UPDATE: Word is breaking all over the internet that Michael Hancock's campaign office has been over-run with transplants from Iowa and Nebraska as word spread that Hancock is planning to turn Denver into a pasture. We are hearing rumors that tomorrow Hancock will be releasing a new economic development program. The centerpiece: a refundable tax credit on pitch forks.
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We understand that mayoral candidate squishbag Michael Hancock, like Chris Romer, has been trying to pander to the left wing of the Democrat Party lately, but he may be pandering a little too far left even for Denver. An article by Chuck Plunkett in the Denver Post today covers Michael Hancock's fiscal fantasy of creating "thousands of jobs" through urban farming.
The problem for Hancock: the economist who doesn't reject his idea as a crackpot theory points to Havana, Cuba as the direction in which urban farming has to head to be successful:
"…a University of Denver economist more favorable toward urban-farming experiments notes that typically only state-sponsored models have been largely effective to date, such as one functioning in Havana."
Apparently, a compliment from Tancredo is the end of the world for Hancock's campaign, but a policy from Castro's Cuba is a positive solution to unemployment.
The most obvious sign this policy prescription is pure crackpot — Hancock's campaign can't tell anyone when or how it would create jobs:
"[Hancock policy aide Arthur] Ortegon and the Hancock campaign couldn't provide an estimate of when Denver Seeds would realize "thousands of jobs."
The current trajectory that Romer and Hancock are on makes us wonder if they're racing to see how many Democrat votes they can rack up or how many GOP votes they can lose.
When you sum it up, this is the latest brain-dead move in a Denver Mayoral race that is becoming a city-wide embarrassment. Mike Hancock's latest effort to turn Denver into Havana (or Iowa) is the stupidest idea in an election where stupid is everywhere.
For two other good reads on the fantasy of urban farming, we suggest you check out Vincent Carroll's article here or Ari Armstrong's piece here.
I realize that Hancock is trying to distinguish himself from Romer, but I’m guessing this isn’t really the best way to do it. Yikes.
It’s pretty screwy that the Post is imploring Romer and Hancock to run a clean campaign. Too bad they didn’t tell Mikey Bennet that too.
Yeah, life really went downhill the moment my family no longer had to grow their own food to make ends meet.
You know where else urban farms are popping up? Detroit. Yeah… I really don’t want Denver to start emulating the city in the U.S. which has turned into the equivalent of a 3rd world country.
I’m so over this race. All I really want to hear is which one of these bozos is going to lower the street sweeping tickets back down to $25. That’s the one that’ll get my vote.