Colorado inside out is much more than a conversation reacting to what's happening right now.

It's a reflection of what is taking place in our communities.

And what could be.

This week, our first topic is a heavy one.

It's difficult.

It's uncomfortable, but it's also necessary if we don't talk about it.

If we don't engage more people in informed discussion.

The alarming numbers of human trafficking in Colorado will never change.

At the state Capitol, lawmakers are considering tougher penalties for traffickers.

And here at the table, we're taking a wider view, looking at the scope of the problem and what it will take from all of us to make a difference.

So let's get started with this week's Colorado Inside Out.

Hi everyone.

I'm Kyle Dyer.

Let me get right to introducing you to this week's insider panel.

We start with Patty Calhoun, founder and editor of Westword.

Krista Kafer, columnist with The Denver Post.

Amber McReynolds, one of the country's leading experts on election administration and policy and former director of elections for the City and County of Denver.

And Carlos Martinez, president and CEO of Latino Community Foundation of Colorado, as new Department of Justice files related to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein draw national and international attention, Colorado continues to confront its own trafficking crisis.

A new report from Common Sense Institute ranks our state as having one of the highest number and rates of human trafficking.

This legislative session, state senators at the Capitol are proposing a bill that would make a mandatory sentences for those who are traffickers.

But in the House, a bill that was proposed life sentences for traffickers, was postponed indefinitely, which means it's going nowhere.

Currently, there are signatures being gathered to maybe get that life sentence idea on the ballot for all of us to decide in November and event.

There's a lot about this, Patty.

So I will start with you.

There's no question there is a special place in hell for child sex traffickers.

We cannot be attentive enough to sex trafficking and especially for children.

Witness the Epstein files when you see just how accepted it can be one thing I was going to say is, I wonder if partly it's awareness is one of the reasons that Colorado does charge so high because people report it more, they're more active against it.

And as an example, I use domestic violence.

Colorado was the leading state for fighting domestic violence.

First state to set up a domestic violence court.

So maybe there's more awareness.

That's the only thing I can see that might be a good part of this is people report and people chase down those leads.

Okay, Kristen.

Our prisons have limited room.

And that's one of the reasons that that bill got shot down.

So we need to make distinctions between different kinds of crimes and the severity.

True child predators, true traffickers, people who, enable crimes against against children in particular, also teens.

These people need to be in prison for a very long time.

distinguishing between those who are true monsters, people who have to stay in prison for the rest of their life, and other situations where people can be rehabilitated, and then providing that counseling.

And right now, the state is in violation of its own laws and is not providing that counseling.

If our legislature needs to do anything that's really putting us in a positive direction, they need to go out there and recruit and pay for people to come into those prisons.

Give them the therapy that they need to be able to free up the spots from people who aren't likely to, to do this sort of thing again.

That way they've got the space to take in and make those who need to serve long sentences serve the sentences that they deserve.

I immediately go to the victims that are impacted by this because not only are they victimized at the time of the crime, but in a lot of ways.

And frankly, we're seeing it on display, the court system in and of itself, the criminal justice process in and of itself, continues to revictimized victims over and over and over and over.

And it's frankly why we often see in domestic violence cases or any of the other cases that are in this category of, of of heinous crimes, that victims often avoid further victimization in the court process.

Testifying in court, having to go back and fight custody battles, whatever it might be.

victims constantly are faced with what happened to them, that somebody is getting away with it, whether that's human trafficking or domestic violence.

And so I think whatever we can do to, reduce the re victimization of those individuals and create barriers, for people to get away with it in court.

Whether that's, you know, creating more mandatory life sentences or creating disincentives for this behavior to happen in the first place, all of it is part of, to me, an opportunity to give these victims justice if if we can look at our laws closely across the board, domestic violence, divorce court, you know, all of it is is a problem and has been okay.

And, Carlos.

When I look at, you know, human trafficking, there's, human trafficking with respect to, sexual, violence and also indentured servitude.

with respect to the indentured servitude.

We work with a lot of organizations throughout the state and a lot of ones in agriculture.

Communities do see a lot of that in Denver, servitude.

So going back to what Patty was saying is, are more people reporting some of these cases?

I can tell you with respect to that, yes, because I have seen and working with some of these organizations over a decade now, how they're much more aware of this, how they can spot it and how they're reporting it as well.

