Amazing Solutions and Miraculous Successes
In the words of Jeff Peckman:
When I talk about raising the quality of life in Denver to a higher level than it has ever been, I'm not exaggerating about being able to achieve that. Other mayoral candidates talk about the importance of education, criminal justice, public safety, health care, and economic development. They seem sincere in wanting to improve these areas of life. They have passed laws or headed organizations related to these areas in a reactive way when problems reach crisis level. But have the results of their efforts amazed you?
I have been an early supporter and long time promoter of amazing solutions that have achieved astonishing and often unprecedented success in these areas. Some of these stories are about projects I have championed. Others are about innovative projects others have championed and I have supported and promoted. But they reinforce my claims of having vision, being on the cutting-edge, and making things happen proactively as a leader - one who offers solutions before a problem reaches crisis levels.
Look at my background in these amazing solutions. Then look at the background of other candidates. Make make note of when you feel genuinely amazed and inspired by the results of a particular solution. Make another note when you would like to have this kind of solution in Denver. Then just add up the notes and vote for the candidate with the most amazing solutions that can solve problems, save money, and create new and better jobs along the way.
Denver needs amazing solutions to become an amazing city. Anything less is just politics as usual and will not realize Denver's highest potential. This is a growing list so check back again.
- Urban Design
- Education Story: Rome Design Competition – In February 1999 I was invited to put together a team to compete for one of five slots in an invitation-only international design competition for redevelopment Piazza dei Navigatori in Rome. Respondees initially included Richard Rogers (UK), Rem Koolhaus (The Netherlands), Raphael Vinoly, Alessandro Anselmi, and Francesco Venezia. I recruited Andres Duany and DPZ of Miami, one of the co-founders of The New Urbanism movement. I became one of the design consultants. Rogers and Koolhaus withdrew and another was bumped from the group of five to make room for my team.
- Public Safety, Criminal Justice, and National Security
- Health Care
- Homelessness
Urban Design - International Design Competition - Rome 2000
Panel 1 click here to enlarge Panel 2 click here to enlarge Panel 3 click here to enlarge Panel 4 click here to enlarge
Our team was selected to participate even though we were told one year ahead of the competition that we could not win because of local politics in Rome. I responded that "it won't matter, we will still have the best design -- so much better, in fact, that it might create a scandal".
When the jury judged the entries in May 2000, the first three teams (Vinoly, Anselmi, and Venezia) were dismissed rather quickly. Our entry was clearly popular and the most "idea rich" of them all. We created a magnificent blend of ancient Vedic Architecture and The New Urbanism. See my team's narrative to accompany the above design images.
The final decision was described as a contentious runoff decided by one vote in favor of the design by the Rome team, led by Nicoletti. But our team's representative who was present was told "that due to 'the superiority of our entry over all the other non-winners' they were hoping to create an honorable mention spot for us."
The lesson: This story shows that conviction and persistence, in putting forth innovative ideas, can be still be “victorious” against big players like, even when the game is rigged by local politics.
Education – Miracles Can Happen in Denver too
Story 1: Miracle in South Africa - CIDA University
In 1999, I promoted an emerging project in South Africa that was designed to offer free education for South Africa's poorest youths. At the Castle in Bracciano, Italy, [See Rome Design Competition] I encouraged a philanthropist with interests in Africa to support this project. Later on, after the free university opened in 2000, the philanthropist’s foundation gave a large donation to the school. Three years later, Oprah Winfrey made a personal visit to the university, called CIDA, and made a surprise donation of $1 million.
This innovative university has achieved miraculous success, beyond imagination, and has become world famous. And yet, it was simply imagination from which the university was born. Compare this story to any other that you have ever known in the field of education, and imagine this kind of extraordinary success in Denver’s educational facilities and institutions. Read the full story here.
