CUPITMUSIC

Mayor Johnston’s work to veto the Municipal Court Fairness bill will harm Denver’s most vulnerable

Re: “Polis threatens to veto bill addressing sentencing disparities between Colorado’s state and municipal courts,” April 9 online news story

This legislative session, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston inserted himself in Capitol politics to the detriment of Denver’s most vulnerable. Johnston’s platform for addressing homelessness includes micro-communities, wraparound services, and ordinance enforcement to channel folks into services. Notably, it does not include year-long jail sentences for poverty offenses, which are costly, harmful, counterproductive and forbidden in state courts. Yet, Johnston fought hard to preserve municipalities’ power to send unhoused people to jail for nearly a year for poverty “offenses” like camping, more than 30 times the jail sentence allowed in state court for similar offenses. Johnston’s team actively and, by many accounts, effectively lobbied Gov. Jared Polis to veto House Bill 1147, Fairness & Transparency in Municipal Court, a bill supported by the majority of the Denver City Council that would have ended these disparate and extreme sentences.

Mayor Johnston could not have misunderstood the harm of the veto he advocated for.

Damning reporting by The Denver Post revealed how disparate municipal court sentencing, too often meted out without access to legal counsel, was creating a two-tiered system of justice at the expense of unhoused people. As Denver Post’s Editorial Board recognized when it urged Polis to sign the bill, HB 1147 is common sense legislation that would have fixed these irrational disparities by guaranteeing the most basic of legal rights to people prosecuted in Colorado’s municipal courts: a lawyer when jail is on the line, a courtroom open to public observation, and a jail sentence that complies with state sentencing laws. When city courts are allowed to use poverty “offenses” to disappear homeless people for nearly a year in jail, our entire community suffers and no one is safer. But that’s exactly the result Johnston fought for.

Rebecca Wallace, Denver

Editor’s note: Wallace is the policy director at Colorado Freedom Fund.

Thankful for the preservation of history at Blair-Caldwell library

Re: ” ‘This has our history’,” May 28 news story

A city like Denver isn’t simply a gathering of thousands of people. In it nestle pockets of local history, neighborhoods that shelter hundreds of ideas for improvement and change, tantalizing glimpses of people who make a difference.

The Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library in Five Points is a prime example. Recently, some displays and items in the library were removed. Perhaps to update the displays? Perhaps to curate the items? Or perhaps someone thought the public was disinterested? The response of the people in the community, including Wellington and Wilma Webb (former mayor and state representative, respectively), soon cleared that issue up. I was relieved and reassured that the library is using the incident to improve its collections and service, not erase them.

It doesn’t take much observation to see in these times especially we must be ever-vigilant not to lose these types of resources, which come close to defining our collective soul. Thanks to those in attendance at a recent community meeting at Blair-Caldwell for being vigilant and dedicated to the preservation of our collective stories.

Bonnie McCune, Denver

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Let Biden live out his days in peace

Re: “Democratic leaders must reckon with the Biden coverup,” May 25 commentary

I am angry at Doug Friednash and furious at Jake Tapper. Joe Biden is no longer president and has now been diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer. Do we need to beat a dead horse? I recently asked a friend, “What purpose is Jake Tapper’s tell-all book about Biden except to enrich his own wallet and time in the spotlight?”

I will not read his book, and it is terrible to demean and ridicule a man who served in the public spotlight for five decades, who lost a wife and daughter in a terrible car crash, and one of two sons to brain cancer, and now will be fighting a deadly disease. Can he just be left alone to die in peace?

The piling on to Biden is even more mystifying when Trump has been impeached twice, found liable for sexual abuse, knowingly prompted an attack on the U.S. Capitol while his supporters chanted “Hang Mike Pence,” and then pardoned these insurrectionists and other convicted criminals to go back out into the streets (see Bannon, Stone, etc.)

Friednash has “jumped on the bandwagon” of blame. Does it matter now? The results of the 2024 election (Trump) will be harmful to 90% of the U.S. population as the effects unfold, and history will be not be kind to this administration. They are unqualified hucksters, with a lawyer overseeing all medical decisions of trained doctors, and a Director of Homeland Security that has only the vaguest knowledge about the Constitution and U.S. laws. The attorney general is a puppet who spouts verbatim the same nonsense that Karoline Leavitt does, verbiage that has nothing to do with actual facts.

