Politics & Government

The controversy over Denver Mayor Michael Hancock sending inappropriate texts to police detective Leslie-Branch Wise has led to increased scrutiny on settlements made by the city; Branch-Wise was given $75,000 in 2013 after she made complaints about the behavior of Wayne McDonald, who received $200,000 in 2016 following a lawsuit over his firing by Hancock, his ex-friend. Among those asking questions about such payouts is Stuart Shapiro, a former assistant city attorney and recipient of his own $660,000 settlement from Denver in 2016 over alleged retaliation against him in the wake of a jail-abuse case that cost taxpayers $3.25 million.

Last night, March 27, the Denver City Council met in executive session to discuss the possibility of launching an investigation into inappropriate texts sent by Mayor Michael Hancock to Detective Leslie Branch-Wise during the 2011-2012 period when she was on his security detail. But the members emerged without making any commitment to such an inquiry despite another letter from Branch-Wise’s attorney (it’s shared below) urging them to take action.

The project would have been completed in two phases: setting up temporary structures like geodesic domes to provide shelter, then investing as much as $120 million to build large, permanent apartment complexes with 500 to 600 units.

Nearly two months since Republicans at the Capitol voted to defund the state’s civil rights agency, they are taking another jab at the LGBTQ community with a bill that would give religious institutions and individuals with “moral convictions” and “sincerely held religious beliefs” the ability to deny a wide range of services, including everything from denying transgender people access to restrooms corresponding with their gender identity, denying marriage-related services to same-sex couple to the denial of foster care and adoption services by religious organizations.

On Saturday, March 24, a passionate crowd of over 100,000 turned out for the Denver edition of the March for Our Lives. Youths created the event to support common sense gun legislation.

In 2013, nearly five years before police detective Leslie Branch-Wise unveiled inappropriate texts sent to her by Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, she received a $75,000 settlement from the city after making similar complaints about Wayne McDonald, a Hancock friend and employee fired over the matter. Now, a spokeswoman for Cary Kennedy says the former Colorado state treasurer, who’s running for governor and handily won the recent Colorado Democratic caucus, didn’t know anything about the payout even though she was serving as Hancock’s deputy mayor and the city’s chief financial officer at the time.

Today, March 22, the organization behind the RiNo tiny home village, the Colorado Village Collaborative, has unveiled some of the first architectural renderings for a second village, this one consisting of eight tiny homes located on the St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church campus at Glenarm Place and 20th Avenue near downtown.

“People say city council’s covering up. Well, if I’m covering up, I have no idea what I’m covering.”

On Monday, March 19, State District Court Judge Eric Bentley was the latest legal authority in Colorado to declare that ICE detainer requests, unless accompanied with a signed warrant, are illegal.

Earlier this month, the lawyer for former City of Denver employee Wayne McDonald, who was paid $200,000 to settle a lawsuit four years after his 2012 firing, hinted that public statements made by Mayor Michael Hancock in his video apology for sending inappropriate texts to Detective Leslie Branch-Wise during the 2011-2012 period when she was on his security detail may have breached the agreement.

The Colorado governor’s race for 2018 just got a little less crowded. Noel Ginsburg, an entrepreneur running as a moderate Democrat, has announced that he’s dropping out of the contest.

The Denver Public Library has hired two social services and four peer navigators to help its most vulnerable visitors.

At this time yesterday, March 18, political observers were wondering if Denver City Council would investigate Mayor Michael Hancock after a new call for an inquiry from his alleged victim, Denver police detective Leslie Branch-Wise. By the evening, the answer had moved close to a “yes,” with council president Albus Brooks, who’d previously said “I continue to maintain that an investigation is not warranted because there are no disputed facts about the case” reversing course in dramatic fashion.

In anticipation of March for Our Lives on Saturday, March 24, in Denver, here’s everything you need to know, including details of the event, where the march will go, how to get there and various pre-march meetups.

On Monday, March 19, Denver launched a long-anticipated legal defense fund for immigrants with $385,000 in its coffers. The aim of the fund is to provide legal representation to Denver residents who are fighting removal orders or who have requested relief through avenues like Differed Action for Childhood Arrivals, asylum applications, naturalization or certain visas.

On the March 18 edition of Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver delivered a segment that excoriated Vice President Mike Pence, with a particular concentration on policies he’s supported that are widely seen as homophobic.

Denver City Councilman Rafael Espinoza’s call for an investigation over improper texts that Denver Mayor Michael Hancock sent to Denver police detective Leslie Branch-Wise when she was a member of his security detail circa 2011-2012 didn’t gain support from other members of the panel, which issued a joint statement rejecting the launch of such a probe.

Lacking in money or a standout issue, Levi Tillemann appears to be in deep trouble as the Democratic primaries approach.

The Right to Rest bill, as it was known, died 10-3 in a committee that notoriously killed last year’s version of the bill. Advocates who testified included the ACLU of Colorado, and law enforcement agencies and city officials around the state testified against the bill.

After eight hours of emotional testimony and deliberation on Wednesday, March 15, a state House committee struck down a bill that would have protected anyone’s right to rest, sleep or eat in public with some exceptions. It was a devastating defeat for the “Right to Rest” bill’s advocates, whose similar legislative efforts last year were defeated in a scene almost identical to yesterday’s.

Denver City Councilman Rafael Espinoza’s call for an investigation over improper texts Denver Mayor Michael Hancock sent to Denver police detective Leslie Branch-Wise when she was a member of his security detail circa 2011-2012 is not being echoed by other members of the panel. The Denver City Council has now issued a joint statement that essentially shrugs off the need for such an inquiry while calling for greater transparency related to any assertions of sexual harassment by officials. Yet the information that led to this decision was dispensed at a closed-door meeting, during executive session.