A Democratic reset can start with ousting Hickenlooper
Re: “Senator’s campaign tried to nix challenge,” Dec. 10 news story
The article about a former staff member for Sen. John Hickenlooper trying to sabotage potential rivals in the 2026 senatorial primary was disturbing but also not a surprise. The Democratic Party is apparently just as corrupt as the Republican Party.
Sen. Hickenlooper’s record for the past few years has been largely absent. I’m not sure what he’s doing (outside of his recent email push to potential voters), but he certainly hasn’t taken any memorable action to counter any of the daily horrors coming from the Trump administration.
This is why I am an independent voter. Both political parties have lost sight of the people they are supposed to be representing in favor of money — for themselves and for their wealthy friends. I’m sorry to see the Western Slope ranchers and farmers screwed by Trump tariffs – but then, that’s who they voted for. It’s a sad state our country is in.
Linda McCone, Paonia
I had not heard of state Sen. Julie Gonzales until last week. I am now only cursorily familiar with her priorities and qualifications. Yet, I will undoubtedly vote for her in her primary challenge to U.S. Sen. Hickenlooper.
I am thrilled that we have a candidate willing to take on a prototypical establishment Democrat, notwithstanding the odds and veiled threats. Establishment Democrats have gone AWOL. That is not a new phenomenon. But this past year, the near-silence and ineffectiveness of establishment Democrats have been particularly damaging. We are long overdue for a hard refresh.
Fabrice Georis, Denver
‘Do the right thing’ and provide real Youth Services
Re: “DOJ investigating state’s prisons,” Dec. 9 news story
The article regarding a DOJ investigation of the Division of Youth Services comes as no surprise, given the long history of abuse within those twelve facilities within the state. There are at least weekly reports of horrendous conditions, including excessive force and restraints being used as the only curriculum within the “services.”
To repeat the statistics, at the Zeb Pike Center, there was a 191% increase over the previous six months in the use of restraints. The adjectives describing the conditions are often used by Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International — sexual assault, excessive force, overdoses and malnutrition. The definition of insanity is to do what you have always done and expect a different outcome.
When will the Department of Human Services try another way? Targeting funding toward family support, foster care, community services, and trauma-informed care, and away from congregate segregated services, is long overdue. There are other models in Scandinavia and elsewhere that should be replicated here to stop the historical failure and poor use of our tax dollars.
It is difficult to do the right thing the wrong way.
Marcia Tewell, Denver
Taxing the 2% doesn’t add up
Re: “There are real fixes for Colorado’s budget woes,” Dec. 7 commentary
Dave Young reminds us that he taught junior high math. For me, junior high was a long time ago. Please remind me, how does asking 2% of the population to solve a problem faced by 100% of the population seem “fair”? That math just does not add up!
Greg Johnson, Denver
Dave Young, the Colorado State Treasurer, who wrote the recent article about how to fix Colorado’s budget shortfall, is light on cutting expenses and heavy on taking more money from others. He mentions “asking” wealthy Coloradans to pay more, the old “pay their fair share” baloney, as well as increasing severance taxes on Colorado’s oil industry, which is undoubtedly among the most highly regulated and thus costly to operate in the United States.
The wealthy already pay most of Colorado’s state taxes and can easily show their opposition by moving. Check out how that’s working for California and New York. Oil companies, one by one, have had it with Colorado and its oversight by environmentalists running what used to be called the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and as a result, have red-lined Colorado as a state to avoid.
Pretty soon we’ll run out of other people’s money if we continue on this path. I hope Coloradans can wake up to this reality.
Joe Freeman, Englewood
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