Looking backward accomplishes nothing at this point. Let the man die in peace. He served his country well, perhaps waning in his last years. No one talks about Trump’s decline, which is also evident to all, and is also being covered up by every single sycophant in his administration and the GOP Congress. It’s obvious in the exact same way Biden’s was.

Wendy Hall, Buena Vista

Was President Joe Biden’s physical and mental condition “concealed” from us? Most likely. Although not justified, this would not be the first time a president’s condition while in office was hidden from the public.

Woodrow Wilson was partially paralyzed, and his wife secretly acted as president. Dwight Eisenhower had a heart attack after golfing in Colorado and Crohn’s disease. George H. W. Bush had Graves’ disease. Chester A. Arthur had a sever kidney disease. Ronald Reagan had Alzheimer’s disease and many speculate he had his first symptoms while in office. Grover Cleveland had jaw cancer.

None of these, including the issue of Biden’s health are criminal or illicit. But the cover-ups of Donald J. Trump are. After the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, Trump labelled it a “Day of Love”, even though more than 140 police officers were injured, four committed suicide within a year, and there was over $2.7 million in damages. Since then, he pardoned 1,500 of the rioters who already pleaded guilty or were convicted and serving jail time. False facts to obscure and shroud that January 6, 2021, was an insurrection.

In the summer of 2023, he tried to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage to obstruct the Justice Department’s investigation into his removing classified, “Top Secret” documents from the White House. In early 2024, Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts because he covered up crimes in his business records. Two more cover-ups.

Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

Ronald Fischer, Lakewood

Re: Sunday cartoon, May 25

The political cartoon depicts three Democratic donkeys mimicking the three monkeys: “See no evil,” “hear no evil” and “say no evil.” They sit on the head of former President Joseph Biden. I have no issue with this cartoon because I feel it’s true. However, in all fairness, the same cartoon could be redrawn today, subbing in three elephants on the head of our current president. This issue is usually ignored by the mainstream press.

Mariann Storck, Wheat Ridge

Tax cuts for the rich cost the poorest among us

Re: “What to watch as bill moves to Senate,” May 25 news story

The article from the Associated Press about sticking points for Senators considering President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” mentions the lack of savings, cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, questions about making the tax cuts permanent, and the extension of the debt limit.

Left out of the discussion is the fact that each of the top earners, whose wealth is counted in millions, if not billions, of dollars, will receive about $390,000. This is enough for one individual to repay almost 400 of the lowest earners for the money they will, in effect, be giving to the highest earner.

These lowest earners will have an income loss of about $1,000, considering the losses of medical care and food on the table projected under this bill, in addition to the increased costs due to tariffs.

Also not mentioned is the even more dangerous so-called “poison pill,” a late addition that would protect officials retroactively from punishment for contempt of court, effectively freeing the administration from any obligation to follow court orders. This is the perfect recipe for full autocracy in a formerly democratic United States of America.

David Schroeder, Arvada

Listen to the professional investors

Re: “Economy: Trump ignores warning signs,” May 25 news story

The article has a valid point, but what about you and me? Are we also ignoring warning signs? Yes, we are. President Donald Trump has been involved in major bankruptcy cases and two recent significant legal cases in New York: falsifying business records and misrepresenting his wealth and property value. He is known to be very loose with the truth, and his ethics are in need of improvement.

Thousands of men and women around the world are professional investors who seriously study the economy. They are not playing the political game. When a solid plurality finds Trump’s economic policy suspect, the opinion should be respected.

Why do millions of Americans consider Trump a financial genius and ignore the wisdom of the professionals? We are ignoring the obvious and sowing the wind. We will reap the whirlwind.

Paul Bonnifield, Yampa

What happened to grassroots politics?

Before COVID, I attended a vibrant Denver Political Action Day at Civic Center Park. While I didn’t agree with every booth or viewpoint represented, I valued the open exchange of ideas and the people who were willing to speak their minds. That same week, I went to a community event at the Blush & Blu bar, supporting a local LGBTQ candidate. The energy in the room was electric — people were hopeful, engaged and excited to build something new.

Since then, Denver’s politics have felt more disconnected. While major issues are still front and center, the visible presence of grassroots groups, especially ones rooted in working-class communities, has noticeably declined. In the absence of consistent grassroots organizing, I see a growing dominance of voices backed by out-of-state interests or polished through institutional filters. Many individuals trying to engage by speaking at city council meetings, forming advocacy groups, or running for office seem to experience increasing difficulty in breaking through or gaining meaningful opportunities to pursue important issues.

