A Denver City Council agonizing over the order in which bond questions appear on the November ballot finally pulled the answer out of a hat.

Conflicting opinions abounded Tuesday over issues such as whether listing the questions alphabetically instead of randomly would cause voters to accuse council members of manipulation.

Councilman Charlie Brown warned his colleagues to "watch out" if they didn't do it randomly.

"I don't want to walk into a neighborhood meeting, and this will happen in my district, and the first question to be, 'Why did you guys rig that ballot?' " Brown said. "They're not going to like it, and that's how it's going to be perceived."

In the end, six of 11 council members agreed to settle the matter by listing the questions in the order they were picked out of Brown's Stetson 10X cowboy hat.

Even that method, however, wasn't entirely random.

Seven council members voted to pair the two questions related to cultural facilities because "it's a logical order," said Councilman Doug Linkhart.

The decision triggered a testy exchange between Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz, who opposed the pairing, and Councilwoman Carol Boigon, who supported it.

"Why is that not right back at trying to manipulate the election," Faatz asked.

"It was a vote," Boigon replied.

"Well, sure it was a vote, but what have you accomplished," Faatz said. "You're still manipulating it."

But Boigon, chairwoman of the committee that determined the order of the ballot, had the final word. "I think we're done with this discussion," she said. "We've had a vote."

Boigon, a vocal supporter of the cultural projects, had proposed setting the order alphabetically.

Under Boigon's proposal, the bonds for the cultural facilities including Boettcher Concert Hall would have appeared near the top of the ballot.

The proposed 2.5 mill property tax increase is required by law to be listed first.

The cultural projects, which have been called the "icing on the cake" among the bond issues, have consistently appeared last in lists that city officials have worked on.

After the 2.5 mill levy, the remaining eight questions, which propose $550 million worth of infrastructure projects grouped by category, will appear in the following order:

• Health and human services

• Libraries

• Public works

• Parks and recreation

• Deferred maintenance for city buildings

• Deferred maintenance for cultural facilities

• New construction of cultural facilities

• Public safety

What they're saying

The jockeying over how to set the order of the bond issues on the November ballot wasn't all serious Tuesday. Denver City Council members showed their lighter sides. A sampling:

• "It's a big turnout, but it's not about you."

Carol Boigon

talking about the number of council members who showed up to hear Career Service Authority representatives, who made a presentation before the ballot discussion

• "It's not just a hat. It's a Stetson 10X."

Charlie Brown

who took umbrage when his Stetson 10X Beaver was called "a hat"

• "How many for logic and how many for irrationality?"

Chris Nevitt

after a series of split votes

• "There was a state ballot time when there were two issues on that had to do with pig farms. . . . I had an opinion as to which one was the better, and that's the way voters voted so I happen to think the voters are (sophisticated.)"

Marcia Johnson

on voters being able to understand ballot issues

• "Smart as they are, I think they could get it backward somehow if they are apart."

Johnson

apparently tempering her comments about savvy voters when she was advocating for the pairing of two questions related to cultural facilities

• "Just a point of clarification. The ballots are bilingual. No, seriously."

Paul Lopez

when his colleagues advocated for an alphabetical listing of ballot issues

• "Make the reporters do it."

Nevitt

when council members were looking for someone "neutral" to pull the issues out of a hat

• "Oh no, no, no, no, no, no."

Boigon

responding to Nevitt's suggestion

chacond@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5099

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