KOA guest host Brauchler distorted Hickenlooper's position on pot initiative

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

Guest-hosting on Newsradio 850 KOA's The Jon Caldara Show on November 6, George Brauchler “congratulat[ed]” Denver and its Democratic mayor, John Hickenlooper, for the passage of a ballot initiative making private marijuana use and possession for persons 21 years of age and older Denver's lowest law enforcement priority. Brauchler stated sarcastically, “I appreciate the tough stance that you took, mayor,” on the initiative. In fact, Hickenlooper publicly opposed the measure, according to numerous media reports.

Remarking on the passage of a ballot measure making private marijuana use and possession for persons 21 years of age and older Denver's lowest law enforcement priority, guest host George Brauchler on the November 6 broadcast of Newsradio 850 KOA's The Jon Caldara Show “congratulat[ed]” Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper (D) “and the other tokers out there,” sarcastically adding that he “appreciate[d] the tough stance that you took, mayor, on that position.” In fact, as numerous news reports indicated in the months leading up to the November 6 election, Hickenlooper opposed the measure, Initiated Question 100. Noting that Hickenlooper “had previously admitted smoking marijuana,” the Associated Press in an August 27 article quoted the mayor as saying he “certainly wouldn't encourage [marijuana use] through public policy.”

Question 100 passed with 57 percent of the vote on November 6. As The Denver Post reported on November 7, “Denver voters told authorities to back off from enforcing marijuana laws for the second time in as many years, passing an initiative to make the drug the 'lowest law enforcement priority.' ” The Post further reported, “The initiative passed easily Tuesday despite protests from city officials who said it was meaningless.”

After noting on election night that it looked like Question 100 was “going to pass with 56 percent of voters voting 'yes,' ” Brauchler later said, “Mayor Hickenlooper, I know somewhere you're probably lighting up, I guess, because it looks like it's either legal or the police won't care” about marijuana use. He then added, “So congratulations to you and the other tokers out there. And I appreciate the tough stance that you took, mayor, on that position.”

While the August 27 AP article reported that prior to a meeting to “discuss whether marijuana should be the lowest priority for police, Mayor John Hickenlooper and four [Denver] City Council [members] told a newspaper they had smoked pot,” it also quoted Hickenlooper as saying, “As I've already been open about in the past -- and as I assume many would expect -- I made personal choices when I was younger that I neither support nor condone for others and certainly wouldn't encourage through public policy.”

An August 28 Rocky Mountain News article similarly reported that Lindy Eichenbaum Lent, a senior Hickenlooper adviser, “said Hickenlooper wouldn't encourage making his youthful 'personal choices' public policy.” The News had reported in an August 21 article that although the “pro-marijuana group” SAFER had gathered enough signatures to place Question 100 on the ballot, “Mayor John Hickenlooper and most other elected officials are expected to campaign against the proposal.”

In addition, a November 5 New York Times article about the ballot measure reported, “Mayor John Hickenlooper is against the initiative and says that marijuana enforcement is already a low priority for the police.”

From the November 6 broadcast of Newsradio 850 KOA's The Jon Caldara Show, with guest host George Brauchler:

BRAUCHLER: Here's a big one: marijuana -- that's right, it just won't go away. If you're a Denver resident, you should know that -- and I'm not sure if it's referendum, or addendum, or amendum, or appendix, but whatever ballot issue 100 was, it looks like it's going to pass with 56 percent of voters voting “yes,” they would like to tell the Denver Police Department to make marijuana their lowest enforcement priority. That's below things like littering and jaywalking. Now marijuana use in Denver, Colorado, is the lowest-priority crime. Congratulations, Denver. I know you were going for a big image change. It wasn't enough with the snafu related to snow removal, but you have gone ahead and your crowning achievement is not only have you legalized marijuana possession at the municipal level, but now you have made it the lowest-priority enforcement crime in the city. Congrats. It's hard to imagine a greater achievement for this bright, shining city upon a hill. Mayor Hickenlooper, I know somewhere you're probably lighting up, I guess, because it looks like it's either legal or the police won't care. So congratulations to you and the other tokers out there. And I appreciate the tough stance that you took, mayor, on that position. “Yes” votes: 36,680. That's right; that's all it takes to make marijuana the lowest-priority crime in the city of Denver is 36,680 pot-happy people. Congratulations; that's huge. If you voted for that particular ballot measure, I'd love to hear about it.