I’ve started to wonder: Are today’s political alliances and endorsements built on local relationships and mutual struggle, or are they increasingly tied to out-of-state or corporate influences?

A healthy civic culture needs community engagement, strong identity networks and stability in order to foster shared action. Without a vibrant grassroots presence, we risk allowing others — who don’t necessarily reflect the values of many across Denver’s diverse spectrum — to dominate public discourse.

How can we rebuild that vital connection between everyday people and political power?

Rodney Baker, Denver

Examine the law that established public broadcast

Re: “Pros and cons of PBS content,” May 25 open forum regarding “Make public broadcasting great again by shaking it up,” May 18 commentary

Respectfully, the issue is President Donald Trump’s May 1 executive order “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media.” The reality is there will be less “to be taken by the lapels and shaken” at PBS and NPR when one’s existence is made more difficult because a revenue stream has been shut down in violation of our First Amendment.

Not agreeing with the narrative is not a legitimate basis for Trump to engage in censorship. The amount of free speech otherwise available will be significantly reduced.

Freedom of speech and the press are what allow leaders to be held accountable by freely questioning and sharing observations and concerns respecting gaps between said leaders’ assertions and reality.

Further, history shows that our 1967 Congress was well ahead of its time. On November 7, 1967, Congress passed the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, which created the nonprofit Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

That led to the creation of PBS and NPR. And one of the six congressional declarations of this 1967 law’s policy states “that it furthers the general welfare to encourage noncommercial educational radio and television broadcast programing which will be responsive to the interests of people both in particular localities and throughout the United States, and which will constitute an expression of diversity and excellence.”

Therefore, censoring such legendary and noteworthy nonprofit institutions in such a tyrannical manner is part and parcel with authoritarianism.

Lou Horwitz, St. Louis, Mo.

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Updated June 3, 2025 at 11:25 a.m. Due to a letter writer’s error, an earlier version of the Open Forum falsely said that President Donald Trump was convicted of sexual assault. Trump was found liable for sexual abuse in a New York court.

The community of Boulder has once again suffered a horrific attack. On Sunday, a terrorist fueled by antisemitism attempted to burn people alive who had gathered on the Pearl Street Mall to walk in solidarity with Israeli hostages still held captive by Hamas.

We pray fervently for the eight victims to survive this horror and fully recover from their injuries, and for their families’ strength and resilience during this difficult time. In the aftermath of the King Soopers shooting in 2021, Boulder rallied around victims, their families, and law enforcement, and the community will rise again to support those injured Sunday.

The opportunity to support Colorado’s Jewish community will come quickly; Sunday, June 8, is the 30th Boulder Jewish Festival. The annual celebration of Jewish culture is held on the Pearl Street Mall, the site of the attack. Coloradans should come out in mass to support our Jewish community and send a message that terrorism will not succeed.

We are relieved that a suspect has been detained. But until the scourge of antisemitism is wiped from America, we fear the Jewish community will never attain peace in this country. Two Israeli Embassy staffers were assassinated in Washington, D.C., last month as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum. Yaron Lischinsky had purchased an engagement ring for Sarah Milgrim, but never got the chance to propose before they were shot and killed.

The FBI’s regional spokesperson reported that the suspect in the Boulder attack yelled “Free Palestine” as he threw gas and flames on the crowd. The suspect’s social media posts indicate he wanted to “end Zionists.” The Denver Post reported that he is an Egyptian citizen who came to America on a tourist visa but that it had expired. We cannot prevent every terrorist attack, but local, state and federal law enforcement should review this case to make certain signs weren’t missed along the way. Perhaps the next attack could be thwarted if lessons are learned.

This terror has existed long before Hamas’ terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, sparked a protracted war with Israel. Hamas still holds 58 hostages somewhere in Gaza who were captured during the attack that left 1,500 civilians dead. During a recent ceasefire, several hostages were released who recounted torture and rape, and the bodies of some who Hamas killed during captivity were also released.

The war has raged for almost two years, and Israel’s bombing campaign, combined with its control of food, water and electricity to the occupied territory, are creating a humanitarian crisis that has killed tens of thousands of innocent civilians (a number that will never be known precisely as independent journalists have been kept out of Gaza). As the war drags on in the Middle East, we call for peace, understanding, and love to reign here.

America should be a safe haven from antisemitism and terrorism, a place where our communities can come together, if not in agreement, then at least in a shared coexistence that celebrates our freedom in this country.

