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November 4, 2021
DENVER, COLORADO
A publication of
VOLUME 94 | ISSUE 50
Colo. school board election spending skyrockets Denver among top districts for contributions BY SANDRA FISH THE COLORADO SUN
Resiliency. “We are going to need a lot more to reach our goals,” Rogers said. In 2018, Denver released its 80x50 Climate Action Plan, which calls to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
More cash flowed into Colorado school board contests this year than in previous election cycles as teacher unions, charter school advocates and wealthy individual donors opened their purse strings to influence closely contested races across the state. The spending is part of a national trend of contentious school board elections, supercharged by COVID19, the social justice movement and other hot-button concerns. The Colorado Sun analyzed candidate and committee campaign finance filings through Oct. 13. The review showed that candidates in 20 school district contests in the election that ended Nov. 2 had raised more than $1.9 million, about $672,000 more than candidates in the same districts raised in all of 2017. In five districts — Cherry Creek, Windsor, Summit, Falcon and Eagle — candidates are raising tens of thousands of dollars in races that didn’t record a single political contribution four years ago. School board candidates in Colorado aren’t subject to fundraising limits like candidates for state legislature, governor and Congress.
SEE ENERGY, P6
SEE SPENDING, P10
People clean up their encampments along Lincoln Park in Denver ahead of its closure by authorities in January 2020, because of PHOTO BY JESSE PAUL/THE COLORADO SUN public health concerns.
How can metro Denver grapple with homelessness? CU Denver and a think tank offer ways to help BY TATIANA FLOWERS THE COLORADO SUN
Homelessness is pervasive and
costly, and has worsened and grown more complex in metro Denver, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. There’s no single solution to resolving the crisis affecting more than 6,000 people in the sevencounty metro region, according to researchers who spent months
interviewing formerly homeless people and the leaders of organizations that serve them. Expensive housing, a shortage of paid human services staff and mistrust in the system are among the factors making the homelessness SEE HOMELESS, P11
Getting Denver to 100% renewable energy New pilot program to help with solar equity BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Distributed solar makes up only about 1.5% of electricity use in
INSIDE: CALENDAR: PAGE 9 | LIFE: PAGE 12
Denver. That’s according to Jonathan Rogers, a renewable energy specialist in Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability &
A VITAL AND ‘LOVELY JOB’ Caring for babies, families in tough times P12
