When Ronald Reagan ran for president in 1984, he posed a question to the American people, “are you better off today than you were four years ago?” It was an effective campaign theme and Reagan easily defeated the incumbent, Jimmy Carter.

For Denver residents they face a similar question today as they consider the various candidates up for election this spring. I’m guessing that for most residents, like myself, the answer to that question would be no.

Just looking at a simple scorecard on the issues, crime is up, especially auto theft, and people feel less safe in their neighborhoods. The downtown area is struggling as fewer people wish to work there or visit it, between navigating homeless camps, panhandlers, crime, and a less clean environment than in the past.

Homelessness has risen despite the city spending hundreds of millions of dollars over the last several years while housing costs and rents have risen and further squeezed middle and low income residents. Construction projects at Denver International Airport (DIA) are far behind the original schedule and there has been significant cost overruns while the City faces costly lawsuits from the original contractors. Transportation service levels have deteriorated taking you more time to cross the city than five years ago and our transit service, operated by RTD, has cut service and witnessed a serious drop in ridership (with the exception of the one uptick associated with free transit rides for one month).

Denver Public Schools, which has been one of the finest public school systems in the country, is in chaos with the most dysfunctional board ever. This has not been lost on many parents with school-age children who have lost faith in the system and have relocated to areas outside the city or moved their children to private or charter schools rather than subject their children to uncertainty and a circus-like atmosphere. As a result pupil numbers in DPS are declining, leading to the closure of schools. While the school district is run by a separate board, city elected officials can greatly influence its direction. It’s critical that that the next mayor and council take more of an active role to stop Denver Schools from spiraling further downward.

At the same time Denver’s sales tax rose by 18% (as a result of a ballot initiative in 2018). The reality is that Denver residents are paying more in fees and taxes than four years ago and the results and outcomes are worse. Retaining the same people or those who supported those flawed policies and programs, will produce more of the same. Some, who are running, believe that we are failing because we aren’t investing more in some of these programs which have been a dismal failures to date. That is akin to loading additional cargo on a sinking ship and speeding up the boat’s demise.

Mayor Hancock is not to blame for all of this but as Harry Truman aptly noted when he was president, “the buck stops here” and so it is with the mayor that the responsibility lies with him. Clearly City Council and its actions contributed to these problems and the Colorado Legislature bears some responsibility with its changes to sentencing laws that opened the door to greater car theft and more widespread fentanyl use and addiction problems. While well-intentioned legislators supported these measures as an alternative to incarcerating people, the net effect has been the public paying a greater price in a number of ways. For Denver voters, the choice is clear. While Mayor Hancock is not on the ballot, a number of elected officials as well as those who supported and established some of the flawed policies which have set the path and direction for the city and state over the last several years, are. If you believe you “are better off now than you were four years ago” and the city is headed in the right direction, your choice is simple, you can return those elected officials and support others seeking office, who encouraged the policies, rules, and ordinances that created the current situation in the city.

For my part I believe Denver remains one of the premiere cities in the country and I wish it to remain so. I know how I’ll be voting.

Greg Fulton, a 40-year Denver resident, is the president of the Colorado Motor Carriers Association, which represents over 600 companies directly involved in, and affiliated with trucking in Colorado.

Greg Fulton

A view of downtown Denver from one of the city’s older neighborhoods.

Courtesy of colorado department of public health and environment