LOCAL NEWS WHERE COLORADO’S CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES STAND ON HOUSING ISSUES BY ROBERT DAVIS IF THERE IS ONE THING 2020 HAS PROVEN, it’s that fair housing legislation is essential to public health. Currently, more than 30 people are vying to represent one of Colorado’s seven congressional districts after the general election on November 3. In the Senate race, former governor, John Hickenlooper, and his opponent, incumbent Cory Gardner, are currently joined by six other contenders, according to the Secretary of State’s office. Each candidate has an opportunity to influence housing policy, an issue that the Denver VOICE cares about deeply. To help our readers understand where each candidate stands on this issue, we asked them each three questions: • What will you do during your time in office to support unhoused people in Colorado? • Do you support rental/mortgage assistance programs and other programs that help homeless people find temporary indoor shelter during the pandemic? Why or why not? • Why should individuals experiencing homelessness in Denver vote for you? These are their responses: SENATE JOHN HICKENLOOPER (D): “Our nation’s homelessness crisis is a tragedy — and at a time when the Senate should be working around the clock to pass rental assistance and extending the eviction moratorium, they took a two-week vacation. In the Senate, I’ll fight to expand affordable housing, drive down costs, and support Section 8.” HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IKE MCCORKLE (D; CD-4): “In Congress, I will address the affordable housing crisis by increasing funding for the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund and expanding Housing Choice initiatives. Amongst the many other fair housing policies that must be expanded, I support rental and mortgage assistance legislation and federal eviction moratoria because every Coloradan has the right to economic security — and that includes a safe roof over their heads. Colorado’s homeless are just one of the many groups neglected by establishment politicians. I am ready to serve those who need representation most.” JILLIAN FREELAND (D; CD-5): “We have to address the root causes of housing insecurity; low wages and inflated housing costs. A lack of access to mental healthcare and addiction treatment also leaves people vulnerable to losing their housing. Legislation must address these underlying issues immediately through increased federal minimum wage, caps on rental rates, and complete access to medical services. For folks who are currently unhoused, we must reduce our dependence on shelters; they only solve the problem of where to sleep for one night. I will explore solutions such as distributed subsidized housing, tiny homes, and residential therapeutic communities to ensure that everyone has access to services that help people achieve independence and live with dignity. The Trump administration failed to take adequate action to prevent the disease from spreading; as a result, millions DENVERVOICE.ORG/VENDOROFTHEYEAR The Vendor of the Year recipient will receive a cash award of $100. Additionally, the winning vendor will be honored by the Denver VOICE community at our virtual Pints Fighting Poverty event in November. VOTE FOR OUR VENDOR OF THE YEAR! Now that the Denver VOICE is back in print, and more importantly, that most of our vendors have returned, we will resume our vendor profiles in the October issue. For now, we would like your help in nominating the Denver VOICE Vendor of the Year. Cast your vote today! of people lost their jobs. We have a moral obligation to protect them from losing their homes. I support rental and mortgage assistance as well as eviction moratoriums. Every single person deserves to have real representation in their government. The sad fact is that the Trump administration has prioritized businesses, not people, and it has left a lot of people without the resources they need to live with dignity. I will fight to guarantee access to the healthcare, education, and support services that give people the tools we need to THRIVE, not simply survive.” JAIMIE LYNN KULIKOWSKI (D; CD-6): “Rather than tell you what I will do, I am going to tell you what I have done and am currently doing to support unhoused people in Colorado. While dancing at a studio in Five Points, I befriended a homeless man who played the drums there. He was where he was being unhoused. I was where I was being housed. We never made that our focal point of conversation. It wasn’t the main part of his identity. My point is that I understand being unhoused is deeply personal and only represents a fraction of who you are as a whole. I also understand your experience transitioning from unhoused to housed will come from your own fortitude, not from anyone else’s charity or political agenda. In addition to befriending homeless people, I also speak up to state leaders regarding their treatment of them. Here is part of a message I sent Mayor Michael Hancock on April 27, 2020, regarding his order to displace the unhoused: “The unhoused don’t have traditional homes, but wherever they are is where their home is. They need to stay at home just like you have ordered everyone else to do. Everyone knows that forced migration of large groups of people increases risk of illness. We are already in a dangerous pandemic, or so all senior leaders say. Forcing Denver’s unhoused to move will endanger their lives as well as the lives of the people living in the community they get moved to. Don’t do this.” CASPER STOCKHAM (CD-7): “For over 10 months, while running for Congress in Congressional District 7, I studied the homeless problem extensively. We fed and provided clothes to the homeless. We also conducted tours of many of the homeless locations in the Denver area. The directors of the shelters all said their number one problem in helping more homeless people was government intervention. One director told me he could help an additional 100 families that same day if the local and state governments were not stopping them. So the homeless problem could be brought back to manageable levels by doing the following three things: 1. Get the government out of the homeless business. 2. Use the current money spent on the homeless, over $50K per year, per chronic homeless person — and provide it to the current, established shelters with very few if any strings. 3. Force people to use the shelter system to get off the streets and get help or move to a different state.” ■ This story will be updated with additional campaign responses. September 2020 DENVER VOICE 5
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