Comments from visitors of CIDA:
“WOW! Even after an 18-hour flight to the US, I am still high on CIDA! It was one of the best days of my life! I can’t wait to begin to tell the world about the miracle in Johannesburg called CIDA. CIDA gives me a completely new optimism for Africa. And WOW!!!!!" - Tom Peters, author of Circle of Innovation and In Search of Excellence.
“The education offered at CIDA City Campus is designed to make students relevant, truly empowered, integrated citizens and leaders that are skilled and equipped to build the South African economy and society.”- President Thabo Mbeki, addressing Parliament, 2001
“This is a dream come true for me. If it was not for CIDA, I would be home involved in crime, or doing nothing constructive. Here I am able to be somebody.”- Collin Maphutha, CIDA graduate, now employed at Standard Bank in Johannesburg
“In my many years of tertiary education I have never come across a higher level of commitment, innovation and creativity being applied to a programme of adult learning, and the excellent use of available resources to match, as CIDA City Campus.” - Professor Nick Binedell, Director of Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria
Story 2: Miracle in Wisconsin school Public Safety, Criminal Justice, and National Security A miraculously successful and highly praised sentencing program has been underway in St. Louis since the 1996. Two years earlier, in 1994, I met a criminal court judge in St. Louis during an urban renewal project. I mentioned my involvement in teaching a stress-reducing program that had been used all over the world in correctional institutions. When I described the amazing results of the program he took a genuine interest. It became necessary for me to leave St. Louis shortly after that. So I encouraged my local friends and colleagues to keep the judge informed about the opportunity to do a similar program in St. Louis. About two years later, The Enlightened Sentencing Project was started by this visionary and courageous judge, The Honorable David Mason, and experts in the stress-reducing program I mentioned. His compassion and commitment to doing what works became a turning point for the lives of many men and women who had been convicted of crimes. The results of the project were astonishing, as expected, and have received high praise throughout the judicial system in Missouri all the way to the Missouri Supreme Court. Comments from offenders in the project, and from judges and others in the criminal justice system, are hugely inspiring. See graduation video. According to the Washington Post: “* Some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security, and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States. * An estimated 854,000 people, nearly 1.5 times as many people as live in Washington, D.C., hold top-secret security clearances.” Dr. Drew Richardson became Vice President of Forensic Science for Brainwave Science Laboratories, which developed Brain Fingerprinting. He was the former head of the FBI’s chemical/biological/nuclear response team and was involved in the $130 million laboratory construction project for the FBI. In a letter, he stated: “I envision that over the next 10-20 years many police officers and investigators throughout the world will be trained as part of their regular law enforcement education to record the elements of a crime scene for use in Brain Fingerprinting tests, just as now they are now careful to preserve DNA samples and fingerprints. There are literally thousands of cases nationwide where the widespread availability of Brain Fingerprinting testing would provide evidence that could help authorities to avoid trying and perhaps falsely convicting an innocent person, or to bring a guilty person to justice. This potential for cost savings alone warrants the closest examination by every conscientious law enforcement professional.” “Based on my evaluation of the potential of Brain Fingerprinting testing as a forensic tool to revolutionize the justice system, and its potential impact in the private sector areas like insurance fraud and corporate security, I decided to join the company [Brainwave Science Laboratories].” Through my efforts in creating the Colorado Brain Fingerprinting Task Force, Colorado became the front-runner as a potential location for national research and training center for Brain Fingerprinting technology. This would have created an estimated 300 jobs and attracted thousands of law enforcement and security officials from around the world to Denver for training. I also submitted a proof of concept proposal to Governor Owens to demonstrate the potential for Brain Fingerprinting to save Colorado over $30 million a year in criminal justice and incarceration costs. There was strong interest in Brain Fingerprinting from law enforcement officers in Boulder County, Larimer County, and Arapahoe County. Surprisingly, the Governor’s office, and Denver law enforcement officials and political leaders showed no interest. A legislative bill to promote Brain Fingerprinting in Colorado, sponsored by State Rep. Joe Stengel in 2005, was rejected by a committee based on what misinformation