We will confront and control encampments, full stop.

As many citizens see, smell, and hear, encampments contain Denver’s most desperately in need of our city’s support. Our city has neglected this population for far too long and has frequently tried to off-load this responsibility to NGO’s and faith based organizations. We need to acknowledge this as the humanitarian crisis it is and use the full force of Denver’s land, buildings, and budget to remedy this crisis. Anything less is inhumane, inexcusable, and a compounding liability for our city. It will take strong leadership with thick skin as it is a heavy complex problem and blowback is inevitable.

The very first thing I will do as your Mayor is remove encampments and get our neediest sheltered, identified,and diagnosed in order to embrace them with rehabilitative services and care. We will enroll these individuals in our municipal health insurance. This will allow us to re-direct current spending to subsidize or provide health insurance for other deserving groups – NGO’s, daycare workers, our creative class, and others without the means to access affordable health insurance.

Once the blight of encampments has been cured, the next priority is to make our streets and parks cleaner and greener. We have added some great parks and greenways, but have failed to care for and protect some of our oldest parks where even basic maintenance is lacking. Additionally, networking and connectivity of our green spaces and parks will make our city safer and more enjoyable for walkers, bikers, and drivers.