The assault on Sunday not only shattered lives and terrified a community, but this senseless violence tears at the foundation of America, and makes us all less safe. Whether compelled to exercise your free speech in a Boulder march calling for the release of Israeli hostages, or to join a protest on the University of Boulder’s campus calling for an end to Israel’s campaign in Gaza, or the many who would march in both, Americans should feel safe that their words, beliefs, and advocacy won’t get them killed.

We have a long way to go before we find such peace, but in the wake of a tragedy is the time to remind everyone of our idealistic hopes for America, something we can all unite behind as international conflicts divide us.

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Air Force Academy graduation chance to rethink cuts

Re: “Bauernfeind wants warriors from the Air Force Academy, so he’s cutting ‘education,‘” May 25 guest commentary

The academic heart of the U.S. Air Force Academy is under threat.

On Thursday, we honor the USAFA graduating class of 2025. U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink will be giving the keynote address, and the situation warrants his intervention to reverse the damage being done.

The ongoing, indiscriminate cuts of USAFA’s experienced (and cost-effective) Ph.D. faculty are putting the academy’s academic excellence — and its mission to forge leaders who think critically — at risk. These cuts are not strategic; they are politically motivated and overtly based on “anti-woke” notions that jeopardize the core of what makes USAFA a world-class educational institution, without increasing lethality.

The academy is not merely a military training camp with classrooms. Rather, it is a premier university where future Air and Space Force officers learn to think critically, act ethically, and lead decisively on complex problems in a rapidly changing, increasingly autonomous battlespace. Decimating academic departments by cutting 30% of their veteran faculty demoralizes both faculty and cadets, threatens even basic accreditations (not to mention academic excellence), and sends the wrong message about the kind of leaders we value.

There must be a reasoned reassessment, discussed openly by USAFA’s many stakeholders, that protects the Academy’s academic and research core, not as an afterthought, but as a central pillar of officer development.

If we lose USAFA’s academic strength, America loses a key part of its war-fighting and peace-keeping edge.

Thomas Bewley, Colorado Springs

Excellence of Air Force Academy’s educational programs at risk if civilian faculty cuts continue (Opinion)

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$23 trillion new debt, not $3 trillion

Re: “Economy: Trump ignores warning signs,” May 25 news story

For some reason, everyone is concerned about the $3 trillion being added to the national debt over ten years by the House bill.  Left unmentioned is the fact that the current $2 trillion annual budget deficit is projected to continue throughout that decade, adding more than $20 trillion to the national debt.  The $3 trillion is just icing on the cake.  (A trillion here and a trillion there and pretty soon we’re talking about real money.)

Bond investors will soon conclude that the U.S. is too stupid to be relied upon and interest rates will skyrocket. (Bond markets are stable until they aren’t.)

Buckle up, everyone. I hope you’re protected.

Robert Kihm, Centennial

Governor should veto the kratom bill

Re: “Will Polis veto kratom bill?” May 23 news story

Gov. Jared Polis should veto Senate Bill 72. It puts patients like me at risk and fails to do what regulation should: make things clearer and safer. I live with chronic pain. After trying countless treatments, I found relief with a kratom derivative called 7-OH. It’s plant-based, affordable, and has worked without the need for dangerous opioids.

SB 72 threatens that access. The bill, rushed through at the end of the session, sets a hard cap on the active compound 7-OH but gives no clear direction on what happens to products that go over the limit. Without clarity, patients and businesses are left guessing, and the risks of misinterpretation or overreach grow.

Safe, regulated access matters. When rules are vague and confusing, people might turn to an unregulated black market or to opioids. Lawmakers could have passed thoughtful, evidence-based regulation. Instead, they rushed a bill that creates confusion and instability. I hope Gov. Polis will veto SB 72 and bring patients and experts to the table in 2026 because we deserve better.

Suzanne Whitney, Golden

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No one should be surprised that Denver is scaling back hiring and spending for 2025 and 2026.

The city has been living high on the hog for more than a decade, growing city government services and hiring hundreds, if not thousands, of new employees. Like a majority of Denver taxpayers, The Denver Post editorial board has supported much of the spending (as both investment in our city and as a way to recover from the dark days of COVID).

We’ve also opposed some of the more outlandish pet projects that we feared frittered away the city’s sales tax revenue. It’s too late now to rededicate those millions of dollars in sales tax increases to the city’s general fund operations.

Almost two years after taking office, Mayor Mike Johnston will oversee a reduction in staff and services for the first time since the aftermath of the 2008 housing crisis and Great Recession. Sales tax revenues will be down $50 million this year from projections and down $100 million in 2026 from 2025 levels. That represents about a 7.5% reduction in revenue, not accounting for anticipated increases in costs for inflation and city growth.