And with respect to like legislators, you know, trying to go ahead and almost like micromanaging the judicial system, that to me, sometimes is a little bit, you know, we have a judicial system.

We have judges that go ahead and come up with, convictions and time and penalties and so forth.

It worries me when legislators are now playing part of that role of micromanaging our judicial, judicial system, because that can go ahead and to lead to other areas as well.

So just a caution there, you know, they say if you see something, say something.

If you believe you may have, information about a trafficking situation or if you or someone you know needs help, you can call the number you see on your TV screen.

There are people that will help you.

You are not alone.

Let's turn to the election year that is ahead of us.

Okay?

And, all the money that is driving it.

New fund fundraising reports show who is stockpiling the cash, who is fighting to stay in the fight, and who is probably on the ropes.

Why do dollars really make or break a candidate's chance of winning?

Meanwhile, the Colorado GOP is reportedly managing cash flow with some bank loans.

What does it say, Krista?

When the organization that is supposed to be supporting and lifting up candidates isn't itself having financial issues.

They're definitely struggling.

And that is the continued legacy of Dave Williams.

He basically destroyed the party.

Now they have to rebuild.

And rebuilding takes cash, so they're struggling.

In the meanwhile, I would suggest if you want, if you like a particular candidate, give directly to that candidate because money enables you to get your message out.

Without money, you cannot get that message out.

And right now I think there is some opportunity for good Republicans, people like Barbara Kirk Meyer and others who are solid, mainstream, moderate candidates who can do good things for the state.

And there may even be a possibility of pickups if there's a fair amount of infighting on the side of Democrats.

I mean, already we have some Democrats that seemed unassailable who now have primaries to contend with.

I don't think that it helps the Republicans have, at least with the gubernatorial race, what, 500 candidates weighing in for the primary, something like.

That actually gets.

Closer to 21.

But somebody like Barbara Kirk Meyer, who's smart, who's policy oriented, who isn't, out there, chasing windmills and doing interesting things the way some of these other candidates are, it would behoove them, I think, to recognize that they're going to lose.

They might as well throw the towel in.

Now, you know, Amber, you've watched elections for so many years.

Is it true that the one with the most money wins?

Not always, but I think what I would, you know, point out about this as well is, first, anything we can do to improve transparency of campaign finance, the funding of elections, who gets what from who so that the voters can actually access it and make sense of it is a good thing.

So, you know, transparency matters and all of this, I think it's critically important that voters pay attention to the money flow, who's who's getting what from who when they make their decisions.

The second thing is, you know, running campaigns is a big business.

And lots of there's a number of people that make lots of money off of the back end of this.

And so, you know, I think it's important for voters to understand that, ask the questions of the candidates when they give directly to them or they give to other entities because, you know, when you look at the the spend it often isn't just on voter education or communications to voters.

It's the back end of what it costs to run a campaign.

And lots of consultants make lots of money off of this very large business.

it's like you either have to have money, know who to go to for the money, or know how to raise the money.

And I think a lot of that is also due to, Citizens United, were really opened up.

And, you know, government cannot prohibit, corporations, unions, or either associations giving to candidates.

I think that's why it's becoming more expensive to run these campaigns also, because it's just that so many different levels and so much money coming in that you have to create these infrastructures for marketing, for getting your word out, getting to meet people and, and just plastering television, radio and mail, just campaigns.

And I think it's unfortunate that it's come to that space where now money is politics and money is a voice in politics.

Patty, and where that money is coming from, as you pointed out, we had Hickenlooper backing off because Palantir had given him money.

And so he donated that.

And I think it was Jason Crow.

Also.

You can win even if you are not the best funded candidate.

I mean, we can go back more on local elections, I think go back to the norm.

Early Wellington Webb race for governor for mayor, where Wellington Webb kind of walked his way into that office by not spending money but visiting everyone.

But it takes unbelievable amounts of time.

Volunteers if you don't have the money and a really strong message.

But let's face it, we want really strong, good messages for us from all our candidates, and we're not seeing a lot of that right now.

It's amazing to see how much money has been raised in eight, for example, to see that crank is maybe vulnerable in district five, which is incredible.

So we're going to have some amazing races coming up, but look and see not just what they're saying, but who's giving them the money, who might be encouraging them to say certain things.

And the primaries are big for us in June and then right before 4th of July.

And then, of course, the midterms are in November.

