Denver, CO
Colorado lawmakers have RTD in sights for major overhaul — including big changes for elected board
Colorado lawmakers are drafting legislation that would deliver a sweeping overhaul of the Regional Transportation District — significantly reshaping and downsizing the governing board to remove nearly all elected seats while attempting to align the transit agency’s planning with broader housing and climate initiatives.
As formulated by the legislation’s three Democratic sponsors, who represent suburban areas, the broad outlines of the upcoming bill seek to bolster local governments’ coordination with — and influence over — the metro Denver agency. The legislators also hope to address RTD’s longstanding operator shortage and to launch the most substantial revamp of RTD’s governance structure since the early 1980s, when Colorado voters converted its board to all-elected members.
The draft has not yet been finalized, but the sponsors said in an interview Tuesday that the emerging proposal reflects their desire — shared by Gov. Jared Polis — to align the state’s climate, housing and transportation goals this year and into the future. But the changes also risk inflaming existing tensions between Denver and its suburban neighbors over the direction of the transit system.
The governor and his legislative allies plan to push denser, more strategic development, cut down on car usage and assuage skeptical local government officials who worry about the impact of those broader measures.
“We’ve been having a conversation for two years about how do we increase density and affordability of housing around transit-oriented corridors, and working with our local governments,” said Sen. Faith Winter of Westminster. “(Local governments) said, ‘That’s great, but we don’t have reliable transit.’
“So that leads us to the conversation of: How do we make sure we’re getting reliable transit and increasing transit?”
Winter, along with Reps. William Lindstedt of Broomfield and Meg Froelich of Englewood, set their sights on seeking change in how RTD operates.
The most eye-catching of their bill concepts is a plan to remake RTD’s board.
RTD now is governed by a 15-person board whose members are elected to four-year terms from geographic districts touching eight counties. According to a conceptual outline of the bill distributed by the sponsors last week, they are considering proposing that the board be cut down to seven members — all but one of them appointed.
According to that document:
- Three members would be appointed directly by the governor to represent a transit rider from a “disproportionately impacted community”; a budgeting or public financing expert; and an expert in either transportation planning, development or electrification.
- One member would be the head of the Colorado Department of Transportation or a designee.
- The Denver Regional Council of Governments would choose two members from across the region — one of them a mayor or city council member, the other a county commissioner.
- Voters within RTD’s boundaries would select the seventh member in an at-large election.
Froelich said the composition of RTD’s board was still being discussed but that there would be a mix of appointed and elected members in the bill.
She and the other legislators said they wanted the board to be “professionalized” like the panels that oversee similar transit boards elsewhere across the country — most of which, save for a handful, are appointed, not elected. The sponsors noted that in the 2022 election, four current RTD members were elected as write-in candidates because nobody qualified for the ballot.
Lindstedt said the board should “reflect the region and have the skill sets to be able to manage such a large mass transit agency in a professional manner.”
Some worry board revamp would disenfranchise riders
Several directors on RTD’s board did not respond to messages or declined to comment Tuesday. Board chair Erik Davidson said he had been told that the concepts in the bill outline weren’t final, and he didn’t want to comment because the measure was still being drafted.
Debra A. Johnson, the agency’s CEO and general manager, echoed that sentiment in a separate statement.
Board Director JoyAnn Ruscha, stressing that she was speaking only for herself, said the potential board overhaul “effectively disenfranchises people of color and our transit-dependent riders.” Local taxpayers fund and ride RTD, she said, and they should be directly represented on the board.
“I have no shame in the fact that I don’t have an advanced degree, or that I’m not a transportation planner, or that I didn’t get an MBA,” said Ruscha, whose District B includes northeast Denver and northern Aurora. “My family lived and died by the bus.”
RTD, formed in 1969, had an appointed board for more than a decade. In 1980, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers and activists spearheaded a statewide voter initiative to convert the board to all-elected members. The campaign, called “Citizens for an Accountable RTD,” passed by a margin of more than 100,000 votes.
Since then, legislators have broached the idea of adding appointed members or changing the board, but none of those efforts were successful. Among common criticisms of the elected model is that it pits regional interests against each other.
Besides the board changes, this year’s budding measure also would direct RTD to coordinate its planning with the Denver Regional Council of Governments, a planning organization bringing together representatives from metro-area municipalities and counties.
The objective is to ensure that RTD’s fixed routes align with local governments’ density and transit-oriented development objectives.
Froelich characterized the goal as “increased synergy” for work on a range of issues, including transit-oriented communities and development, meeting greenhouse gas emission targets and solving workforce shortages.
