It’s been one week since Democrats announced their slate of candidates to run for city council and mayor in Aurora.
Guess which one of them is already in trouble for saying some really stupid stuff?
Meet Chris Rhodes, member of the Dem Socialist slate for council. He doesn’t understand the difference between vindictively abusing CPS in a way that could have led to a child being taken from their parent and mean words. This is a disqualifying level of ignorance. #copolitics pic.twitter.com/zTWlP9006c
— Dustin Zvonek (@DustinZvonek) January 22, 2023
Ward V council candidate Chris Rhodes, a community organizer who we are to believe once worked with at-risk youth, was commenting, carelessly, on a recent court judgement of $3 million against former child protection worker Robin Niceta.
It’s a notorious case in which Niceta is charged with retaliation against an elected official, Aurora Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky. This verdict is from the civil case, the criminal case against Niceta is still pending.
A probable cause affidavit for Niceta’s arrest alleges that Niceta made an anonymous call to Arapahoe County Social Services, where she worked, to falsely report that Aurora Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky was sexually abusing Jurinsky’s 2-year-old son.
The day before that call was made, Jurinksy had gone on a talk radio show to call for the firing of Vanessa Wilson, who was then Aurora’s police chief.
At the time, Wilson and Niceta were an item, but have since broken up.
Thank you to @Briancbs4 for your thoughtful and accurate reporting. The message has been made that this cannot and should not be tolerated. Onward to the fight for systemic change in DHS and CPS!✊️ https://t.co/SZ6zU4tu5d
— Danielle Jurinsky (@DaniJurinsky) January 21, 2023
It is not okay for child protective service employees to make up salacious accusations against their political enemies to take away their children, and District Judge Elizabeth Volz agreed:
Additionally, Volz wrote, she found Niceta’s false report “especially egregious since it was done by a person tasked with protecting children and knew full well that her false report would result in an investigation and potential separation of a young vulnerable child and a parent, with unknown potential harm to that child.”
She wrote that part of the reason for the amount in damages is to send a message saying that kind of behavior won’t be tolerated by anyone.
Just as egregious is Rhodes’ seeming assertion this was no big deal for a child protective service worker to falsely claim that an infant is being sexually abused by a parent, compared to the mean names politicians sometimes call people.
Memo to Rhodes: Justice for the victim isn’t about what the offender can afford to pay, it’s about paying for the crime one committed.
Otherwise you’re talking about justice for the offender, which is what progressives support and is largly to blame for Colorado’s crime wave. If there’s no punishment to fit the crime, there’s no deterrent to committing crime.
After he was called out on Twitter for his outrageous criticism, Rhodes apologized to Jurinsky in a private phone call, but we’ve yet to see an actual public apology.
I would like to say that I received a very humbling phone call from Chris Rhodes, since this tweet. A very profound apology and a robust conversation into really what this fight with DHS is about. The phone call was greatly appreciated.
— Danielle Jurinsky (@DaniJurinsky) January 22, 2023
Rhodes is running for the seat currently held by Councilmember Alison Coombs, who is running for an at-large seat.