Layoffs, furloughs coming for Denver employees amid budget crisis, mayor says

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Given that bleak outlook, we are disturbed that up until last week, the city was considering hefty raises for staffers in upper management positions. City Council smartly sidelined that proposal from the mayor’s office, and in sharp contrast, Johnston’s furloughs will be graduated, so lower-income employees will take two days unpaid, and higher-income employees will take up to seven days unpaid.

The cuts will come at a terrible time – reductions in staff from President Donald Trump have left thousands of federal employees who live in Colorado out of a job, and the state of Colorado is slowing the pace of growth in accordance with TABOR spending limits. Luckily, private-sector hiring has remained strong across the U.S., according to the most recent jobs report, cutting the risk of a possible recession.

Johnston is correct, however, to make adjustments now in the budget.

Certainly, this could just be a mini-downturn that could be weathered with a combination of discretionary spending reductions, contingency funds and rainy day funds. But federal policy is causing uncertainty, to put it mildly, and that can have disastrous consequences.

Consumer confidence is extremely low, meaning more people are spending less across the country, including downtown Denver, where the majority of the city’s sales tax revenue is generated. Big cities like Dallas, Denver, Chicago, Houston, New York, Miami and San Francisco are also being hit by the effects of vacant office buildings. Cities across the nation are cutting their budget.

In Denver, office buildings are selling for far less than they did even 10 years ago, and vacant office space means fewer commuters spending their dollars in the city. Add on top of that a false perception that Denver is unsafe or that it is filled with homeless encampments, and you’ve got a perfect storm.

Getting Coloradans and tourists back to the city, and spending their money, is a key part of recovery for the city. Recovery is also crucial for our small businesses, especially retail stores, restaurants and bars. No one can patronize businesses that aren’t open.

Johnston has a plan to bring people back downtown. Some of those plans are immediate – finishing the 16th Street project and increasing the presence of police and other security services. Some of those plans are ongoing — Johnston has already cleaned up the homeless encampments in downtown, leaving not a single tent in the urban core as the city has provided housing options to more than a thousand people. The city will continue to spend millions on the program so the camps don’t just spring right back up.

Most of the city’s capital improvement projects are funded with dedicated bonds paid for by property tax mill levies. That revenue stream is still growing despite the sharp decline in commercial real estate evaluations. The increase is  driven by the continued growth in residential home values.

These are strange economic times, and even top economists are finding it hard to predict what will happen next.

In such days, fiscal conservatism is prudent. Hiring freezes, furloughs and layoffs may seem dramatic for a city that only a few short years ago had 16% fiscal reserves, but taking action today will forestall more dramatic cuts should the economy take a turn for the worse.

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This saddening news of President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis has added fuel to questions about his health during his presidency.

No one wants to see the former president and long-time senator facing a serious illness, and I hope that his treatment is effective.

This announcement was made the same week of the release of Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s explosive book Original Sin. This deeply reported book is based on interviews with over 200 people — many of them Democratic operatives and insiders — and details the astonishing lengths to which President Biden’s team and the broader Democratic establishment went to conceal the president’s cognitive and physical decline from the public.

Original Sin exposes one of the most cynical political cover-ups in modern American history, and it explains why Democrats have a trust issue with the American public. This well-earned lack of trust has led to questions about whether Biden may have hidden his prostate cancer too, although there is no evidence to support that he did.

Based upon recent revelations, there can be no question that Republicans and many others, including myself, were justified in sounding the alarm about Biden’s fitness to serve during the re-election campaign.

At the time, Biden’s team hit back with performative outrage and engaged in kabuki theatre.

His team dismissed concerns about his age and acuity as dirty politics. But those close to Biden knew they were handling a president who was no longer fit for office. According to accounts of Original Sin, his team choreographed nearly every aspect of Biden’s life — including limiting unscripted interactions, scripting meetings down to the minute, and escorting him to and from Air Force One helicopter to prevent a potential, devastating fall. They even contemplated putting Biden in a wheelchair after the election.

The cover-up extended to his cognitive decline too. Biden reportedly forgot key names, including major celebrities like George Clooney and even senior members of his own team. Cabinet secretaries were sidelined, and staff members devised elaborate strategies to avoid placing him in situations that might expose his decline.

