8 DECEMBER 28-JANUARY 3, 2023 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | 12 next season. “It’s going to take a tremendous amount of resilience and togetherness.” Even so, she’s looking forward to high- profi le contests like those against Stanford, UCLA and USC in January. “It’s gonna be brutal,” she says. “But also, we’re good. It’s important to remember that it’s not just one great team playing. It’s two great teams, and we both have to face off with each other.” She already knows that her team is a win- ner in the classroom. She boasts about the Buffs’ academic prowess as much as their athletic feats. “The amount of hours they pour into the basketball and then also equally the amount of hours, if not more, that they’re pouring into their schoolwork to achieve like they are on the court and in the classroom is pretty remarkable,” Payne says. Payne is no stranger to academic achieve- ments herself. Before Graves invited her to become an assistant coach at Gonzaga University, she planned to become a college professor teaching French, which was her major. Once she began coaching, though, she knew that basketball was her forever career. But she’s not setting a specifi c goal for the team’s performance this season. “We really don’t do that,” she says. “We just prioritize trying to be great today, and that’s it. If we can do our jobs and play with a competitive spirit, really push each other to be our best, then we feel like the end of the season takes care of itself.” — CATIE CHESHIRE Power to the people: Brian Mason Up for reelection in 2024, 17th Judicial Dis- trict Attorney Brian Mason plans to keep going for “the big fi sh” in Adams and Broom- fi eld counties during his next year in offi ce — but it’s not just criminals he’s after. “The things that we are working on are issues that are impacting the entire state,” Mason says. “That includes fentanyl, that includes motor vehicle theft, that includes juvenile violent crime, that includes the men- tal health crisis. These are all things that we are working on, earnestly and proactively.” Since taking over as DA in 2021, Mason and his team have earned praise for bringing vehicular manslaughter suspects to jus- tice and for the offi ce’s support efforts for victims, most recently by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Busting crime rings and drug traffi ckers has also been a major point of emphasis, along with helping people af- fected by domestic violence and bringing their tormentors to justice. “I said to my team when I took offi ce, I want to go after the big problems and I want to make transformative changes where we can,” Mason recalls. “And we’re doing that in the realm of domestic violence; we’re doing that in the world of drug traffi cking. We’ve seen the indictment of a major drug traffi cking ring recently. ... I’m super proud of the work that we put into landing that indictment. It is an example of us going after the big fi sh, the big dealers, the people who are most responsible for distributing these poisons [fentanyl] into our community. Same with motor vehicle theft and same with human traffi cking.” His next big step: fi nally completing a long-term goal to create a Family Justice Center in Adams County, which is home to Brighton, Commerce City, Federal Heights, Northglenn and Thornton, and also covers portions of Arvada, Bennett, Aurora, Loch- buie and Westminster. The unincorporated communities of Henderson, Strasburg and Watkins are also covered by Mason’s offi ce. “One of my goals, one of my big goals for my next term — if the voters choose to give me another term — is to bring a Family Justice Center to my jurisdiction,” he says. “A Fam- ily Justice Center is a wonderful model for serving victims of domestic violence, human traffi cking and sexual assault. It is a one-stop shop, for lack of a better phrase, for victims of these crimes to come to and receive every service that they need in one place. We have found that victims of domestic violence of- ten don’t want to cooperate with a criminal prosecution or law enforcement because they don’t have family law services to get a divorce or to sort out child custody or to sort out im- migration issues. And so they go back to their abusers and continue to be abused and be in harm’s way. And sometimes children are in harm’s way because of factors outside their control. A Family Jus- tice Center tries to address all of those in one place.” Another major focus for 2024 will be juvenile violent crime and ensuring that youths in the 17th Dis- trict are safe. “We’re about to open up a youth shelter in Adams County,” he says. “And that’s, again, some- what outside the lane of a traditional district attorney, but something I really felt needed my efforts in order to keep the community safe and make our system better.” Heading into the new year, Mason says he is “chal- lenging the legislature to reconsider” Colo- rado’s juvenile bed cap limit for how many young people are permitted to be held in custody