Twenty Years Ago this week in The Colorado Statesman … Denver Public Schools Superintendent Irv Moskowitz unveiled several dozen proposals to improve the city’s schools, rewriting former Mayor Federico Peña’s “Imagine a Great City” slogan to read “Imagine a Great School System.” The reforms were part of a pitch to voters to approve a $30 million boost to DPS mill levies. Leading the pack: the chance for Denver parents to choose which schools their children attend within a set of “clusters,” aimed at satisfying demand for choice and providing “opportunities for racial integration without forced busing.” Also on deck: a fund to establish one charter school per year and the possibility of creating magnet themes at high schools. The themes might include Digital Communications at Thomas Jefferson, Medicine and Health at East, Hotel and Restaurant at North and Aviation at Montbello. Another point was guaranteeing every classroom an instructional aide. “We can give a more challenging curriculum for average kids,” Moskowitz said, “kids who didn’t feel part of the school program before.” …

… Jay Fox’s No More Mr. Nice Guy dining guide took a stroll through the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo, sampling “mighty fine grub at moderate prices.” Among his favorites were the $4 turkey legs at Porter Concessions, $1 baklava at The Sleek Greek and $4 baskets of deep-fried cheese at Hot Wisconsin Cheese, across from the Sheep & Swine building. “There’s also a veggie combo and a selection of sensuous sauces to go with the goodies,” Fox wrote.

Thirty Years Ago this week in The Colorado Statesman … State Treasurer Roy Romer, a Democrat running for governor in the 1986 election, “knocked ’em dead” at a meeting of the Arapahoe County Republican Men’s Club. Even state Republican chair Howard “Bo” Callaway had plenty of praise for the man likely to be heading the opposition’s ticket the next year. “Most of the things he said were basically Republican philosophy,” Callaway said, adding that Romer might well find himself at odds in his own. “The speech he made here is just not in the mainstream of the Democratic Party,” he said with an arch smile. Some wondered why Romer didn’t just switch parties, citing the example of Pueblo’s Bob Kirscht, who had spoken to the group just before ditching the Dems and declaring himself a Republican. Romer held his ground. “Many of you believe if a person has the competence of managing his own affairs successfully he ought to be a Republican. To make the free market system work for us is a prerogative of both parties,” he said. “I believe very much in people being responsible for their own lives and being rewarded for what they make out of those lives. But I also feel it’s important for society to open doors for people. That’s what drove me into the Democratic Party.” …

… Another Democratic candidate for governor the next year – after what would be 12 years with Dick Lamm in the governor’s mansion, the field was growing for the open seat – made a case the state needed a new generation of leadership, a not-at-all-subtle slam at Romer, who had been serving in elective and appointed office for more than two decades, off and on. “A decade ago, in 1974, we prevailed because we did precisely that, with Gary Hart, Dick Lamm and Tim Wirth,” wrote Mike Driver in a letter to the editor updating readers on his campaign. “Our agenda must be vigorous and relevant, not shop-worn and dull. The message of the 1984 election is clear, and it should be compelling: we cannot win – we will not win – with ‘safe’ choices, ‘establishment’ candidates or the ‘traditional’ Democratic consensus.” …

… Denver Election commissioners Susan Duncan, Felicia Muftic and Jack Kintzele wrote to thank the head of the state Department of Revenue and the Division of Motor Vehicles and the offices’ employees for helping make the recently passed “Motor Voter” law a success. “It has far surpassed our expectations in registering voters throughout Colorado.” …

… Eric DeGraff, president of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers, wrote to defend U.S. Department of Education regional administrator Tom Tancredo from attacks “for daring to advocate private enterprise alternatives for the system of socialized education in the United States.” Tancredo’s detractors, DeGraff wrote, want to outlaw the former legislator’s “In God We Trust” sentiments and replace them with “Trust only teachers … assuming, of course, they are members of the (teacher’s union) in good standing.” The attacks were unusually vicious, he said, because Tancredo had cut staffing from 200 positions to just 60, saving millions. But Tancredo had spent $22 sending a mailing to private schools and mentioned the Good Lord. “We feel that if Tom Tancredo can dismantle an inefficient bureaucracy through divine guidance,” DeGroff concluded, “he should be allowed to continue his ministry.”

– ernest@coloradostatesman.com