Just this past week, audio from Special Counsel Robert Hur’s October 2023 interview with President Biden was released. Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland was held in contempt by the U.S. House of Representatives for refusing to release them. In February 2024, Biden and his covert operations team were apoplectic about Hur’s decision that it would be difficult to prosecute Biden in the classified documents matter because Biden was a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” and it would be difficult to prove the mental state of willfulness. Biden angrily responded that his memory was fine and his team exalted that this was a “partisan hit job”.

The audio proves otherwise as the recordings show Biden was confused, rambling, and couldn’t even remember when his son Beau died.

Biden’s team continued to trot out his disingenuous talking points, insisting that he was sharp and physically fit.  Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates asserted that “not only does the president perform around the clock, but he maintains a schedule that tires younger aides, including foreign trips into active war zones.”  Apparently, however, Biden had difficulty functioning outside of a 6-hour window between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Like the man behind the curtain in Oz, Biden’s team spun a grand illusion, staging a show of leadership while concealing Biden’s fragility, more devoted to self-preservation and power than being honest.

Here’s where the culpability deepens, Democratic leaders knew. They saw the same signs the public saw and in many instances saw it firsthand and acknowledged it privately. Yet instead of standing up, they continued to vouch for Biden’s fitness.

A month before his disastrous debate with Trump, I wrote a column calling President Biden unfit for office.  At that time two-thirds of voters had little or no confidence that Biden was physically fit to be president.  Anyone who has watched a family member or close friend decline with senility, dementia or physical ailments had all of the evidence they needed when they watched even his composed public appearances provide clear and unsettling clues with his often incoherent rhetoric and gaffes, confusion and instability.

And, following his disastrous debate performance, Biden’s team tried to convince us that it was simply a bad night, blaming the debate preparation team for his poor performance. And, in the days following the debate train wreck, Democratic leaders were conspicuously silent, failing to speak out publicly. My column calling for him to withdraw just a few days after the debate, was one of the very first of its kind in the country and published well before any major Democratic leader called on him to publicly step aside.

And, the longer they failed to speak truth to power made it more unlikely the Democrats would win in November.  When they finally did, Biden had no choice but to step aside, but behind closed doors, in classic backroom style, Democrats had already crowned his successor, Vice President Kamala Harris.

This isn’t just a Biden problem that can be conveniently swept under the rug. It’s a Democratic Party problem — a failure of leadership, transparency, ethics and accountability.

The result? Democrats lost national trust and the party’s favorability rating stands at 29%, a record low. To be fair, that isn’t simply about the cover-up and lack of leadership. It also reflects a party in the wilderness, confused about their values, and unable to muster the leadership to meet Americans where they are on key issues. It is no wonder that only 35% of surveyed Democrats are very or somewhat optimistic about the future of the Democratic Party.

Democrats would love nothing more than to move on — to refocus on President Donald Trump and reframe the midterm elections as a battle for democracy. But its not that simple. They can’t claim hindsight when they bear collective responsibility for the outcome of the 2024 election.

Until Democrats acknowledge the cover-up, they undermine their own credibility and won’t be able to regain public trust.

It will surely be impossible for them to authentically critique Trump’s mental acuity and fitness.

Doug Friednash grew up in Denver and is a partner with the law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber and Schreck. He is the former chief of staff for Gov. John Hickenlooper.

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When a malnourished and dehydrated 7-year-old died in Grand County with deadly levels of sodium in his blood, the response from the Grand County Sheriff’s Office was to send an investigator and an assistant county coroner to assure the child’s parents that the investigation would go no further and that documents surrounding the death would never be made public.

A Colorado boy likely died from drinking too much olive brine. Grand County tried to make the suspicious case disappear.

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Grand County Sheriff Brett Schroetlin made good on the 2020 promise to Isaiah Stark’s parents. This year, he refused to release to The Denver Post any documents and videos related to the investigation, saying it would be “contrary to the public’s interest.” Schroetlin is hiding behind bad laws to prevent public scrutiny of how his department, the coroner and the district attorney handled the death investigation.

The public’s interest in this case is more than justified. Anytime a child dies under suspicious or questionable circumstances, there must be an investigation. The records The Post was able to obtain from other, less obstructionist sources cast serious doubt on whether a thorough investigation ever took place, despite the fact that records also show officials received reports that the boy had been forced to drink olive brine, which is high in sodium content, as a punishment.

