Carol Boigon, Denver City Councilwoman, At-large
Councilwoman Carol Boigon pledged to keep Denver a great place for all children and families. She said a family friendly city offers a strong environment for jobs, business and working families; clean, safe and well-maintained neighborhoods and business districts; welcoming and accessible parks, play spaces and cultural institutions; a clean and healthy environment; excellent education; and help for families in need. A family friendly city operates with clear, consistent and fair processes so voters of the City may understand and make informed decisions about Denver’s future. To reach these goals, Councilwoman Boigon works closely with her colleagues in the City’s legislative branch, with the Mayor and his administration in the City’s executive branch; neighboring governments through her work with Colorado Counties Inc., Urban Drainage and the Transit Alliance; and with the voters of Denver.
BUSINESS
Councilwoman Boigon championed the Gates Cherokee redevelopment at Broadway and Mississippi; helped organize a coordinated redevelopment approach to Colfax Avenue from one end of Denver to the other; supported new zoning to foster urban corridor redevelopment; supported the tourism tax to market Denver around the country and the world; served as one of three Denver County co-chairs for State of Colorado 2005 ballot initiatives C and D to reform the state budget; traveled with the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce to Montreal for a local government exchange; and facilitated City relations with large and small businesses in their dealings with the City. She pushed the City to upgrade its safety communications network to cover the high rise buildings in Downtown Denver. Councilwoman Boigon fought for redevelopment of the Bonfils-Lowenstein theater, at East Colfax Avenue and Elizabeth Street, which opened in June 2006 as the home to fine local businesses while meeting historic preservation standards for adaptive re-use.
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
Councilwoman Boigon led a successful effort to update the child care centers sections of the Denver zoning code. In her role as Denver’s representative to Colorado Counties Inc., she co-led an effort to make the Colorado Early Childhood pilots – including Denver’s – into permanent councils and to expand them statewide. The bill prevailed in the Legislature but was vetoed in May by the Governor. The dialogue will resume this fall at CCI. She championed City support and cooperation with Denver Public Schools, restoration of City cuts in child care, safety and better police protection around schools and parks, childhood immunizations. She urged expanding high quality recreation opportunities through Denver recreation centers, parks and schools for all Denver children during out-of-school hours. Councilwoman Boigon, as 2003-05 chair of the General Government Committee, proposed a new City employee insurance category for one adult with children, which has been very popular and cost effective. She schedules visits with school PTSAs to listen to parent concerns. She is a board member of the City’s Welfare Reform Board and the non-profit advocacy group Great Education Colorado. In every matter that comes before City Council, Councilwoman Boigon’s analysis begins with: “What does this mean for Denver children and families?”
NEIGHBORHOODS
Councilwoman Boigon is committed to protecting the quality of life in Denver’s diverse neighborhoods. She believes that the character of a neighborhood comes from its people as well as its buildings, roads, plantings and activities. In her role as 2005-06 chair of Finance Committee, she successfully worked with her colleagues to amend the Mayor’s proposed budget to support the hiring and training of more police. Her office was instrumental in developing new zoning to regulate drive-through restaurants adjacent to residential zone districts. She is working to build a residential therapeutic program for prostitutes in Denver to help combat street crime. Around the City, she supported specific efforts to ensure neighborhoods have a voice on concerns as diverse as liquor license applications and closing crack houses.
ENVIRONMENT
Councilwoman Boigon testified to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency against proposed new mercury standards that would weaken protection for children and families. She fought for a regional or statewide smoking ban in restaurants and bars, but was ready to co-author Denver legislation if those efforts failed. In June, Colorado’s new anti-smoking legislation is scheduled to take effect. Her leadership on the Gates Cherokee redevelopment was based on her commitment to clean up that large polluted brownfield site in the heart of Denver neighborhoods on the banks of the South Platte River. She encouraged the City’s primary power provider, Xcel Energy Inc., to make environmental clean up and alternative energy generation an important piece of the new franchise agreement that will go to Denver voters in August 2006. She supported the ballot question for FasTracks to build out the regional commuter-light rail system to ease traffic congestion and help clean the air in the Denver Basin. She supported a state ballot question to boost the use of alternative energy sources. As an asthma patient, Ms. Boigon is keenly aware of Denver’s air quality and its impact on residents, businesses, and federal road funds. She represents Denver on the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District, where she participates in regional decisions on flood control and water management.
CULTURE
Councilwoman Boigon co-led an effort to redevelop the old Bonfils-Lowenstein Theater, an historic mid-century modern Denver icon at the entrance to the City Park Esplanade and directly across from East High School. The theater, at East Colfax and Elizabeth, had been closed for 20 years. The project unites many themes of her service: It saves an important piece of Denver history. The restoration and re-use meets the requirements of historic preservation. It cleans up a blighted structure that had been an attractive nuisance to 1,300+ East High students, that had depressed business vitality and had increased urban decay, vandalism and crime near lovely neighborhoods. It restores the grandeur of the entrance to one of Denver’s significant parks. The lead tenant in the theater will be the Tattered Cover book store, a prominent local business looking for a new home in Denver. TC and the other tenants in the theater and in the new building next to the theater, plus the parking garage, will create the critical mass to revitalize this section of Colfax. In addition, Councilwoman Boigon advocated for improved parks maintenance, including secure, improved irrigation systems, clean restrooms and protection for the City’s tree canopy. She served on the Mayor’s Library Task Force to explore funding and governance options for DPL. She promoted partnerships between the Denver Children’s Museum and Denver Head Start and between the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Denver Department of Human Services to increase access to Denver’s extraordinary cultural resources. She was an early booster of the Colfax Marathon and helped smooth its way through the City’s administrative processes.
OPEN GOVERNMENT
Councilwoman Boigon asked the Mayor for and got more detailed reporting in the annual budget on the City’s reserve funds, in those areas relating to the State’s reserve requirements for local governments. She is a strong advocate for excellent election services, first as chair of General Government Committee and now as chair of Finance. She discovered a disconnect between the Election Commissions proposed 2006 budget and its 2006 work plan and directed the Commission to rewrite its budget before the Council could adopt the City’s 2006 spending plan. She fought for increased and accurate communication with Denver voters on election procedures and requirements. She sought broader distribution of polling places for early voting and now for the new vote centers, better maintenance of operations, and better security for voter information and ballots.
SAFETY
Councilwoman Boigon believes the City must ensure a safe and orderly environment throughout Denver while upholding the civil rights of all its citizens. This is a high standard but it is the true measure of a great American city and Denver is a great American city.
She was a strong supporter of the Justice Center election, the new Justice Center location and the city’s commitment to make its new urban jail and courthouse excellent additions to the City’s civic center. Councilwoman Boigon was a leading voice for improved safety communications system, to be funded mostly by Homeland Security, to close the gaps for firefighters, paramedics and police in the tall buildings of downtown Denver and in other areas of the city. But she insisted the design should not be based on a 200-foot tower in Southmoor neighborhood. The Mayor has now submitted a new plan that puts towers on existing buildings so the project can move forward. She was a key member of the Council team that amended the Mayor’s 2006 budget proposal to hire and train more police. She has been a strong supporter of the Mayor’s Civilian Monitor program, for expanded civilian oversight for police operations and critical incidents. She supports the Mayor’s initiative for “Broken Windows” policing. She has questioned the pilot model, though, where stepped up enforcement may push crime into nearby communities. Councilwoman Boigon would like to see the strategy executed citywide.
