Our moderator, Xochitl “Sochi” Gaytan is the President of the DPS Board of Education, the first naturalized immigrant woman to hold that position. She was elected to the board in November 2021, representing District 2 in Southwest Denver. The values of education and civic mindfulness were instilled by her Mexican immigrant parents. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Metropolitan State University of Denver. Sochi’s community leadership includes serving for five years with the Harvey Park Community Organization, and being Co-Chair of the Colorado Latino Forum for several years, where she led the Board’s efforts on policy and legislation advocacy to increase the political strength of the Latino community. She is also the former Vice-Chair of Outreach with the Colorado Democratic Party.

Initiated Ordinance 305: No Eviction without Representation

Initiated Ordinance 305: No Eviction without Representation would raise taxes roughly $12 million (which would increase in future years based on the Colorado consumer price index) to provide free legal representation for people facing evictions. The proposal would also charge a $75 yearly fee per rental unit for larger landlords.

Wren Echo is a local housing activist from Five Points. She is an outreach organizer for the No Eviction without Representation campaign and currently serves as Housing Justice Chair for the Denver DSA, where she has spent the past two years working with unhoused residents and tenants at risk of eviction in the fight to achieve housing for all.

Drew Hamrick is General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for the Apartment Association of Metro Denver.

Initiated Ordinance 306: Waste No More

Initiated Ordinance 306: Waste No More would require all Denver businesses, including restaurants, hospitals and hotels, to offer compost and recycling services, and it would also mandate construction companies to dispose of materials more sustainably. Ean Thomas Tafoya will present arguments in support of the ordinance and Dennis Royer arguments against.

Ean Thomas Tafoya is active in Denver Public Affairs, Colorado Public Policy, and Federal Environmental & Housing Policy. He has worked for three branches of local government and at three levels of U.S. government. He has directed many local and state political races, and currently serves as the Colorado State Director for GreenLatinos and Co-Chair of the Colorado Environmental Justice Action Taskforce. He is also a candidate for Denver Mayor. Ean has been recognized for his work by the Denver Regional Council of Governments and the Denver Regional Air Quality Council, and he was named a River Hero by the National River Network.

Dennis Royer is the Former Deputy Manager of Public Works for Denver, where he oversaw the installation of single-stream recycling, which he later also initiated as Chief of Public Works and Transportation and as Public Works Commissioner for Boston. He is a former City Traffic Engineer for Denver, and he worked with the Air Quality Control Commission, DRCOG, CDOT, and others to eliminate Denver area’s embarrassment — The Brown Cloud, proving that EPA air quality standards could be achieved at high altitude. He has also worked for two national consulting firms in Washington, DC.

State Proposition 121: State Income Tax Rate Reduction

State Proposition 121 would reduce the state income tax rate from 4.55% to 4.40% for tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2022. Ben Murrey will present arguments for the proposition, and State Senator Chris Hansen against.

Ben Murrey serves as Independence Institute’s Fiscal Policy Center Director, working to promote fiscal responsibility in Colorado government and to defend the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. He has published multiple reports on Colorado tax and economic policy, including his most recent report, “Tax Expenditure Modifications, 2019-2022: Governor Polis’s Record on Special Interest Tax Benefits.” He is regularly published in state and national outlets. Before joining Independence Institute, Mr. Murrey served as a public policy aide in the United States Senate for seven years. During his time there, he played a role in passing major legislation, including the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the 2020 CARES Act.

Senator Chris Hansen represents Senate District 31 in the Colorado State Senate. He specializes in environment and energy economics. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Joint Budget Committee and Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Dr. Hansen holds a BSc in Nuclear Engineering from Kansas State University; a Graduate Diploma of Civil Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa; a Master of Science in Engineering Systems from MIT; and a PhD in Economic Geography from Oxford University. He is also the Co-Founder and Director at the Colorado Energy & Water Institute, and Founder of the Colorado Science and Engineering Policy Fellowship.

Initiated Ordinance 307: Denver Deserves Sidewalks

Initiated Ordinance 307 proposes to charge property owners a fee for the construction and maintenance of sidewalks citywide. The fee would be based on how much sidewalk is on their property and would vary based on the type of adjacent street. Jonathan Pira will present arguments for the ordinance and Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn against.

Jonathan Pira is a resident of West Colfax in Denver’s District 3. He serves as co-chair of the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Advisory Board, as well as an appointee to the Mayor’s Pedestrian Advisory Committee. In his neighborhood, he chairs the Land Use committee for the West Colfax Association of Neighbors.

Kevin Flynn is the elected City Council member for District 2 in southwest Denver, where he has lived for 40 years. He came to Denver as a reporter for the Rocky Mountain News, where he mostly covered City Hall, as well as major construction and infrastructure projects, including DIA, Coors Field, Mile High Stadium, Pepsi Center, RTD FasTracks and CDOT T-REX. When the News shut down in 2009, he became communications manager for RTD’s $2.2 billion EAGLE Project to build three of the commuter rail lines, including the airport train. He was elected to the City Council in 2015, and re-elected in 2019.

Table of Contents

INC Voter Forum.

00:00:00 Introduction and rules for forum
00:08:50 Introduction of moderator Xochitl Gaytan Denver School Board President
00:12:14 Introduction Initiated Ordinance 305: No Eviction without Representation
Initiated Ordinance 305: No Eviction without Representation would raise taxes roughly $12 million (which would increase in future years based on the Colorado consumer price index) to provide free legal representation for people facing evictions. The proposal would also charge a $75 yearly fee per rental unit for larger landlords. Wren Echo will present arguments in support of the ordinance and Drew Hamrick arguments against
00:16:58 Initiated Ordinance 305 No Eviction without Representation
00:39:35 Introduction Initiated Ordinance 306: Waste No More
Initiated Ordinance 306: Waste No More would require all Denver businesses, including restaurants, hospitals and hotels, to offer compost and recycling services, and it would also mandate construction companies to dispose of materials more sustainably. Ean Thomas Tafoya will present arguments in support of the ordinance and Dennis Royer arguments against.
00:42:28 Initiated Ordinance 306: Waste No More
01:07:14 Introduction State Proposition 121: State Income Tax Rate Reduction
State Proposition 121 would reduce the state income tax rate from 4.55% to 4.40% for tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2022. Ben Murrey will present arguments for the proposition, and State Senator Chris Hansen against.
01:10:21 State Proposition 121 State Income Tax Rate Reduction
01:35:26 Introduction Initiated Ordinance 307: Denver Deserves Sidewalks
Initiated Ordinance 307 proposes to charge property owners a fee for the construction and maintenance of sidewalks citywide. The fee would be based on how much sidewalk is on their property and would vary based on the type of adjacent street. Jonathan Pira will present arguments for the ordinance and Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn against.
01:37:59 Initiated Ordinance 307 Denver Deserves Sidewalks
02:00:16 Conclusion