Fortunately, Colorado’s child protection ombudsman and the state’s Child Fatality Review Team have not allowed Stark’s 2020 death to slip silently into history, unmarked and uninvestigated. The Post’s Sam Tabachnik used records obtained from both to produce an in-depth news story that was published last Sunday. Unfortunately, the review team did not release all the documents from its investigation, something they can and should do immediately in the name of transparency.

We need these watchdogs digging for the truth. Isaiah Stark’s tragic death was likely preventable, and the adults in this state tasked with protecting children had multiple opportunities to intervene to help Isaiah. Records show his mother repeatedly asked for help, and that there were warning signs missed. It is too late to save Isaiah Stark, but right now, somewhere else in this state, another child is suffering. Public scrutiny of our systems could be what saves that child.

The ombudsman, Stephanie Villafuerte, told Tabachnik, “We have many unanswered questions, and those responsible for giving these answers are unwilling to do so.”

The Child Fatality Review Team praised Grand County and Jefferson County health officials for compiling reports about the familys’ interactions with their human services teams, but concluded in its report: “It was a systemic gap that there was a lack of accountability for the child’s death, which the team believed was needless and could have been prevented, had the child received appropriate monitoring and intervention from the medical and mental health professionals.”

Unacceptable.

We know that the coroner ruled conclusively what had killed Isaiah — hypernatremia or too much sodium in the blood. We wouldn’t even venture to guess at what undiagnosed medical conditions or maltreatment could result in such an unusual death.

But we are horrified that the public officials in positions of power have failed to do the basic investigative work required to find out what happened in the days and weeks leading up to Isaiah’s death.

We call for three basic things to happen in response to what the public now knows about Isaiah’s death:

First, Schroetlin can release all records his department holds related to the investigation, including body-worn camera footage of interviews.

Second, lawmakers can undo a horrible mistake they made in 2018 when they shielded children’s autopsy reports from the Colorado law requiring records to be open for public scrutiny. As we noted at the time, Senate Bill 223 prevents public scrutiny of questionable child deaths. The Post has used child autopsy reports historically to cover the lapses in our child welfare systems that can result in child deaths.

Third, the findings by the Child Fatality Review Board should be heeded and changes made. According to the report, “The team identified a systemic gap in services when the family decided to cease all services as soon as the child’s adoption was finalized. This created a scenario where there were no longer professionals watching out for the child. Prior to the finalization of the adoption, the family had the option to access family therapy and other family preservation services.” The Colorado Department of Human Services and lawmakers can make more resources available to ensure that children are still getting care and review even after their adoption. Known as post-permanency services, adoptive parents and adopted children, even in the most stable home environments, benefit from additional contact with professionals and experts. Especially in rural parts of the state, that contact can be difficult to obtain or cost-prohibitive.

Colorado officials failed Isaiah both before and after his death, but taking these three small steps will help make amends.

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Colorado lawmakers vacated the state Capitol more than a week ago, having done extraordinary bipartisan work with the state’s tightening budget. But Gov. Jared Polis’ vetoes have kept some of the Democrats’ more ambitious goals in check.

On Friday, Polis struck down an attempt to make Colorado more union-friendly, a bill that would have undone decades of compromise between big businesses and big unions in this state. The veto preserved Colorado’s middle-of-the-road Labor Peace Act, but Polis’ decision is one of the most controversial vetoes in recent history. We had joined Polis in calling for a compromise that respected the importance of organized labor and also the importance of keeping union dues and fees in check. Unfortunately, a compromise could not be found, and Polis was right to veto Senate Bill 5.

The entire process of Senate Bill 5 proves that Colorado’s functioning legislative system is good for this state. While Congress refuses to act — on immigration, on the national debt and deficit, on any number of critical measures — Colorado’s General Assembly is having healthy debates and nuanced policy conversations.

The disagreement on Senate Bill 5 came down to a few percentage points, illustrating just how important compromise was. Instead, the issue will head to the ballot box. Colorado voters will likely see competing measures on the ballot this November, asking whether to make the state more pro-business and more pro-union.

Also, in sharp contrast to Congress, Colorado lawmakers were able to balance the budget, despite having to return millions of dollars collected to taxpayers through the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refunds. We were disappointed to see that after cutting proposed spending levels, lawmakers dipped into the state’s Unclaimed Property Trust Fund to pay for unfunded projects. While the projects were worthy — funding for safety-net hospitals and fire districts — the move continues a dangerous precedent. Already, the state owes about $700 million to the trust — an unfunded liability.

Polis said he was comfortable signing the two bills because the additional amount — $100 million — is relatively small and the claims on the unclaimed property fund are predictable and steady, meaning it is highly unlikely for the fund to become insolvent in the future. This would be one place we would have liked to see Polis use his veto.