And currently there is an effort underway to require documents such as a birth certificate or real ID compliant driver's licenses, in order to get your ballot and to vote.

And later this month, election officials in Colorado and other states will join an FBI led call to discuss the preparations for the midterm elections in November.

You know, such coordination, you think, is a national, natural part of an election cycle, right?

But when you add that to the president's recent call to nationalize elections, it does draw some extra attention and some inquiry into what is happening with election policy.

So I will start with you, Amber.

Well, first, you know, since elections were deemed critical infrastructure there's been far more coordination at the federal level.

And in both Trump's first term than in Biden's term.

And then now we see the call that it's coming, now.

So when you have a critical infrastructure element of our national security apparatus, it does require coordination at the local, state and federal level.

It also requires trust between all of those different levels of government When you muddy the waters with kind of Partizan viewpoints and Partizan politics with what should be a totally nonpartisan event, which is the conduct and running of elections, you end up with a trust deficit.

And so, you know, my concern is that, all of these entities, they need to work together to collaborate, but they also need to be able to trust each other.

And I think that's certainly what you want to what you'll hear from election officials that they really, you know, want to make sure they can trust their partners at all levels of government, state and federal.

If you're a local official, and hopefully that we, you know, there can be some resolve to that as we go into the midterm election.

We hope so, because.

I think we have a, gold standard here in Colorado I love I've lived in various states throughout my life, and being here and being able to exercise my power to vote in the ways that we are able to do it here in Colorado is amazing.

So I'll just start off with that.

I don't think there is an issue with respect to, voter fraud throughout the country.

I think what's happening right now is really, tactic to suppress people's vote, and requiring more ID or other types of, of forms to limit, the amount of people who go out and vote because I don't know of an election right now where there was voter fraud that flipped an election.

And so there is no really.

And I think this whole thing about nationalizing this, it's kind of like, a it's a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

All right Corey.

Except of course in 2020 who didn't when the election created the problem.

We look at the raid in Georgia talking about 2020 taking basically every vote cast.

The Department of Justice just a week ago to look into all of the rumors that had already been debunked.

I mean, it's horrifying to see what is going on.

I grew up on the outskirts of Mayor Daley's Chicago.

We know that you can influence elections in very bad ways, but that's not happening in Colorado or other states like Colorado that have taken Mail-In voting, made it more accessible.

It is still safe and it is still protected.

And the attacks on the people in the system are truly horrifying.

I mean, you look at what happened with Dominion and in Colorado, look at it.

Most of our clerks, our Republican, our county clerks, our election clerks, and look who's winning.

So this is not a rigged system.

And can we just get on with doing what works?

And we have the ballot tracks where you can track your ballot.

And there are citizen judges, right, Amber, that there are a lot of different layers that we are following these ballots in Colorado.

I mean, the system was designed to be both accessible and reliable and secure, and there's all kinds of checks and balances.

And we also have things like risk looming audits like Colorado, actually, our voting system and our technology has been audited more than any other state in the entire country over the last ten years, by far.

I often also hear that we mail a ballot to everyone at no.

We actually only mail in ballot to you if you're active, which means your address has been validated, which means you you've provided the proper identification.

And met those requirements to register to vote.

So there are all kinds of checks and balances in the system.

And it was designed that way to ensure accessibility combined with security.

I think everyone at this table is being far too diplomatic.

We have a trust problem because we have an election denier in the Oval Office.

We have a person who tried to overturn an election and did so with violence.

That person is now doing things like raiding election offices in Georgia under, some kind of auspices, like, oh, we're here to check.

No, I don't think we can trust that.

You can check.

If anyone's going to let ballots go missing, it might be the person that I don't know roused, thousands of people to attack the Capitol.

Just saying.

I think we have a trust problem.

And that trust problem is going to remain for the next three years.

And I want Colorado and other states that have Mail-In voting systems that have all of the checks and balances that Amber just described to stay tough against these calls to nationalize our elections.

Colorado has, you know, if there's any problem here in Colorado is this insidious notion driven from the top, that our elections are not safe and trustworthy.

So you have these people who are election deniers, kooks and cranks who spin.

I don't know how much time online reading conspiracy theories, joining canvas boards here in Colorado and not signing off, trying to derail elections from the bottom when the man at the top tried to derail them from the top.

We will have trust restored in three years.

Until that time, we have to stay the course.

Okay.

All right.