“All of that hinges upon reliable regional service from our transit agencies,” she said. “And the reason that we flow into the governance questions is (that) we want to set up a government system that gives us our best shot at that.”
The plan comes as two intertwining legislative packages begin to wind their way through the Capitol this year. One — a suite of land-use bills — seeks to encourage denser and more strategic development in Front Range cities, with a particular eye toward transit access. The other is a series of measures intended to bolster access to and use of public transit. That includes a bill to facilitate the creation of a statewide transit pass.
The ongoing debate in the state Capitol over ways to increase development along and near transit corridors has helped shape the RTD overhaul now being contemplated.
Last year, local governments opposed Polis’ sweeping land-use reforms almost uniformly, largely because of local control concerns but also over criticisms about the access and reliability of public transit.”
Lindstedt said the bill would seek to provide the type of increased accountability that local governments “so desperately ask for over the mass transit system that they rely on when they’re making those land-use decisions.”
The bill also would aim to address RTD’s operator shortage — vacancy rates were at 15% for bus drivers and 18% for light-rail train operators as of November — by embracing an existing CDOT program that trains vehicle operators.
It would also propose changes to how the agency interprets Title VI, a provision of the federal Civil Rights Act that protects people and underserved communities from discrimination in federally funded programs, including transit. Winter said the intent was to ensure RTD can provide transportation for special events or for specific populations without being viewed as violating Title VI. Examples of potential special services cited in the outline include Denver Broncos games — similar to the large-scale BroncosRide shuttle service that RTD used to offer but discontinued — and big concerts.
Broomfield mayor: “We have no control” over RTD service
The legislators said an overarching goal is to improve coordination and accountability between RTD and local governments.
Broomfield Mayor Guyleen Castriotta said Tuesday that her city and other north metro municipalities were fed up with paying money into RTD and getting little service in exchange. RTD’s post-pandemic service restorations have favored routes with higher demand and ridership, which often are in or near Denver, over geographic coverage.
Broomfield pays $17 million annually to RTD but only has one bus line — the Flatiron Flyer — that stops in the city.
“We’re forced to pay the same amount every year, but we have no control over what kind of service RTD decides to give us,” she said.
The greatest lament in northwest communities — a complaint voiced often by Polis and some other officials — is RTD’s failure, due to insufficient funding, to build out the full B-Line commuter rail train to Boulder and Longmont as promised.
Polis previewed his desires for RTD reform in his January State of the State address, in which he said that state leaders “must reexamine governance and operational efficiencies” at the agency while improving local partnerships and transit-oriented development.
Ruscha, the RTD board member, expressed concern with the bill’s overall intent, including any proposed changes to how RTD interprets Title VI. She said the board already coordinated with the council of governments.
“I do not think that this bill concept is going to address the pain points that people have with RTD, as I can see it,” she said, relying on the conceptual outline.
Chris Nicholson, a regular rider of RTD buses and trains, is a candidate for RTD’s District A board seat in the November election to represent areas including central and east Denver. He said he did not disagree that RTD needed updates to how it operates.
But he questioned why everything should be addressed in one big bill and how a requirement that RTD coordinate on service plans with the council of governments would make it more nimble. He questioned how the sponsors did their homework, noting that a presentation provided to interested parties never mentions riders — beyond the criteria for one of the governor’s appointees — disabilities, people of color or people with low incomes.
“This has not been the kind of process that has centered people who really matter in this conversation,” Nicholson said. “Those people are not the governor or the people in the legislature.”
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Denver, CO
Here’s the group that owns Denver’s pro women’s soccer team, from investment firm execs to sports stars
The Denver National Women’s Soccer League team has finalized its ownership group, which includes investment firms, high-profile business executives and Colorado sports icons.
Rob Cohen, the CEO of IMA Financial Group, is the club’s controlling owner. In the months since Denver landed the NWSL’s 16th franchise for a record-setting $110 million expansion fee, several other names have been added to the group, most recently Colorado-based skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin and Broncos legend Peyton Manning.
The club on Thursday announced the final five members that round out its ownership group: Cordillera Investment Partners, The Soin Family, Brooke Woody, Randi Borgen and For Denver FC Capital Partners.
Cordillera adds another sports venture to its diverse portfolio of investments, which already included the Professional Triathlon League and a list of other projects ranging from apple orchards to wireless spectrum to environmental grants.
Raj and Vishal Soin both serve as executives with investment firms – Soin LLC and Varis Holdings, respectively.
Borgen, a Colorado native who was a three-sport letterman at Middlebury College, joins her siblings, Jon-Erik Borgen and Kaia Borgen Mortiz, who were already members of the ownership group through their investment company, FirstTracks Sports Ventures.