Lawmakers must stop pulling from this fund, unless it is to make loans that are low-risk and present a return on investment to begin paying off the liability. One such proposal was killed this year and would have given homeowners low-interest loans for solar panels.

Aside from our wish for vetoes on those spending bills, we were disappointed in Polis’ veto of Senate Bill 86. The veto rejects reasonable regulation of social media companies, instead allowing Facebook, X, Snapchat, TikTok and others to continue their failure to regulate users who engage in illegal activity like selling drugs or sharing child pornography. The Senate voted to override the veto but the effort to revive Senate Bill 86 died in the House.

The governor was also right to strike down an ill-advised attempt to slow public records access for everyone except “real journalists.”

Colorado lawmakers and Gov. Jared Polis had a good, albeit imperfect, year.

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Valor Christian’s former head football coach is the canary in the coal mine for Colorado high school sports.

Bret McGatlin, pushed out after 32 months with a winning record, issued a strong statement read to concerned parents at a February meeting with school leaders. The statement decries the gladiator culture in high school sports.

“At the heart of the issue is a leadership style characterized by a culture of fear, comparison, and uncertainty. Coaches have felt unsupported and undervalued, leading to an environment where fear and anxiety replace passion and purpose. I can say without hesitation that I would not have resigned if not for this leadership dynamic,” McGatlin wrote, as reported by The Denver Post’s Kyle Newman on Sunday.

Valor Christian athletics faces turmoil, discontent in wake of football coach’s resignation

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We want Colorado to have world-class athletics departments for our students. Programs should push youth to excel not only in sport but in life. Programs should help students perform at their highest potential in the classroom and on the field. We say yes to 5 a.m. weight lifting sessions and two-a-day practices. Yes, build programs with rich traditions of team dinners and booster support. Leave behind the screaming and belittling behaviors that breed unsafe environments for students.

Whether it’s elite private schools using tuition waivers to recruit the best players in the state or our outstanding public schools competing head to head on the same field, one thing Coloradans cannot tolerate is toxic environments that do more harm than good to student athletes.

Parents and coaches from Valor, many of whom spoke with Newman only on the condition of anonymity, are right to speak out if they feel something is broken at Valor.

We do not pretend to know how to walk the line between sports excellence and extremism, but we also know that many high school coaches, athletic directors, and school leaders maintain the right balance. And the critical thing to remember is that young teenagers would benefit more from a program that erred on the side of not pushing hard enough than one that pushes too hard.

Statistically, few Coloradans go on to play college sports, about 6% of all high school athletes, and even fewer do so with scholarships. According to statistics from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), only 2% of high school student-athletes receive college scholarships for their freshman year. Division I and II schools provide about $2.7 billion in athletics scholarships annually to 150,000 students. While another 180,000 students play for Division III schools without scholarships.

Beyond that only a handful of athletes – 2% of college athletes — go on to play a professional sport.

High school sports exist to serve the remaining 94% of students who will not play in college. Losing sight of that is what leads to toxic programs that are filled with drama and dissatisfaction. While adults quibble and argue over how to improve the program to win a few more games and a few more championships, it is the students who suffer.

Valor’s assistant coach Darren Krein, who also resigned recently, compared his experience as a coach in the National Football League to his time working at Valor.

“In the 20-plus years I’ve been a player and coach in the NFL — and it’s a rough situation there. … I’ve never been treated as bad in the NFL as I was treated here,” he said. Krein made the statement to parents in the community meeting and did not talk to The Post for the Sunday story.

The benefits of high school sports are immeasurable. Students get many of those benefits whether they are from a tiny school on the eastern plains competing to defeat a local rival in volleyball or vying for the 6A football state title under the bright lights at Canvas Stadium.

No student benefits from parents who blame coaches and staff for hard losses, or worse, who scream and yell at coaches like spoiled children on the sidelines. Unfortunately, we are not shocked by reports of such behavior from Valor parents, and all schools and club sports programs need to look at how to help parents and athletes adopt a healthier relationship with competition.

High school athletic departments do not become poison pits overnight or all on their own. Blame can be spread through school and district culture, and to state leaders. The solution will take years of reform, and we think it must start at the top with the Colorado High School Activities Association doubling down on its mission of creating a “positive and equitable environment” for all students in this state.

Colorado students deserve better than what Valor and other high schools lost to the gladiator ethos are serving up at the moment.

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