Denver's Resource for Accessible Activism
2017 G.O. Bond
UPDATE: All In Denver releases its Resolution of the Board of Directors in Support of "Our Denver" G.O. Bonds
In October 2017, All In Denver released a statement in support of the "Our Denver" G.O. Bonds. Read the full statement here.
2017 G.O. Bond: What's Going On?:
Roughly every ten years, the City and County of Denver authorizes General Obligation (GO) Bonds to restore, replace, and expand infrastructure and capital assets across the city. In November of 2017, voters will get a chance to vote on the most recently drafted GO Bond -- which began with $749 million in projects and has grown to more than $937 million after more than a year of agency, City Council, and public input. Projects funded by the GO Bond must be city-owned and operated assets.
All In Denver's Guiding Principles on Proposed 2017 Denver G.O. Bond Package
As a non-profit advocacy organization, All In Denver believes that an equitable city where all people prosper and thrive is within our reach. Last fall, All In Denver offered guiding principles to help shape overall goals for the upcoming 2017 General Obligation (GO) Bond proposal. We support the preliminary list of $749 million in projects, which reflects the initiative’s overall intent to promote equity and concentrate improvements in long-neglected areas of the city. The next phase of finalizing the list with the Mayor’s Administration and City Council is less transparent.
We urge consideration of the following criteria in finalizing the 2017 G.O. Bond project list:
1. Final refinements to the bond package should respect the original principles of equity, opportunity, and fairness outlined last fall by All In Denver, including:
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The bond projects should make Denver a more accessible and connected community, especially in low-income neighborhoods where mobility needs are greatest but the options are limited.
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The resources in this bond package should have a sharp focus on providing more opportunity to Denver residents in our more underserved neighborhoods where gentrification makes our ethnic and cultural communities vulnerable to displacement.
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The bond projects collectively should promote economic mobility and opportunity in Denver.
2. City leaders should resist the temptation to add GO Bond funding for interest groups that may have the greatest access, but not the greatest need.
In adding or subtracting projects to the final GO Bond package, we urge the Mayor and City Council to base decision-making on investments that promote equity and concentrate investment in neglected parts of the city where residents often have less access to the levers of influence.
3. Leave room for consideration of a bond issue to support affordable housing in 2018.
All In Denver’s original position requested that the city consider affordable housing as infrastructure and include funding for this purpose in the GO Bond issue; however, housing support is not being contemplated. We have subsequently released a poll of Denver voters that demonstrates:
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Affordable housing and homelessness are top concerns of city voters.
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A super-majority of Denver voters are willing to consider additional public investment to support affordable housing. Denver’s housing market puts many of our residents and workers in vulnerable positions—especially in our long- neglected neighborhoods where many of the GO Bond projects are concentrated. We urge restraint in finalizing the final GO Bond package, leaving room in both the city’s future bonding capacity and political will to consider a comprehensive affordable housing package next year.