Woody already held a minority ownership stake with the NC Courage and is, along with her husband, John, “dedicated to investing in organizations that lift up women and build up communities,” according to a bio provided by Denver NWSL.
For Denver FC is a volunteer group that was founded in 2022 and was “instrumental” in the early stages of Denver’s bid for a women’s pro soccer team, according to the club. It should be noted that, while Denver FC is among the finalists for the team’s yet-to-be-announced permanent name, “For Denver FC” is a placeholder name for the volunteer organization, according to its website. “Once the team joins a league, community input will help guide the team’s eventual name and identity,” the site reads.
“It’s an honor to be joined by such an accomplished and passionate group of individuals,” Cohen said in a Thursday press release. “Each investor brings a unique perspective and deep commitment to supporting women’s sports. Together, we’re building something that will reflect the values and spirit of Colorado and have a lasting impact in our community.”
The other members of the ownership group who had been on board prior to Thursday’s announcement are:
- Rob Cohen, CEO of IMA Financial and a Denver-based business executive for more than 35 years
- Ariel Investments, a Chicago-based asset management firm whose co-CEO is Mellody Hobson, a Denver NWSL alternate governor and minority investor in the Denver Broncos
- FirstTracks Sports Ventures, a branch of Denver-based venture capital firm FirstTracks Ventures
- Neelima Joshi & Dhiren Jhaveri, Colorado residents and pioneering minority owners of NBA and WNBA franchises. Neelima has served on the board for several Colorado nonprofits, including her current position with Food Bank of the Rockies. Dhiren is the founder of the global financial services platform Kuvare.
- Molly Coors, who spent 14 years with the investment management firm AllianceBernstein and is married to David Coors, a fifth-generation member of the Coors family and an executive with the beverage giant
- Mikaela Shiffrin, the most accomplished alpine skier of all time who is now involved in several philanthropic efforts
- Peyton Manning, the NFL Hall of Famer and Super Bowl 50 champion with the Broncos
Read more on the ownership group at the Denver NWSL website.
The City of Denver is moving forward with plans to invest $70 million up front to build a 14,500-seat NWSL stadium at Santa Fe Yards, an investment the city and the club say is the largest ever in a women’s pro sports team. Last month, Denver7’s Brandon Richard dug into whether that cost will be worth it to taxpayers. Read his reporting here.
Denver NWSL has gained instant traction with the city’s prospective women’s soccer fanbase, selling 10,000 season ticket deposits at a league-record pace.
Denver, CO
Optimism abounds that Denver Pride will be joyful as ever despite diminished sponsorship funding
Denver hosts one of the largest Pride celebrations in the country. But this year sponsorships for Denver Pride are down significantly.
The Center on Colfax says the funding drop is due to rollbacks of diversity, equity and inclusion budgets caused by national legislation. The Center says these cuts are putting critical services for the LGBTQ+ community at risk.
Fran and Anna Simon
Fran and Anna Simon were the first same-sex couple to be granted a civil union in Colorado in 2013 — and the first to legally marry in Denver in 2014. The Denver couple is spreading a message of hope as Coloradans mark Pride this month.
“To me, Pride is embracing who you are and accepting everyone and celebrating all the diversity that we have in our community, said Anna Simon, “Including sexual orientation, including gender identity, that all of that makes a richer place to live.”
Pride is one of the best times of the year, says Simon.
She and Fran Simon fought for years for legal recognition of their relationship, breathing a sigh of relief at the 2015 US Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage.
Fran and Anna Simon
A dilemma now– and every June– is who to march alongside for the Pride parade given all their friends and interests.
“Maybe especially in difficult times like now, Pride is super important and yea, we need to celebrate and be as loud and joyful as we ever are,” Anna said.
Fran added, “Especially in this time with the corporate sponsors leaving, I think it’s more important that we be out there.”
One motivator, says the couple, is the young people for whom this will be the first time ever attending Pride.
“When I was first coming out, it was huge for me, I mean it’s life saving for people to be in an environment, even if just for part of one day where they feel like they can be completely who they are,” said Anna.
Fran Simon has lots of practice fighting misperceptions these days and trying to find connections to people with diverse views, saying, “I always try to find common ground, and that we have a lot more in common than we have differences. So and then we can talk about parenthood or whatever.”
CBS
Finding common ground, say the Simon’s, is especially important in 2025.
“I am optimistic that we’re going to have a huge turnout this year, people are needing community in a way that they may not always, and this is a great way to have community and be uplifted,” said Anna Simon.
CBS Colorado is excited to take part in Pride this year. The celebration takes place the weekend of June 28th and 29th. With a new parade step off this year at 17th and Franklin, due to the construction along Colfax of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).
