Denver’s Columbus Day parade has been a political hot potato for the past two mayors, neither of whom have been too excited to wade into the controversy.
So, wary Italian-American groups, hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s clash with protestors, have been nudging city officials to make sure they keep their promise to craft an ordinance that makes it illegal to block a parade.
Each October, Columbus Day groups line up their floats and marching bands, only to have the parade blocked by Ward Churchill and other American Indian activists and their hangers-on.
Denver cops dutifully haul away the protesters, but eventually they go free – either the city drops the charges or a jury gives the green light – further empowering the following year’s protest.
The arrests have become a renowned exercise in futility – yes, even worse than trying to find cheap parking downtown. Believe it or not, the city has no ordinance that forbids blocking a roadway or interfering with a lawful event.
Hoping to avoid that scenario, lawyer David Sprecace wrote to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper in early May, asking how the city planned to remedy the situation. City Attorney Cole Finnegan says two proposals will be brought to the Denver City Council Safety Committee, as early as this Wednesday. One proposal would “prohibit the obstruction of streets or other public passageways,” while the other would “prohibit disruption of a lawful assembly.”
Parade leaders also will be meeting with acting U.S. Attorney William Leone this week to keep him “in the loop” should the city drag its feet in passing an ordinance, Sprecace said.
Exporting Churchill
Speaking of Ward Churchill, here’s a frightening thought: His books are now required reading at more than 100 universities, according to an article in The Weekly Standard by Matt Labash.
Union politics
State Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins, was a veteran teacher in the Poudre School District and longtime member of the Poudre Education Association, the teachers’ union. So it would make sense that the PEA would back Bacon’s run last fall for state Senate.
But would the union go so far as to use school computers to e-mail teachers, coaxing them not only to support Bacon but to actively campaign for him?
Two parents say they think so, and have sued the PEA for violating Colorado’s Fair Campaign Act. They also claim the union compensated campaign volunteers and coordinated campaign efforts. Two weeks ago, a Denver judge also added the Poudre School District and the Colorado Education Association to the lawsuit.
The trial begins today in Denver.
Family first, not first family
Saying her family comes first, Congresswoman Diana DeGette won’t answer calls for her to run for Colorado governor.
DeGette says she’s been “pressured hard” to run, thinks she would enjoy the job and believes a Democrat has a realistic shot at winning in 2006. But she can’t spend her Saturday nights campaigning in far-flung places when she has children to raise.
“It’s not like I have some schlub job as it is,” she said with a laugh. Of course, the kids will be grown before you know it.
Winning fans, not fanatics
Calling a major religious leader the “anti-Christ” may not be good form, but it has won U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar some new admirers.
Salazar was back in Colorado earlier this month and made stops in Fort Collins and Fort Morgan, where not one of the more than 300 people who came to hear him speak chided him for his comment about Focus on the Family founder James Dobson.
“The calls that we’ve been getting since the anti-Christ remark have actually been supportive of Sen. Salazar, almost 2 to 1,” his chief of staff Ken Lane said. “We have not seen a backlash.”
Be that as it may, the senator did apologize for the remark.
Growth in Douglas County
You’d think a group called Douglas County Democrats would be small enough to meet in a coffee shop. But, in fact, they’ve grown so large – the county now boasts about 30,000 registered Democrats – they had to hold their First Annual Clinton/Carter Dinner last Saturday at the Sheraton Hotel … in Arapahoe County. The only place big enough in Douglas County was already booked.
Dan Haley (dhaley@denverpost.com) is a member of The Post’s editorial board.
