that our streets were being paved. But most of all, so that people respected our side of town. And I gave up so much. I gave up so many years with my daughter. I had a failed marriage. I gave so much of myself for my district, away from my own life, you know? And to give it my all and barely move the needle? We barely moved the needle. Finally came to realize, you can be a coun- cilperson, you can fi ght like hell, you can give everything — I’m still a bachelor’s, man, I don’t have a master’s. I shoulda been a freak- ing doctor by now, right? Like, you can give everything, but if you don’t have the voting propensity in your precincts, guess who is not going to pay attention? Whoever the mayor is and whoever your citywides are, they are going to have to pay attention to the precincts where there is high propensity. That’s where they send the money, that’s where their time goes. If you don’t vote, if your turnout’s low, they ain’t gonna spend money where you’re at. In order for there to be parity, in order for there to be equality, you’ve got to make sure that people understand the weight of their vote. For their entire community. What are you predicting for the fall? That’s really hard. I don’t know. There are so many different things that drive people to the polls. But our job is to create a culture of participation, where people treat every election like the presidential, as their duty. The other thing on the horizon is, I’m also the recorder, and during the pandemic, we made sure people could get married and record their deeds of trust. I kept my staff safe from COVID. The people who work in this offi ce are real civil servants, unsung heroes. And I do everything in my power to make sure they are honored and respected and have pay equity. And I get to sit back with my jaded self and watch people get married. And it’s beautiful! You see these young couples come in, dressed up, looking like something out of the ’40s, plastic-lit roses. And you see people who are marrying their partner, their best friend, the love of their life. Then you have a Supreme Court of the United States threatening to go backwards on your right to do that. Those are beautiful wedding ceremonies. That’s real love, that’s real commitment. And I fear — it’s voting rights, it’s your right to choose as a woman — but next I fear they are going to try and roll back equal rights to marriage. And I am more than willing to go to jail for all these things that I’ve worked for. Not a threat in the world is going to keep us from doing our job. ’Specially not an old Westsider! Email the author at [email protected]. 9 westword.com | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | WESTWORD AUGUST 4-10, 2022