Denver, CO
Denver City Council approves $800 million National Western Center expansion project in 9-4 vote
DENVER — The Denver City Council on Monday authorized the city to spend more than $800 million over the next 35 years to expand the National Western Center.
The project will include the construction of a 160-room hotel, a 4,500-seat equestrian center, a parking garage, and income-restricted housing.
Denver City Council
The plan to redevelop the area and turn it into a year-round destination has been years in the making. However, Monday’s vote was not unanimous.
The Denver City Council approved the project in a 9-4 vote. Council members Sarah Parady, Shontel Lewis, Jamie Torres, and Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez voted against the measure. Council member Darrell Watson, who represents the area, voted for the measure, calling it a “win-win” for everyone.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston released a statement after the city council’s vote, saying, “There is no more cherished tradition in Denver than the Stock Show. Today, we are further committing to carrying that feeling throughout the rest of the year with events, entertainment, and a renewed dedication to putting people to work and improving the lives of neighbors through sustained – and lasting – trust and partnership.”
The project is not without controversy. Some community members in the nearby Elyria-Swansea neighborhood have raised concerns about the plan.
“It continues to steamroll forward, and it continues to do so without any accountability for the public dollars being invested,” said Swansea resident Candi CdeBaca, a former Denver City Council member.
Denver City Council
CdeBaca and others worry the project will displace people in the neighborhood.
“Our biggest concern in this community obviously is displacement,” she said.
People living in the area have been displaced before, like when Interstate 70 expanded. CdeBaca worries it will happen again with people being priced out of their homes.
“We’ve been fighting this fight for a very long time,” she said.
Sarah Lake, who led a successful campaign against a 2021 bond measure to build a new arena on the National Western Center campus, said building a new hotel and equestrian center is reckless.
“Just four years ago, voters overwhelmingly rejected spending $190 million to build the National Western Arena,” said Lake. “And now, here they are coming back, asking for four times that amount of money to build an equestrian center. So, it seems like it’s both economically reckless but also against the will of the voters who’ve already said this isn’t how they want their taxpayer dollars to be spent.”
Lance Nading, a local property owner who was appointed by the mayor to serve on a community outreach work group, said he is connected to the success of the National Western Center and its full development. However, he believes the National Western Center Authority needs to do a much better job of communicating with community leaders.
“They don’t engage with the actual leaders of GES in a meaningful way, so the end result is there’s a disconnect,” said Nading. “They do get community members to show up to their meetings. Sadly and unfortunately, they are not the true voices of the leaders in the GES (Globeville Elyria Swansea) communities. They’re just not.”
Sandra Ruiz Parilla and Nancy Santos are two GES community members who say they were very involved in providing ideas for the project. They believe it will be a great benefit to the community.
“We need to have neighborhoods being beautified,” said Ruiz Parilla. “But to be able to have that, we also need these kinds of developments that can offer those jobs, that can offer opportunities, that can offer better things for our communities.”
“The most important things for me are the opportunities they’re going to give the community,” added Santos.
Denver City Council delays vote on National Western Center expansion project to June
Ruiz Parilla told Denver7 she’s also concerned about displacement.
“The largest displacement in the community wasn’t the National Western Center, it was the I-70 project,” she said. “I was fighting to stop the I-70 project.”
Ruiz Parilla said she’s not blind to the challenges that the GES could face with gentrification. However, she believes the project will provide important opportunities for better jobs and education.
“Those are things we need,” she said.
As for CdeBaca, she and other community members asked the National Western Center Authority and the city to invest $16 million upfront into the GES Community Investment Fund (CIF) to pay for projects that could prevent displacement. She said this could include projects like a childcare center and housing.
The $16 million represented one percent of the total $1.6 billion in bond funds voters approved in 2015. The plan the city council approved will provide $9 million to the community investment fund over 35 years.
“$9 million over 35 years is absurd,” said CdeBaca. “That’s insufficient, and it can’t help the community right now.”
While they weren’t successful in getting the city council to vote down the expansion project, CdeBaca said they’re not giving up.
“Well, if anyone knows anything about this community, they know that we are well organized and will continue to fight until we can’t fight anymore,” she said.
Construction on the National Western Center expansion is expected to start this fall.
The project is one of three major initiatives Johnston’s administration has pushed through the city council in the last month. The other initiatives include the Park Hill acquisition and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) intergovernmental agreement.
Denver7
Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Brandon Richard
Denver7 politics reporter Brandon Richard closely follows developments at the State Capitol and in Washington, and digs deeper to find how legislation affects Coloradans in every community. If you’d like to get in touch with Brandon, fill out the form below to send him an email.
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