Opponents drop challenge to “impound initiative”

Daniel Hayes ponders a question during a 2009 hearing on his ballot initiative.

LAKEWOOD – Local voters likely will decide whether Lakewood police will have to impound the vehicles of unlicensed drivers after a group opposing the impound initiative dropped its Court of Appeals challenge of the petitions circulated to put the proposal into effect.

Sigrid Higdon, a Lakewood woman who had been the point person in the campaign against bringing the issue to a vote, filed a motion to withdraw the appeal Wednesday.

The appellate court must accept the motion before the initiative can move forward to City Council.

Jefferson County resident Daniel Hayes circulated the petitions, enlisting two Lakewood residents to be the “Petitioner’s Committee” in order to get the issue on the city’s ballot. Because he is not a Lakewood voter, Hayes could not circulate the petitions on his own. The Lakewood initiative is one of three impound efforts Hayes organized. The other two were in Aurora and Denver.

Hayes wants to require police to seize and impound the vehicle of any unlicensed driver they stop. If approved by voters, the measure also would require the owner of the vehicle to post a $2,500 bond that would be surrendered if the same vehicle seized for the same reason within a year. It also would impose a $200 impoundment fee, and impound bonds could cost as much as $400 a year.

But opponents believe Hayes’ proposal targets illegal aliens, primarily Hispanics. They also are concerned the measure would eliminate the discretion now afforded to police in such cases and could severely punish drivers who simply forgot their license. They also say it would be too costly for many police agencies and could divert officers from more pressing duties.

Hayes submitted his signed petitions to Lakewood City Clerk Margy Greer for verification of the signatures last year, but Higdon quickly challenged the way in which some of the signatures were gathered, charging that Hayes’ petitions failed to conform to City Charter requirements and that a number of signatures should be thrown out because some petition circulators failed to provide valid mailing addresses to the City Clerk’s Office.

A hearing officer appointed by Greer rejected the challenge, but the measure again stalled when Higdon took her case to Jefferson County District Court. After that appeal was rebuffed, Higdon’s challenge was filed in the Colorado Court of Appeals.

“I am pretty pleased. I don’t see how the court can turn it down,” Hayes said about Higdon’s decision to withdraw her complaint.

Hayes’ initiative must go to City Council, which can either enact Hayes’ proposal as an ordinance or send it to the city’s voters for a decision. But, if the issue is sent to voters on November’s ballot, Council must act quickly.

Sharon Blackstock of the City Clerk’s Office said it still is possible to get the issue on the county’s upcoming coordinated General Election ballot, but time is running short because the ballot must be certified by the first Friday in September.

“We’re not past the deadline for putting it on the ballot, but I’m not sure how that would happen from this point,” Blackstock said.

Greer is on vacation and could not be reached for further details.

Higdon cited the cost of continuing the appeal and her confidence in the city’s voters as key reasons for dropping her battle to keep Hayes’ proposal off the ballot.

“While we believe our challenge continues to have strong merit, legal appeals are lengthy and costly,” Higdon said. “We have decided that rather than proceed with the appeal, it is best to allow Lakewood voters to consider the issue on the November ballot. We expect they will act as Denver voters did in defeating the measure.”

Higdon’s appeal was backed by Coloradans for Safe Communities – a coalition of business leaders, community groups, public safety advocates and elected officials who oppose vehicle impound policies in general.

They plan to appeal to Lakewood voters to reject Hayes’ proposal, saying it is unnecessary, removes the ability of the police to use discretion, and is costly to taxpayers and businesses.

“People should not be at risk of having to pay $2700 for leaving their drivers license at home – especially in these troubled economic times. Our police force should be able to spend its time making our community a safe place to do business and raise children, not standing around waiting for tow trucks,” Lakewood resident Linda Mulligan said in a written statement released by CSC.

Colorado Common Cause and the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police and County Sheriffs also oppose the proposal.

Hayes defends his initiative, saying the Lakewood proposal includes safeguards for folks who have a license, but forgot or misplaced it. “Getting unlicensed drivers off the road is a big deal because if one hits you, you have to have enough insurance to cover any injuries to your car, because they’re not going to have any,” he said.

Hayes doesn’t shy away from the charge that his initiative’s primary purpose to get unlicensed “illegal aliens” off the road, but said: “It’s about everybody else, too, who drives without a license.”

Denver voters last November rejected a similar measure proposed by Hayes and his effort to get the issue on Aurora’s 2009 ballot failed after it was disqualified because the complete ballot language was not included on the front page of each petition.