Darrell Watson

-Campaign Website: www.watsonfordenver.com

-Contact Information (Candidate, Campaign)

Darrell Watson | darrell@watsonfordenver.com 
Porter Bennett | Campaign Manager | porter@watsonfordenver.com  | 720.999.6725

 Darrell Watson

-In 100 words or less tell us who you are and why you are running?

I am running for City Council District 9 because the challenges facing our district and our city require action now. We cannot afford four more years of stagnation and hold-out political games. Too many folks are struggling with the affordability crisis we are facing in Denver right now. Housing costs, displacement, crumbing transportation infrastructure, and economic stagnation have hurt thousands of folks in D9 and throughout Denver. I am running to bring leadership, tangible change and rational policy decision making to Denver City council.

-In 100 words or less, why do you love living in Denver?

I remember the 17-year-old me, landing at the old Stapleton Airport in July of 1987. I saw the mountains and the city from my seat in the airplane and knew right then and there that I loved this city and that this would be my chosen home. I love Denver and my Whittier neighborhood because of my proximity by foot or by bike to my favorite parks, favorite restaurants to my mother – who lives in Curtis Park, to Kaiser Permanente and my tribe my community. I fell in love with my husband in Whittier.

-What are your top three favorite songs of all time?

1. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For - U2
2. Three Little Birds - Bob Marley
3. The Dance - Garth Brooks

-What are your favorite two books (1 fiction/1 nonfiction)?

1. Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama
2. DaVinci Code - Dan Brown

-What was your first job?

I was 13 and stocked groceries at the TriMart on St. Thomas.

 Darrell Watson

-It is estimated that Denver is short by nearly 70,000 units of housing. What would you do to expedite increasing Denver’s housing stock?

We are facing a housing crisis: housing is too expensive, it’s not located where people want to live, and there isn’t enough of it. One approach I will take is to elevate the housing crisis as a regional issue: first, passing affordable housing mandates in each municipality in Denver Regional Council of Governments; second, working regionally to ensure each municipality meets Prop 123 requirements; and third, coordinating regionally for state and federal dollars to increase access to affordable housing. My collaborative approach will also extend to fostering public-private partnerships to expedite the building of affordable housing units.

-From recent reports, rental housing in Denver is out of reach for residents. What is your plan to ensure affordable housing for all in every type of housing?

First, Denver must fast-track the building of affordable housing by reducing bureaucracies that increase costs. I propose adding 10 new FTE to the permit team immediately, to include recent retirees, temporary transfer of FTE from HOST, and consultants. Our 2024 budget must provide rewards, bonuses & OT tied to reducing backlog and permitting time to 90-days. Second, I will work alongside council colleagues and the new mayor to map out vacant city properties and expedite the building of deed-restricted, affordable housing. And third, city government must provide leadership in the conversion of office space into affordable housing to reinvigorate downtown

-Unhoused community members have long called Denver home, but Denver has historically struggled to develop effective, human-centered strategies to address homelessness. What is your experience with homelessness, and how would you go about providing sustainable services and housing?

We must implement Community Solutions Built for Zero program and have an accurate count of every resident living unsheltered in Denver. We must provide one-for-one transitional housing options for every person living unsheltered. This must be a regional effort. Increasing 10-fold sanctioned outdoor spaces throughout the region as well as increasing transit between these regional transitional housing options to service providers in Denver is crucial.

 Darrell Watson

-Would you support best value contracting and would you support a collective bargaining agreement for Denver city workers?

Yes. Any county contract must be looked at as an opportunity for economic development, which includes ensuring workers are provided fair wages and benefits and a healthy working environment. The economic impact of a project is more than the product itself, it is the investment in the workforce and the folks who make the project happen. The more we help working families in Denver, the stronger our city and economy are.

-How will you expedite and ensure completion of the airport renovation?

I think it is important to have ongoing oversight by the Denver Auditor to ensure that the recommendations from prior audits are implemented. Additional oversight and transparency is needed in the subcontracting process by Hansel Phelps to ensure that the city sticks to the current budget. To ensure all subcontracts are going to the lowest bidder, DEN needs to increase transparency of their contracting process. I am excited that Phase 1 is completed and we are on track for Phase 2 to be completed Q1 2024.

-What are the biggest needs and opportunities you see for the City and County of Denver to foster economic development, while safeguarding and bolstering livable jobs?

We need to be investing in workforce development programs to ensure that Distrcit 9 residents have the skill and training necessary to succeed in today’s job market. This could include working with local educational institutions to provide training programs, apprenticeships, and other opportunities for residents to learn new skills and advance their careers.

-Business opportunities for businesses owned by people of color, women, and other marginalized populations are key to Denver’s economic sustainability and equity goals. How will you prioritize business development programs among these key communities?

We will continue to collaborate with businesses in Historic Five Points to ensure that they remain viable and the businesses that recently closed that they have a path back to reopening on the Point. We must also expand the Herman Malone Fund to be inclusive of Historic Five points. Additionally we can collaborate with entrepreneurs to develop an incubator that provides access to capital, accounting, legal, management and other technical assistance free of charge to the Welston Street Corridor and Five Points Businesses.

 Darrell Watson

-In your view, what is the most pressing public safety need for the City and County of Denver today?

