The Spot: Leslie Herod’s chat with Kamala Harris about criminal justice reform

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I heard an interesting, small-world anecdote on Colorado Public Radio yesterday: in conversation with host Ryan Warner, state Rep. Leslie Herod said that Kamala Harris had advised her on SB 217, the landmark police-reform law passed in June.

The mention of the California senator — and as of this week, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s running mate — was curious enough, I felt, to warrant a call to Herod about it. Here’s what she told me:

“She called me. … I answered a call where I didn’t know the number, and it was her,” Herod said.

“She said she’d been seeing the news about the bill, that she’d heard about it. I’d also been in conversations with (Cory) Booker and (Michael) Bennet about the bill, and (Joe) Neguse, and she gave me that pep talk about what was important. It was really just about the need to act, and to act now.”

Herod, a Black woman who had supported Harris’ presidential campaign, added: “It was definitely a woman-to-woman kind of conversation — and that’s another reason why I think we need women of color in politics, to have these conversations with each other around when we should use our political capital and when we shouldn’t.”

Criminal justice reform-minded lawmakers like Herod certainly gained a lot more political capital this spring and summer, thanks entirely to protesters. It’ll be fascinating to how they wield it come January, when the next legislative session is supposed to start.

By moving so quickly to pass SB-217 — a direct response to the Black Lives Matter protests — lawmakers also permanently moved the goalposts: They’ve established that they’re willing to go bolder on justice reform than they had in recent memory, and so there are now all kinds of conversations I expect will take place next year that, a year ago, would’ve been third rails.

A few possibilities: Reversing the encryption by many departments of police scanner traffic. Abolishing certain court fines and fees. Making prison and jail phone calls free. Letting prisoners vote.

All of these were non-starters, or at least longshots, a year ago. My read of the room is that they’d all get serious consideration today.

I don’t know what’ll happen next year, and for the most part, neither do these lawmakers, since the session won’t really take shape until after the November election. But I fully expect they will have coupons they can use to go bold in ways that they didn’t, or couldn’t, before the protests — and before SB-217.

More state political news

Also in this week’s newsletter, Justin Wingerter writes about Cory Gardner and Colorado Democrats in Congress, and Conrad Swanson updates Denver’s handling of homelessness.

To support the important journalism we do, you can become a Denver Post subscriber here.

You can send tips, comments and questions to me at aburness@denverpost.com or to the other Post reporters below.


Top Line

Steve Tally, manager at GNC, left, ...
Rachel Ellis, The Denver Post

Steve Tally, a manager at GNC, left, looks down to see a few patrons walking through the Denver Pavilions in downtown Denver on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020.

The downward pull on consumer spending from the pandemic has been less severe, so far, than had been forecasted for many places in Colorado. In fact, plenty of municipalities have seen gains in sales tax collections. But the overall hit to retail sales captured in those places has amounted to a $1 billion drop compared to last year, according to state revenue data compiled by the Colorado News Collaborative.

#COSen 2020 • By Justin Wingerter

Colorado delegation fires on Gardner

In December, Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet briefly made headlines with some wishy-washy remarks about whether he would campaign against his Republican colleague, Sen. Cory Gardner, this year. He hasn’t done so yet, but other Colorado Democrats in Congress have.

“You know, (Gardner) has not led,” Rep. Jason Crow, D-Aurora, said during a press conference with Gardner’s opponent, former Gov. John Hickenlooper, on Aug. 4 to discuss pandemic relief. “He has been there for Donald Trump every step of the way. He is not the voice that Colorado needs.”

On July 17, Rep. Joe Neguse took part in a press conference to discuss immigration. The Lafayette Democrat alleged Gardner, a DACA-supporting moderate on immigration, has voted to further Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda and hasn’t done enough to support Dreamers.

“For those who would prefer to simply claim they’re supportive of the DACA program and then argue that they’ve always been supportive — and that of course includes our state’s junior senator — I would challenge them that talk is cheap,” Neguse said. “What we want to see is action.”

Gardner and Neguse support the exact same piece of pro-DACA legislation, the Dream and Promise Act. When I asked Neguse why Gardner’s support of that bill isn’t enough — Gardner is one of the few prominent Republicans to tout it — Neguse reiterated that talk is cheap.

Criticizing a colleague can be awkward for congressmen, especially for those like Crow and Neguse who are in office for the first time. And both were co-sponsors of Gardner’s Great American Outdoors Act, which became law last week, so they do share some policy goals with him.

But, hey, it’s an election year. These things happen.

More federal election news

Mile High Politics • By Conrad Swanson

No answers — well, no real ones

Denver officials cleared out two homeless encampments within the past two weeks, and they’ve got two more to go

Still, city officials have created no new outdoor spaces for people experiencing homelessness to use as an alternative. And they have yet to answer many of the questions surrounding their tactics, which have been called into question by local and national experts

The current justification for clearing out the encampment in Lincoln Park — just west of the Colorado Capitol — and another near Morey Middle School is that the large encampment populations created new public health crises. And those supersede federal recommendations sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that encampments not be broken up unless officials have an alternative place for people staying in them to go. Closing the camps down only scatters their populations, increasing the risk of exposure to the virus and possibly spreading it around communities further. 

But recent Hepatitis and Shigella outbreaks in encampments, along with reports of violence, drug use and rat infestations, are more pressing issues, Public Health Director Bob McDonald has said. So, despite federal recommendations, the camps must go.

How bad are the outbreaks? They can’t say. Denver Department of Public Health and Environment officials say they’re still tracking down the numbers. 

There was a fatal shooting in late July in or near the Lincoln Park encampment, but it’s unclear whether that was related to the people living there. Denver Police Department representatives didn’t immediately respond to requests for more information. 

How will breaking up the encampments solve those problems? That’s also unclear. Sweeping out — or cleaning up, as city officials phrase it — the encampments has been the city’s strategy for years and, well, they still haven’t gone away. 

When will the city’s first sanctioned encampment open? Nobody can say. Perhaps September — originally officials predicted early August — but first they need a site, and the one concrete possibility they had is no longer under consideration.

Mayor Michael Hancock is quick, however, to emphasize that these will be “temporary” encampments.

Why not provide trash cans, bathrooms and increased police presence at existing encampments until more solid solutions to the current — and legitimate — problems can be agreed upon? Hancock’s representatives haven’t responded to the question. 

Has Gov. Jared Polis, who encouraged breaking up the Lincoln Park encampment, or his team identified any state land Denver could use for an encampment? His representatives won’t respond, either. 

What can they say? Probably not much, if it’s outside the realm of seven talking points written up by the head of the Colorado Village Collaborative, the nonprofit group that will operate the sanctioned encampment. 

Those talking points keep those involved looking forward, focusing on the more positive aspects of the process, including reviewing potential sites suggested by City Council members, the engagement of the state and private landowners, and continued fundraising efforts.

Twice I asked Theresa Marchetta, a spokesperson for Hancock, whether the mayor’s office agreed to that list — and, if so, why, given the number of legitimate questions and concerns over the issue. She didn’t respond. 

More Denver and suburban political news

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