and what clearly appeared to be political motives. “This year, we saw a record number of submissions from innovators in the United States, originating from universities, research labs, corporate spin-offs and their own garages. The breadth of the innovations from all kinds of disciplines showed us the value of hosting this competition to empower people with ideas.” I have been involved in early stages of promoting amazing natural, holistic health care modalities and some of the extraordinary champions of these systems. These natural and ancient systems create true health and wellness. They can help remove people and economic systems from dependence on modern western medical “disease care”, the hazards of which have been determined in recent years to collectively be the fourth or fifth leading cause of death in America. In 1982 I was one of a handful of people who encouraged a Boston hospital Chief of Staff, by the name of Dr. Deepak Chopra, to explore natural healthcare in the form of his country’s traditional system of ayurveda. Dr. Chopra is now one of the most recognized and respected leaders in natural, holistic health care. In 2010 I began promoting Qi Gong Grandmaster, Master Hong Liu, who has been declared a national treasure in China and one of China’s top cancer doctors. Similar honors have been bestowed on his my the State of Hawaii, his new home. Denver is one of the few U.S. cities that Master Hong visits and his intention is to establish a larger center in the Denver area. Homelessness I was still living in D.C. when homeless assistance advocate Mitch Snyder took his life in July 1990. I never forgot my commitment to helping the homeless and continue to share useful solutions whenever possible. I strongly endorse creative strategies by compassionate visionaries such as:
An American miracle in education was achieved simply by improving food quality in a very difficult and challenging alternative school. The miraculous results witnessed in the Wisconsin school can be read about here.
I shared this information frequently with education, especially while on the Committee for Progress in School Nutrition. CPSN was founded by Jared Polis, now U.S. Congressman for Colorado's Second Congressional District. I also made reference to it when speaking against the renewal of the Pepsi contract by Denver Public Schools in 2004. I was impressed with DPS School Board member James Mejia, now also a candidate for Mayor of Denver, in that he also opposed the renewal of the contract. I was disappointed by Superintendent Jerry Wertgow for stating that "other people are making money selling sodas to our students so why shouldn't we?"
This innovative and cost-effective approach to improving education, also has great benefits for health and criminal justice. I congratulate all Denver schools that have started making a similar effort in recent years to improve school food quality. Much more can be done and as Mayor of Denver I would keep that as a high priority and cooperate with Denver schools in any way possible. The First Lady is wise to champion better school food for America's youth and is also to be congratulated.
Story 1: Enlightened Sentencing
Whether or not the seed I planted in our brief conversation had anything to do with the eventual start of TESP is irrelevant. What is relevant in this election for mayor of Denver is for solutions like this to make their way into the court of public debate and deliberation. This will enable citizens of Denver to know they can demand more from a mayor and criminal justice than what they have been forced to accept up until now.
Story 2: Brain Fingerprinting
Public safety is the first responsibility and highest priority for a Mayor. City government is also tied into national security. I have shown my ability to approach these responsibilities in a proactive way that would improve public safety, criminal justice, and Denver’s role in national security. Additionally, I can do that in a way that taps into one of the largest economic engines in the U.S. and bring new jobs to Denver.
From 2003-2005 I introduced to Colorado a revolutionary, non-invasive, and humane EEG-based forensic technology called Brain Fingerprinting. It has applications for counter-terrorism, criminal justice, and security testing. It had already been useful in the release of an innocent man who had already served 23 years of a life sentence in prison after being wrongly convicted. It had also been useful in putting a serial killer in prison.
Three years later, in 2008, Brain Fingerprinting technology was one of “America's top five security start-ups” to “compete for a spot in final of international technology competition” called the Global Security Challenge. About the competition, the directors of the GSC, Simon Schneider and Janeen Chupa, commented:
Among hundreds of entries for the competition, Brain Fingerprinting technology was selected as one of only two technologies from the U.S. to compete in the final international competition in Europe. Denver and Colorado political leaders missed a golden opportunity to attract jobs and become a leader in a technology that could “revolutionize the justice system”.