Denver’s greatest public safety concern is the growing sense that crime does pay. There must be consequences for criminal behavior and penalties for criminals stealing cars, conducting open air drug deals, and harassing residents & visitors when they walk or roll on the 16th Street Mall or ride the mall shuttle. As we execute on police reforms, we must also revisit criminal justice reform. Public safety also includes our streets. Vision Zero can no longer be a slogan: we must reduce vehicle and pedestrian deaths in the city. We also must increase shared streets, protected bike lanes, and safe sidewalks.

-How would you go about ensuring equity across our public safety system?

Equity across the system begins with who will lead Denver Police, Denver Sheriff and Denver Fire Departments. The culture of each of these departments rely increasingly on how important equity is to the leader. We must not only hire leaders that reflect our communities but also increase recruitment of officers from our communities. Ensuring equity requires that we evaluate at minimum semi-annually equity targets - inclusive of pay, promotions, incentives across all ranks, opportunity for work shifts and other quality of work benchmarks. Equity targets evaluations should be led by external stakeholders.

-What does community safety mean to you?

Community safety is inclusive of physical safety, school safety and safe streets. Our community cannot be safe without a strong collaborative approach between DPD and the wider community. I support community policing and increasing Community Resource Officers that engage on a daily basis with community members not just during calls around criminal activity. Public safety is inclusive of our unhoused residents as well. So access to wrap around mental health support, transitional and supportive housing, substance abuse support and service providers for physical health check ups. Community safety is inclusive of school safety. We will not feel safe as a community if our children are not safe. Denver City Council and the School Board have a responsibility to begin the City Collaborative meetings between elected leaders to ensure that the school safety plans are aligned with community safety plans and budget priorities. Community safety also requires safe streets. We must fully implement ‘Vision Zero’. We must provide increased connectivity for our protected bike lanes. Safe streets require planning and I will push to increase the # Neighborhood Area Plans completed within a 12 month time frame instead of the status quo 2 years.

 Darrell Watson

-A key in making sure Denver is a livable, equitable and thriving community is ensuring a robust transit system. Describe your vision and plan for enhancing Denver’s transit services.

Improving public transportation is critical to addressing issues related to traffic congestion, air pollution, pedestrian/cyclist safety, and access to essential services in our community.This means expanding micro transit options as a means to provide free or deeply discounted connectors to provide additional alternative transportation options. We must also implement smart transit solutions that use real time traffic data and analytics to improve the efficiency and reliability of public transportation services.

 Darrell Watson

-Please share your solutions for Denver’s approach to the current migrant crisis and ensuring that Denver’s programs and policies treat our immigrant communities with dignity, respect, and fairness.

The current migrant crisis is the unfortunate outcome of our broken national immigration policy and partisan politics. The full solution can only be found though federal comprehensive immigration reform. As a municipality, we must identify dedicated state, regional and local funding long term. The current city budget allocation for unsheltered residents is not sufficient to meet the ongoing needs this crisis is creating for these families. We must develop partnership agreements regional for transitional housing and transportation for migrants that are connecting with relatives in other states and for migrants that will remain in Colorado.

-How have you advocated for immigrant rights policies or do you have personal connections to immigration? How does that prepare you for being a candidate in an immigrant friendly state and city?

I have not advocated for immigrant right policies, and I do not have personal connections to immigrants. Quite frankly no one running for Denver City Council or currently serving as a City Council member has developed and executed policies in this level of crisis. I will rely on Human Rights Community Partnership, city staff and research from other immigrant friendly cities to inform me on necessary steps I should be taking.

 Darrell Watson

-How will you ensure and evaluate equity across Denver’s programs, policies, and departments both among city communities and among city employees?

Justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) is rooted in our social equity collective impact engagements with residents of and businesses in District 9. Watson for Denver acknowledges that most institutions throughout our city were not constructed through a lens of equity but through the fog of bias. As we co-create with communities to imagine a city that works for all and not just a privileged few, we must purposefully elevate the voices of marginalized communities, knowing that the wisdom of our solutions to the city’s most vexing problems will be best generated by those who do not typically have access to the levers of power. The success of Denver City Council District 9 will only be achieved if we are measurably and transparently equitable in our processes and intentionally inclusive in our outcomes for all communities.

-What is your vision for Denver’s hospital systems?

My vision for Denver Health as the primary safety net institution in the state is to increase the allocated city budget and create dedicated funding from the state to reduce the 70 million dollar annual persistent deficit. That funding should also increase access to the neighborhood and school based clinics providing decentralized access to increase care in our most vulnerable communities. My vision is inclusive of privately managed hospitals increasing indigent health care and reducing that burden from Denver Health.

-How would you ensure equitable abortion access for women and pregnant people regardless of insurance?

I will begin first by ensuring that we receive all the federal funding allowed to support access to abortions for women and pregnant people. Colorado just passed three laws that will increase access and protections for families.

1. Blocking participation with law enforcement from other states that have anti abortion intimidation laws on their books.
2. Require large companies to cover the cost for abortions and counseling
3. Final bill outlawed abortion reversal or false information being given to families seeking an abortion.

Helping to enforce these new laws as well as securing as much federal funding for residents not covered by large businesses and their insurance companies are the ways I will support increasing equitable abortion access.