City Council sends impound initiative to November ballot

LAKEWOOD – Voters will decide in November whether Lakewood Police will be required to impound the vehicles of unlicensed drivers.

City Council Monday night voted 11-0 to send the controversial citizen-initiated measure to voters after it survived a series of procedural challenges spanning nearly a year.

The main opposition group, Coloradans for Safe Communities, dropped its Colorado Court of Appeals challenge of the initiative earlier this month.

CFSC, a coalition of business leaders, community groups, public safety advocates and elected officials who oppose vehicle impound policies in general, was appealing the way in which the signatures of the initiative petitions were collected. CFSC filed its appeals on behalf of Sigrid Higdon, a Lakewood woman who had been the point person in the campaign against bringing the issue to a vote.

Jefferson County resident Daniel Hayes orchestrated 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 some opponents believe Hayes’ proposal targets illegal aliens, primarily Hispanics. Others 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 doesn’t make any bones about targeting people from other countries who are here illegally.

“Suspended drivers and illegal aliens are driving in record numbers and they’re a safe driver’s worst nightmare,” Hayes said in an editorial he submitted to the Lakewood Edge.

And at Monday night’s meeting, a number of residents urged Council to adopt the proposed ordinance instead of sending it to November’s ballot.

James Mace, who was severely injured in 2008 when he was struck by a car driven by an unlicensed driver, asked for immediate adoption of the measure.

“I am completely for this,” Mace said, “because the voters will probably reject it.”

But CFCS member Linda Mulligan told Council “This law is dangerous” and asked that it be sent to voters, calling it a “harmful and unnecessary initiative” that could leave citizens “stranded on the streets” if enacted.

Hayes submitted his 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.

Lakewood police officers, represented by Police Local 303, approved a resolution opposing approval of the initiative, saying they believe “it is unsafe and bad public policy to force law enforcement to wait for tow trucks, fill out paperwork, inventory the vehicle and its contents, and potentially neglect other responsibilities which may be more important in protecting the public.”

The Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police also opposes the proposal. A number of business groups also oppose the initiative, including the West Chamber of Commerce that serves Jefferson County and the Alameda Gateway Community Association.

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.

City Council had two choices when the matter came before them Monday: Either enact Hayes’ proposal as an ordinance or send it to the city’s voters for a decision.

They opted to let voters decide and CFSC, Higdon and other opponents of the measure will 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 $2,700 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 CFSC.

Denver voters overwhelmingly 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.