Greeley, Colorado is the fourth fastest growing metro area in the country, and it is projected to surpass Fort Collins within in a couple of years.

With that population surge comes economic expansion.

And this month there is going to be a special election.

Voters will be deciding whether to tap the brakes on $1 billion development project for the area.

This special election is, you know, it's it's almost like Carlos, not so much about this one particular project, but just how do we handle growth in general?

So of course, we're seeing the growth and weld, and it doesn't surprise me because the, Front Range is getting much more expensive.

So people are looking for affordable places to go ahead and raise a family and have that.

So it doesn't surprise me with that.

I love to see community involved in democracy.

So the fact that people are getting involved is great.

I think the piece, though, that sometimes happens, is that sometimes we're not well educated on all the pieces of growth of expansion and how they work.

can this also be something that will create that creates, revenue not just for today but for tomorrow to be able to pay for infrastructure that growth tends to go and create.

You have to create infrastructure.

And I think that's the things you're always having to balance infrastructure, community change, you know, and community engagement and involvement.

And I think my thing is always making sure that people understand what they're voting for, what the benefits or consequences are going to be.

And this is a ice skating rink for the minor league hockey team.

A water park, shopping retail office is quite large, and I actually did read $181 million in annual economic output.

Is expected.

So.

So we'll see.

We will see.

Yeah.

Patty is.

Expected.

I mean that's the big issue here when you look at projections and people are very upset now that Denver isn't growing as fast as it used to, which I would argue is a good thing.

The infrastructure has to catch up.

We have to think about what's going on here and Greeley is going to be in much the same position, because even if this does pass, and even if it does bring in a fair amount of money, you think about what's going to happen to the infrastructure around it and what happens with that added growth and what happens to the schools, and how long will it go on?

We saw Denver, which was booming.

Now we've got excess schools in Greeley.

You could have the same situation.

Then we also have the other issue that's coming up with the potential strike at JBS.

You look at what that's a town that still has a lot of tensions that they're going to need to work through.

What are we see last year with, with the rodeo and the fights there, and they've got some growing pains going on in Greeley right now.

They're going to have to get a grip on.

But the main thing with these big projects is you you have to look at who profits and who pays.

So who is going to give up money?

What are taxpayers going to have to put in?

We're going to see it with the Bronco Stadium, too.

That's not all going to be built by the family.

Right.

And so this plan has already been passed, but now it's on the special election because people are like, wait, hold off, hold off.

We don't know if we want to do this just yet.

Well, I mean, development is stuff, right?

I mean, it adds traffic.

I mean, not everybody wants a thousand beige strip malls.

I get that, but here's the deal.

You cannot move into a place and then decide that you're the last one, that you're going to shut the door.

We saw that in Littleton in this last this last election, a wealthy developer and person who made a ton of money off of developing other places and other lands came into Littleton and decided that he didn't want anyone developing property around him.

So he ran an initiative.

It passed, and now we have some pretty draconian, stops against development.

Development is by and large a very good thing.

Communicate.

Communities that are not growing are dying.

You want to go to places like, I don't know, Walsenburg not to bad mouth Walsenburg, but there are parts around the state that are.

And if shriveling up like a raisin on the windowsill, and you want to be in a place that is growing, that is seeing rebirth, it is seeing old properties being redeveloped.

They're seeing vacant lots springing up with new stores, coffee shops, different things.

It can be a really good thing.

Yes, the community should weigh in.

Yes, there should be some lines.

Definitely a focus on infrastructure.

So it takes some of the weight of that new traffic and and some of those growing pains.

But you cannot be the last man in that shuts the door.

Okay.

And, you know, Patty was mentioning the effects on schools.

And since we have you here as the election expert, this could change the makeup of how elections are running.

Yeah, absolutely.

And I was going to add, I mean, one of the best election officials in the country is actually the elected clerk in weld County.

Her name is Carly Cup, Carly Copper's.

And, you know, she actually for years now, I've heard her talk about the growth in Weld County because she sees it on the voter rolls and affects their office because now they're processing more ballots, they've added equipment, they have to think about infrastructure.

And that's, you know, that's the same across the county.

And all of the cities around it in and around Weld County is you have to think about growth differently, especially when you're booming and you're growing as fast as they are.

I was running elections in Denver when we saw when we were seeing significant growth.

When I started in Denver, it was around 200,000, a little over 200,000 active voters.

