Power is like an addiction. The more you have, the more you crave, and that my friends, is the way it has been since I can remember and probably since time began.
We see examples of this in all walks of life, not just in the wealthy, not just in politics, but in every facet and at every income level in life as we know it.
It’s most prevalent in the animal kingdom. If you don’t believe me, just take a trip down to the zoo someday and observe the various exhibits there. It’s all around us, every day, in every business, and, in every family.
So, you say, what is this guy trying to tell me, that I don’t know already? I understand power. My boss has power over me. My Mom and Dad have power over me, or at least they did at one time, and although I don’t admit it very much, so does my wife. But, I learn to live with it, OK. No big deal! Maybe some day I’ll have some power.
Unfortunately, power has an insidious side to it, and we are observing it right here in Denver, Colorado today.
It’s called, FastTracks, otherwise known as RTD. By a slim majority the metro area voters heralded a new and much needed light rail system extension to the Western suburbs from downtown Denver.
That was in 2004 and we were all looking ahead at the strangle hold that growing traffic problems were having in our communities.
We just did not foresee what was coming down the pike all those years ago, and now, in order to accommodate the rapid growth of the area, we find ourselves in the agonizing position of having to tell homeowners and business owners that their property is not as important as the needs of the many, and we’re going to have to take them from you.
OK you say; I can understand that. Just give me a fair price for my property and I’ll find another place to grow my family, or my business.
But, then you find out that maybe the land they want to take from you via condemnation, visa-v eminent domain will not be used by RTD for the FasTracks program, but for sale to private developers who will make a killing on your land, after RTD does, for coffee shops, loft homes, and other projects that have little, or nothing to do with the light rail that will pass by.
It’s to defray the costs to the taxpayers for the huge cost overruns that RTD is experiencing in getting this project off the ground. Now hold on there Mr. RTD, I want to get a piece of that pie.
How about I hold onto the property, or at least that portion that you don’t need and I’ll develop it myself for a much better return on my life long investment. Not so fast they say, and refuse to negotiate.
Even though there is a little thing called the law that forbids those who use eminent domain to claim a piece of property from profiting as a result of that effort, some powerful entities do it anyway, and who is to stop them? Lots of money and powerful lobbyists can accomplish amazing feats, in spite of the law.
Take the case of Galen Foster and Kim Snyder for example. They stand to lose a choice piece of property at 14th and Wadsworth Blvd. in Lakewood that RTD wants for a parking garage.
The property needed for the garage is only a portion of the package and the rest would be sold private developers for other uses.
The present owners understand the concept of eminent domain, but not the fact that they can’t even develop the rest of their land for private development.
Why shouldn’t they have the right to make a little from their hard earned investment? RTD sure didn’t put any effort into that land.
Just look at little ole Black Hawk, Colorado and how some of its alderpersons have profited from the fruits of the gaming industry.
Power, and lots of money can accomplish just about anything. What was done there may not be illegal, but I challenge anyone who can find a single soul not connected with that little clique up there to justify that little piece of skullduggery. Legal? Maybe, but morally reprehensible and an abuse of power and manipulating money that rises to the top of the heap like the smell at a landfill.
And the push is on to raise the stakes in an industry that has already plagued the State with scores of gaming addicts who have destroyed their lives and those of loved ones trying to beat the house, (the casinos) at their own game.
What has been the affect on our health care providers and insurance industry? What has been the affect on the housing industry with properties lost due to gaming addicts who cannot pay the mortgage? What has been the damage caused to families that have lost love ones to the lure of games of chance that usually give them no chance? What can people be thinking when they say they want to lay out even more money so someone else can have the power over their lives?
Well, they must want more money to go into restoring historical homes in Black Hawk, owned by resident alderpersons Maybe they could find a way to pay for the much needed repairs to our failing highway systems and crumbling bridges, but I didn’t hear that suggestion made in the recent proposal before the legislature.
It would be better than higher fees on our vehicle registrations, or added insurance on our vehicles that is totally unnecessary.
Let the fools who have the money to gamble pay for those projects, and I could think of a few more that would benefit from higher stakes.
But, is it worth it. Can we afford to give the power to renew our highways to the casino’s and the State Gaming Agency? What else might get renewed instead?
How about the power play made in our last Governors race in Colorado. In order to stop an opposing candidate in his tracks and deflect attention from a potential embarrassing professional miscue, now sitting Governor Ritter chose to be a victim and caused a very honorable I.C.E. agent to be prosecuted for three misdemeanor counts of illegally accessing the NCIC database.
The agent, Cory Voorhis was found not guilty on two counts and a third was dismissed prior to the trial beginning. The case, prosecuted by a visiting U.S. Attorney from Wyoming, ended up being a terrible embarrassment for the Government, and ultimately for the State of Colorado.
The problem with power is that it’s a two sided sword. It has the ability to be incredibly positive, or terribly misused. Where do you stand?
Doug Dorsey is retired from law enforcement and spent 15 years in the Hotel and Casino industry. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