after they’ve committed a crime. “In my jurisdiction, we are capped at sev- enteen beds. That’s it,” Mason says. “We have more than seventeen violent juveniles in Adams and Broomfi eld counties. And so my team, on a weekly basis, and sometimes on a daily basis, has to meet and discuss which least violent juvenile to release in order to clear out a new bed to open up — a new bed for the ju- veniles who committed a homicide the night before. And this is just not good public policy, and it’s making our community less safe.” Mason adds, “I don’t take any joy in lock- ing anybody up, adult or juvenile — par- ticularly juveniles. I am a proud Democrat; I believe in helping people and lifting people up. But I also believe in keeping my com- munity safe. And we cannot keep this com- munity safe if we don’t have a place to put violent youth.” — CHRIS PEREZ A Dome run: Tim Hernández Amid resignations, infi ghting and an over- load of vitriol at the Colorado Capitol, a new contender is preparing to enter the ring next session: Representative Tim Hernández. Before he was even sworn into office, Hernández’s appointment to the Colorado House of Representatives had inspired ire from national pundits over his calls for a “forceful cultural revolution” against white supremacy. Weeks later, a video of Hernández attending a pro-Palestine rally the day Hamas attacked Israel went viral, bringing criticism from leg- islative colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Only one month into his year-long term, the controversy led fi fteen Republican leg- islators to sign a letter calling for Hernández to be expelled. Now, approaching the start of his fi rst regular legislative session on January 10, Hernández is undeterred. “They should be focused on passing a bill. As far as I’m con- cerned, they’re wasting their time,” he says. “I’m here because I’m trying to work against oppression,” he adds. “It’s very hard and quite unpopular to confront oppression head-on. But I’m okay with that.” Hernández fi rst came into public view in 2022, when he lost his job teaching at North High School, prompting student protests about the lack of diversity among educators. He soon became a major progressive activist in Denver, and when the legislature’s House District 4 seat became vacant this summer, he vied for it against two opponents. He got 39 of 68 votes from the vacancy committee, winning the seat. At 26 years old, Hernández is the state’s youngest legislator and the fi rst belonging to Generation Z. He is also Chicano, adding to the legislature’s underrepresented Latino caucus. A lifelong resident of north Denver, Hernán- dez says he wants to address issues that matter to his community, such as improving housing access, education funding and gun violence. He plans to shift the 69-31 majority Democratic legislature further left, calling the Statehouse, media and culture at large “unprepared” to be pushed on their progressive values. “I know that I’m prepared, because my neighborhood prepared me,” he says. “It’s an honor to be entrusted with the will of the folks that I grew up around.” Hernández joins the House at a historic moment, when the chamber has its larg- est Democratic advantage in 85 years. But with this dominance, the party has begun to fracture between its moderate leadership and progressive young guns like Hernández. Discord broke out during the 2023 session and the special session in November. Six House Democrats resigned this year, with many cit- ing the tension as a reason for their departure. But Hernández isn’t concerned about pressures in the building. “I’ve always ex- perienced baptism by fi re, so I’m all right under the heat,” he says. So far, he’s signed on to sponsor legisla- tion to allow cultural regalia at graduation ceremonies, create a Chicano license plate to fund Chicano youth leadership programs, and restrict “captive audience” meetings in the workplace, when employers force em- ployees to listen to their religious or political views. On Sundays during the session, he will teach critical digital literacy and socially just education classes at Urban Peak. Hernández says he intends to prepare the legislature for more members of his genera- tion as they begin to enter politics and lead a progressively more diverse society. “There’s nothing controversial about me or what I believe,” he says. “I represent a perspective in politics they may have never heard before. Folks in the state Capitol are fundamentally unequipped to handle young people in our political capacity.” Hernández says he wants to create a democracy that works for them, and there’s “a lot of work to do.” — HANNAH METZGER Homeless on the range: Dede de Percin Even though safe outdoor spaces and tiny home villages existed before Mike Johnston was elected mayor of Denver, the concept of micro-communities is pretty new for the People to Watch in 2024 continued from page 7 District Attorney Brian Mason Colorado Representative Tim Hernández EVAN SEMÓN ALYSON MCL AREN