And now it's, you know, well over 500.

So, you know, that growth can happen very dramatically and it affects all levels of of county government.

And, you know, I think Carly's, you know, a great example of this.

She's been talking about the growth for a long time because she sees it and fills it in the transactions she sees in her office.

Okay.

All right.

Let's go around the table now and talk about some of the highs and the lows we have witnessed this week.

We'll start on a low point so we can end.

Please.

On a good note, Patty, I'll start with you.

The white House was supposed to host the National Governors Association this week.

Donald Trump specifically disinvited Colorado's governor and also Maryland's governor.

And in disinvited Polis.

He he blamed the failure to, free Tina Peters, which when you get back to elections, she is not really the heroine.

We need to celebrate Colorado.

Yes.

I, yeah, that.

Sorry.

That was funny.

So, you know, I've been, This year, I'm going to adopt the dog.

I lost my precious dog a couple of years ago, and I've been looking through rescue sites.

I love German Shepherds and related breeds, and I see so many of these animals that have been abandoned, neglected, and abused.

And all I want to say is, if you would abuse a dog or a horse or any animal, don't own an animal.

I hate that.

I want to say, I want to say things that involve swear words right now.

So I'm going to zip it.

Okay?

All right.

Amber, victims being revictimized and you know, we saw it, on display at the national level because of the Epstein, case and the victims.

But it's happening every day in every community.

Victims are revictimized through processes, through the court system, through all of it.

And I, I it is going to remain a low for me every time I see it.

Okay.

And, Carlos, I think my thing is like project delays.

So I live off of Colfax, East Colfax, and this past weekend I was going to some of the places I go and they're like, I'm not sure I'm going to make it because, you know, they just informed us that it's not going to be probably till the fall, that, you know, they reopen the streets back up the way they're supposed to.

And it's kind of like, I might not be here anymore, girls.

And that's just had to go in here that that we're not doing anything to really help them and support them through these signs.

I've gone through some restaurants to them because the bus construction.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

Something good.

Patty.

I mentioned Colorado Preservation Inc here last week.

They just yesterday announced five more places that are on the Endangered Places list, which means we are celebrating them.

We are going to try to save them.

And one is Bent's Old Fort, which is actually a replica of the original fort, but good for Colorado Preservation Inc, because they're taken on the feds with this.

But it is a place we need to keep.

Okay.

All right.

I'm giving it to Congressman Jeff Hurd.

He just voted, to push back on Trump's tariffs against Canada.

And I love to see that, you know, you actually can regrow spines.

And I'm seeing it more.

And more and a select number of Republicans.

So kudos Jeff Hurd okay.

And Amber so I looked up because it's Valentine's Day this week.

I looked up kind of what some of the national days are.

So Thursday of this week the 12th is National Hearts Day or give a hearts day.

Giving Hearts day, I think it is.

And then Friday the 13th is National Tortellini Day.

So, you know, when you look up and see what national things are being celebrated, it can bring some joy.

Okay.

All right.

I'm talking about celebration and preservation.

I was able to go ahead and see the, moment that made the moments that made us exhibit at History Colorado, which gives us a 200 year span about different moments in time that made this country.

And it's just a wonderful exhibit to go and see that and learn more about our history here in the United States.

Thank you for sharing.

Okay.

Instead of one high point this week, I have three.

Okay.

First, on Wednesday night, churches across the Denver archdiocese opened their doors for an hour of prayer for peace amid the ongoing political and cultural tensions.

And secondly, in that same spirit, a small business owner who is a friend of mine was asking himself what he could do to spread some more love.

And he designed this simple little heart pen right here with the intention being, let's see, together as a whole, we can bring more heart back into this world.

And he is handing these out to customers at a shop.

More for life in Cherry Creek North.

So I think it's adorable.

And it's just from the heart.

Right.

And then the ultimate expression of love a brand new baby.

Congratulations to our insider, Christy Burton Brown on the arrival of her daughter Meredith, just in time for Valentine's Day.

And if that's not the face of a cherub, I don't know what is.

So we are so happy for Christy and her entire family.

So thank you insiders love you all.

Thank you.

Love you as well.

Watching or listening at home or on Spotify or watching on YouTube.

I'm Kyle Dyer.

I will see you next week here on PBS 12.

In the meantime, here is to love.

Happy Valentine's Day.

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