Editorial: Why Denver Citizens Groups Always Seem To Lose These Days And Who Are Denver’s Real Heroes?
In many large cities across the United States like New York and Chicago, the residents have largely come to expect that the political game is rigged and that the entrenched powers will almost always win, hence the maxim: “You Can’t Beat City Hall.” One of the nice things about Denver is that the citizens traditionally have not believed that they are helpless against City Hall and through the dozens of neighborhood groups they have formed they believe they can exercise power for the betterment of their city.
That innate optimism about the nature of city government has been sorely tested in recent years. Citizens have tried to fight back against the corrupt deal that transformed Lowry Vista from open space to a highly-dense, mixed-use development; against a modified running trail through Washington Park forced on them by Denver Parks and Recreation; against a photo radar program that is run by a private firm that is little more than a cash cow for the city; against closing the only park in Cherry Creek North, Fillmore Plaza, and turning into a street at the behest of two developers; against large apartment houses being fostered on a single family home area of Highlands by a developer; against a Civil Service Commission which is unable to discipline the most brutal and dishonest police officers even when their illegal acts are caught on tape; and most recently against massive tax subsidies for Walmart in a residential area at 9th and Colorado.
These are just a few of the highly unpopular acts either approved or initiated by the City and County of Denver against the wishes of an overwhelming number of the affected citizens. The citizens fought as hard and as long as they could only to fail. Why?
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