We have often noted Mayor Paul’s unique political ability to get opposing political interests to support his agenda (see previous blog Strange Bedfellows). With the introduction of dark money through the use of new campaign finance committees, called independent expenditure committees, we now have one of the most bizarre couplings so far. Traditionally, the establishment has its unions, in this case the Police Union and the West Metro Firefighters Union, endorse and donate to Paul and his political allies. In the latest election, Paul had the unions endorse Kyra DeGruy for City Council Ward 1
This seems strange on its face since the incumbent Ramey Johnson has been a staunch supporter of our public safety employees. She and Roybal even went to bat for the officers to improve their quarters at a local substation. Ramey used her own money to donate stuffed animals for the first responders to give to kids in a crisis.
None of that matters when there are big bucks at stake. Paul convinced the unions it is in their financial interests to support more housing development. The rationale is more people coming into the community will create more work for public safety personnel and therefore provide a rationale for hiring more officers. Another rationale is more people might mean more tax revenues. This later argument may not actually work out as the unions intend. As a general rule, more housing is a net money loser to the City. The additional tax revenues are less than the costs of providing services, such as public safety, to the newcomers. This net drain on the city budget could then lead to cutbacks in government spending and services.
This is where we have to connect the dots to follow a money trail. The first dot is the public safety unions endorsing Paul’s candidate in Ward 1 – Kyra DeGruy.
The next series of dots follow the money needed to exploit DeGruy’s new connection to the public safety unions. This entails the need for money for mailers, facebook ads, etc. This is where we follow the long twisted money trail.
In a previous blog (see Forms Attack Committees), we discussed how Paul had his allies create new funding sources. You may recall City election laws limit donors to a cap of $2,500 per candidate. So the problem was how to get around that limit and at the same time keep the voters ignorant of the source of this money. This is where the concept of dark money comes into play. Donors contribute to some sort of PAC. This PAC then proceeds to donate to an “independent expenditure” committee. The independent expenditure committee then spends the money on behalf of their candidate (the funds can’t go directly to the candidate’s committee, ergo the “independent” part).
In this case, marijuana businesses donated $10,000 to a PAC called “Responsible Lakewood“. This group is run by Joseph Max Cohen, who is the largest marijuana retailer in Colorado. Cohen’s marijuana money was then donated to a new independent expenditure committee called Lakewood Voter Information Project. This group was formed a couple months by a guy named Kaleb Young who lives in Ft. Collins.
Why would a guy in Ft. Collins be interested in Lakewood City Council elections? The answer is Kaleb was Adam Paul’s former roommate. Older residents may remember when Paul was first running for City Council a decade ago, there were a couple letters to the editor, that Adam wrote and Kaleb submitted under his name. After Kaleb left Lakewood to live in Ft. Collins he became somewhat of a local celebrity. When the Ft. Collins police raided Kaleb’s marijuana caretaker business they destroyed his marijuana crop. Kaleb then proceeded to sue the City of Ft. Collins for reimbursement for his lost crop.
Back to Lakewood. Adam Paul/Kaleb Young’s independent expenditure committee then proceeded to spend the $10,000 (far in excess of the $2,500 legal limit) they got from the marijuana businesses on mailers to support Kyra DeGruy’s campaign. Thus the final dot is connected.
Does DeGruy know the money is coming from marijuana sales? Better yet, does the police union realize they are now in league with the marijuana industry?
Like the saying goes, politics creates strange bedfellows. Strange, indeed.
This article is funny to the say least. Here you are commenting about the police and marijuana stores supporting Kyra de Gruy. Ironically, I am surprised the Marijuana folks are not supporting Ramey. It was Ramey who suggested that fields at Lakewood High School should not be used 7 days a week for sports (see the June 5th Traffic Meeting starting at the 2:26th minute followed by an 8 minute rant full of inaccuracies). If kids are not using established fields perhaps they are better at home smoking dope and playing video games. I prefer them using the fields and spending time with families.
In this 8 minute statement she claims Lakewood High School more than doubled in size. Yes it has if you go back to 1957. Meanwhile the City has grown 7x and this does not include unincorporated areas. She argued that the Lakewood IB template should be replicated it has been tried. She goes on to say that the orientation of the LHS has changed. WRONG. That fields are used 7 days a week. WRONG. That it is wholly appropriate to regulate the schools frontage while restricting public use in the neighbors. This is not only WRONG but inconsistent. To be clear, The City was awarded an ALL CITY Award in 2016 and proclaimed a new park in the EIBER neighborhood a field of dreams. Meanwhile 1,000s of hours and 10s of thousands of dollars were spent improving the baseball facilities around Lakewood High School much of it with private funds like many of your readers would prefer. Instead RAMEY blocked access to an ADA Compliant sidewalk on the school’s own frontage on Saturdays and Sunday ALL DAY and after 4pm M – F. This action hurt churches, the handicapped, students and parents. Ramey claims that this was supported by findings in the ACIC report. This quote “inclusive community” ACIC report has no mention of the Baptist Church, the Lutheran Church or the Handicap for heaven sake. It was her attempt for political cover and it is lacking READ IT IS IN THE PUBLIC RECORD. Council Koop comments at this same meeting. We have not been fully consulted on the implementation of signage. Truer words have never been said.
I suppose it is better families and athletes don’t use these high quality facilities that are already bought and paid for. It is Ramey who has restricted parking on the high school’s 9th Ave Southside yet argues that neighbors should control their frontage 24/7 365 days a year. That is simply lame. If you move by a high school these facilities will be used and more importantly should be used.
Ramey’s parking signs was an action of vote getting pure and simple. She had no understanding of the efforts by the school to improve the look of 9th Ave, diverting trucks, moving the band to the parking lot to reduce noise I could go on. I will continue to convince so called anti-establishment friends I have and I have many to vote Ramey out. She claims, “I am listening” but I find she does not hear and she in the case of Lakewood High School’s frontage has applied restrictions in consistently with someone claiming to promote the great good.
I would invite ANYONE to drive down 9th Ave between Garrison and Kipling and see for themselves the stupidness of these signs. They prohibit: STOPPING STANDING AND PARKING on the Southside of 9th! Moreover stopping and standing is allowed on the Northside of 9th where there is no ADA 78″ compliant sidewalk which was paid for by the school RAMEY is complaining ignored her for years. This action alone is reason to vote for Kyra.
PS – The reason the COPS are not supporting Ramey is they are sick of enforcing inconsistent traffic signs all over the City.
Thanks,
NON ESTABLISHMENT PERSON who still believes fair should be fair. The property owner controls their frontage period! In this case it was the High School.