About

The Empower Northeast Denver campaign is made up of local Park Hill residents that are fighting to protect the voice of the community. The neighborhood is engagiing in a visioning process with the City to determine the future of the Park Hill Golf Course. This campaign is working to protect this process and the neighborhood’s right to create a vision for the future of this property and not allow the entire city to veto the will of this community.

Mark Marshall
North Park Hill

“There are those in this city who don’t live in the neighborhood, who prioritize the tranquility they experience driving by the current golf course, over the ability of vulnerable Northeast Park Hill residents to access community stabilizing resources. I find it difficult to understand that type of value system. We need to ensure that the voice of Northeast Park Hill is leading this discussion, and that’s what our ballot initiative is about.”

Samie Burnett
NE Park Hill

“I have lived in this community since birth. I am a 3rd generation Park Hill resident, and I have experienced first hand city policies that have not directly benefited this community. Divestment and displacement of long term residents have dramatically changed this neighborhood. As residents, we have the sole right to engage in a visioning process just like any other community or neighborhood.”

LaMone Noles
North Park Hill

“As a Denver native, I have witnessed the transformation of Northeast Park Hill from a vibrant neighborhood to one that has suffered from intentional neglect and disinvestment since the 1970’s. Long-time residents like me know what we need to do to revitalize the health and wealth of this community, and our voices need to be heard.  Neighborhood issues should not be subject to the will of people who do not live here or understand the history of this community.” 

Chris Herndon
Councilmember District 8

“I support ballot initiative 302 because Northeast Park Hill should have the right – just like any other neighborhood in Denver – to make land use decisions for their community. I will support whatever the area residents want for the future of the Park Hill Golf Course, whether it’s affordable housing, a grocery store, park space or all of the above. What I won’t support are attempts like Initiative 301 to take this decision away from people who live in the neighborhood.””

All In Denver
Affordable Housing Nonprofit

“There is room for all on the golf course — affordable housing, economic opportunity, healthy foods, and parks. But Northeast Park Hill voices should be at the center of the conversation.  Initiative 301 marginalizes them and diminishes their voice.”

Kevin Flynn
Councilmember District 2

“I’m voting for Initiative 302 because it is the only way to prevent the silencing of the voices of communities of color in Northeast Park Hill. They deserve to be heard after decades of being marginalized in this town. I-302 not only gives them a seat at the table, it prevents others from folding up the table and taking it away.”

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Jeff Shoemaker, E.D.
of The Greenway Foundation and Colorado Parks Foundation

“I am voting Yes on Initiative 302 because it protects the voice of a neighborhood. I am voting No on Initiative 301, because it sets an ill-advised precedent that takes a neighborhood issue and subjects it to an un-needed city-wide vote. As the Executive Director of both the Denver-based Greenway Foundation and the Colorado Parks Foundation, I understand the importance of connections to nature and parks in our beloved city and state. Voting Yes on 302 can protect a local community’s voice while also promoting parks. Protect neighborhood voices and neighborhood choices and vote Yes on 302.

Dr. Carroll Watkins Ali,
NE Park Hill Community Leader

“There is a misleading initiative filed by SOS, which claims to be an attempt to preserve open park space, but is in fact an attempt to silence the voice of Northeast Park Hill community and prevent us from having the opportunity to work with the city to determine what we want on this property. The majority of the people working on that ballot initiative don’t even live near this property, and our majority Black, Indigenous and People of Color community has a lot of needs we can address with the Park Hill Golf Course. We filed ballot initiative 302 in direct response to their attempt to take away our voice. and as a way to protect local choies and local voices”

Darrell Watson,
Co-chair of Denver Parks and Recreation 30 year Master Plan

“As the co-chair of Denver Parks and Recreation 30 Year Master Plan, I am very aware of the benefits of parks and open space, however, I am also aware of the more basic needs of housing security and access to healthy foods. Local communities know best what their neighborhood needs, and I believe that Denverites support local neighborhoods having the right to make land use decisions.  Open space decisions should continue to be developed through a community informed process to create a shared vision with neighbors, not through citywide initiatives and city-wide mandates. That’s why I’m voting yes on 302, to protect local choices and local voices. 

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