I have already demonstrated the vision to bring technologies and opportunities like this to Denver as the next Mayor. I would be happy to work with the Denver business and criminal justice interests to offer Denver a second chance to become a leader in this promising technology and economic development opportunity.
Health Care
In 2001 I was acknowledged for assisting in a groundbreaking study showing extraordinary success in reducing serious disorders with a non-invasive, non-pharmacological health care modality called Vedic Vibration. [See page 5 - point 6, Frontiers in Bioscience 6, h1-10, April 1, 2001 EFFECTS OF MAHARISHI VEDIC VIBRATION TECHNOLOGY ON CHRONIC DISORDERS AND ASSOCIATEDQUALITY OF LIFE]
To help end homeless quickly, I will build on the success of Denver’s Road Home by adding even more innovative programs for dealing with the multi-faceted problem of homelessness. The comprehensive plan I have for economic development will also increase funding available from the public and private sectors.
The CIDA project in South Africa is an example of quickly achieving miraculous success starting with nothing but inspiration, imagination, innovation, conviction and persistence. Every homeless person and homeless assistance supporter needs to learn about CIDA above and also read the more complete story here.
In 1988, I was living in Washington D.C. and confined to a bed for six weeks with an injury. I wondered what a homeless person would do in my condition and it was disturbing. So I drafted a proposal combining provisions of the Stewart B. McKinney Act of 1987 with mandates of the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 1988, to address homelessness on a big scale. It created some momentum but Congress changed the law to drastically reduce the opportunities for the homeless. 
- Chet Sisk, Denver author, homeless advocate and manager of the Quality Foods for Everyone program, whose book "Think This, Not That", is sold through Whole Foods to raise money for the homeless. His book teaches paradigm-shifting principles that he used successfully in homeless shelters to help break the cycle of homelessness. Chet has been an advocate for homeless people for 10 years and is currently helping to bring whole, organic foods to homeless shelters throughout the country.
- David Lynch, film director and founder of the David Lynch Foundation. Mr. Lynch has launched a major fundraising effort to help teach a highly successful stress-reducing technique to the homeless, at-risk youth, Native Americans, Veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and prisoners. All homeless assistance programs will be more successful when homeless persons have the ability to rise above the negative effects of acute and chronic stress.
Lynch has also attracted “star power” to his fundraising effort through support from other film directors and visionaries in the entertainment industry such as Clint Eastwood, George Lucas, Russell Simmons, and Martin Scorcese. Mitch Snyder also attracted respected celebrities to his strategic initiatives for the homeless. But homelessness requires solutions from every direction and level.
- Will Allen, CEO and Founder of Growing Power, Inc. which has the goal “to grow food, to grow minds, and to grow community. It promotes and demonstrates an innovative food producing system utilizing the “hoop house” technique. Beyond the traditional greenhouses, the hoop house is essentially a low-cost greenhouse that can be constructed with commonly available materials. In May 2010, Time magazine named Will Allen, CEO and Founder of Growing Power Inc. to the Time 100 World’s Most Influential People. Also see the Miracle in Wisconsin and how better food created miracles in a school.
A key part of my plan to end homelessness will be to highlight the staggering amount of fraud and waste in the Federal government. This is not about programs of questionable usefulness, but outright mismanagement, “missing” funds, and lack of proper accounting of allocated funding in many federal programs. For example, in about 2002, the Auditor General of the U.S.D.A. asked Congress for an additional $100 million to help find $5 billion that seemed to be “missing” from the U.S.D.A. budget. In 2002 U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told CBS News, “According to some estimates, we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions”. [Equaling about $4.5 billion for Denver taxpayers.] Exposing these little known facts could help bring some of these resources closer to Denver for more productive use to help the homeless and many others.
