ACLU lawsuits 'deeply disappoint' mayor
City sued over free speech at DNC
By Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published July 2, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Updated July 2, 2008 at 12:23 a.m.
Photo by Matthew Staver/Associated Press
Mayor John Hickenlooper says he's committed to civil liberties.
Mayor John Hickenlooper said Tuesday he is "deeply disappointed" in the American Civil Liberties Union for filing lawsuits challenging the city's commitment to free speech and other individual rights as the Democratic National Convention approaches.
"I don't feel like we've done anything but try to make sure that we're going to protect everyone's free speech and everyone's rights," Hickenlooper said during a meeting with the Rocky Mountain News editorial board.
"It was as if we were deliberately trying to maneuver against them, and nothing could be further from the truth."
Hickenlooper also said he was surprised because he and city attorney David Fine have been committed to civil liberties "our whole lives."
"You hate to say it, but I was deeply disappointed in the organization," he said.
Mark Silverstein, legal director for ACLU of Colorado, said he believes both the city and the ACLU want Denver to be "as friendly to First Amendment rights as is possible while accommodating legitimate security concerns."
He pointed to a special declaration signed by the mayor last year, in which Hickenlooper pledged that the designated parade route and protest zone would be "within sight and sound" of the convention.
"We disagree about whether the city has been able so far to live up to those commitments," Silverstein said.
The ACLU has filed three lawsuits related to the DNC that will be held Aug. 25-28 at the Pepsi Center.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court the ACLU, which represents 13 protest groups, is challenging the designated protest area and parade route.
Under the city's current plans, the protest zone is about 700 feet from the Pepsi Center entrance and parades won't pass directly by the building.
The ACLU says those plans effectively deny protesters their right to free speech because delegates and other people attending the convention won't be able to see or hear them.
Two lawsuits in state court sought information under the Colorado Open Records Act - a list of equipment Denver police were buying for use during the convention using federal grant money and the city jail's policy manual.
In both cases, the ACLU went through the formal process for requesting the information before taking the issues to court. The ACLU and protesters also met with city officials to discuss plans for the parade route and protest zone more than a year before filing the federal lawsuit.
Fundraising improves
Fundraising for the Democratic National Convention has picked up in the past two weeks, partly because Sen. Barack Obama was able to claim the nomination, Mayor John Hickenlooper said Tuesday.
The Denver 2008 Host Committee is charged with raising at least $40.6 million in cash and almost $10 million in in-kind services to put on the convention. But the host committee believes it will need about $50 million to put on the event.
Hickenlooper was in Miami this past weekend for the U.S. Conference of Mayors and said he used some of his time there to raise money.
However, he did say there is some lingering bitterness from Sen. Hillary Clinton's supporters who weren't quite ready to donate money for the convention.
The host committee reported last month it was more than $11 million short of the fundraising goal set in its contract with the Democratic National Convention Committee.
Hickenlooper said he could not disclose how much has been raised to date.
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July 2, 2008
11:40 a.m.
Suggest removal
iraqis911number2 writes:
so now they call it a "protest zone" rather than a "free speech zone". sounds a little nicer but it's still a breach of the first amendment for the city to dictate where the people can peacably assemble and protest in public.