Hello, daniel Welcome back to the show.
Amy, thank you for having me. Well.
I saw today on social media, So without further ado announce what you're announcing today.
I am officially running for re election in Aurora, Colorado.
Danielle, you have had quite the first term. Okay, let's mean hol it cow. A lot of people jump into politics and then they get elected and then they spend a few years sort of getting their feet under them. Not you. You just put your face right in the wood chipper. So let's talk about why you want to continue to represent Aurora on the city council after everything you've been through in the first you.
Know term, Well, you know that's easy, Menny. Aurora is my hometown and I did jump in head first, I mean completely seven weeks into public office. I went after the police chief at that time, and the decision was easy for me. I have been through a lot. Everybody knows, you know, or has heard of the situation I went through with DHS, everything I've gone through with this Venezuelan prison gang and standing up to our own governor, standing
up to the media. It hasn't been easy, but you know what, it has fired me up even more Mandy, because now I know. Now I know how truly ugly and dark politics really are, and how many politicians don't care about people. So for me, I'm going to keep fighting. If they didn't beat me when they tried to take away my son, if they.
Didn't beat me when they tried to, you know, smear my name and call me a liar and tell me that I was crazy over this Venezuelan prison gang. If they haven't beaten me doing all.
Of that and throwing all of that at me, they're not going to now. It's not going to start now.
Well, and I admire that because a lot of people probably would have backed down from a fight. But how did you become a woman? You're not only a member of the Aora City Council, you're a small business owner. You're in an industry that is just tough, in the restaurant bar industry. What made you tough? Danielle, Tell me a little bit about how you got to be the person who decided you were going to stand up to a Venezuelan prison game.
Yeah. Well, a lot of that goes back to my childhood. I was raised by my father, Vietnam era marine, and he raised me and my dad. My dad is tough and a lot of that, A lot of that comes from him, and then a humongous sense of wanting to make him proud, but growing up just with a single father. And then you know, joining the military. The military also helped instill some toughness in me. And then you're right.
I mean, the bar business is one of the toughest industry right there there are, and I went into office owning four bars.
Uh So I think.
I think what I don't mean to sound like a commercial for a certain car company, but I was built up.
Yes, Well, let me let me ask you, so you did what inspired you to get into politics in the first place? And was it the lockdowns of COVID? What got you into that? I know that we talked when you ran the first time, but I honestly don't remember what you said, because I probably talked to one thousand candidates right before that. So what did you decide? What drew you to politics? After everything else you have going on?
Well back in twenty twenty, so media was the entire year of twenty twenty. And what I tell people is I didn't get into politics. Politics got into me. The Democrats knocked on my door. I had a newborn at the March of twenty twenty, I had a newborn at home. When I had to go shut down all of my bars and restaurants. I couldn't believe it. There was no science behind it, couldn't make it make sense. If you tried,
Costco could be packed, Walmart could be packed. But if you go to get your hair done, your nails done, go to a bar, or go to a gym, you're just automatically going to die from COVID. So there was no sense, there was no common sense behind any of that. That's how it started. Then you remember it was the Summer of love. What happened in Aura with all of the riots that broke out. They smashed out all the windows on our city hall. Our city hall was completely
boarded up. They broke into the courthouse, that trash cands
on fire, and then they had that standoff. They trapped seventeen police officers in the District one police building for seven hours and taunted them with gas cans and not police chief at that time who I charged after as soon as I got into office, told everybody to stand down, would not let anybody and because of that that year alone, we lost one hundred and twenty seven officers in the police department because of her, because of her actions and
allowing these police officers to be trapped. The final straw came when we were shut down the second time. My businesses were shut down the second time in twenty twenty. The Awara City Council at that time brought forward an ordinance for a twenty dollars an hour minimum wage.
In anything just for Aura while our businesses were shut down. So that's why I say I didn't get into politics.
Politics got into me. The government treaded on me and the Democrats knocked out. They've been just knocked on my door Meuni, they kicked it in. So they brought me. They brought me here the first time, and it's going to be because of them that I went the second time.
Well, let me ask you this, what have you learned in your first term that you think is going to help you all in the city council in a second term.
Well, what I have learned is in this ugly game of politics, certainly not everybody is your friend, and some people that you think may be your friend, they're also not your friend. So the only one that's truly going to have your back is you. And I stick to
my principles. I stick to you know, my beliefs, and I just dig my heels in and I don't stop even if I'm standing alone, because in politics, you are the only person that is truly going to look out for yourself and the people you represent well.
And Daniel, what do you what do you want to see happen in Aura? I'm watching with great interest the Homeless Navigation Center. I'm really excited and interested to see that get up and running and see how that can make a real impact in Aurora. What are your thoughts on what needs to happen and what the city council needs to focus on should you get.
Re elected, Yeah, we do need to focus on that on homelessness, and I am so I also am watching with great interests right what we've kind of put into motion here.
It's a work first model to help. I don't know that anybody is going to completely ever solve homelessness a five percent, but I think that this is going to make huge strides. I can't wait to see that through. I want to see We're currently we put together an infrastructure task force. I want to see that through. Aura is in dire need of a new animal shelter, we need to fire stations. There's a lot of infrastructure that we're lacking. I want to see that through the past
two years. The crime rate in Aurora, if you can believe it or not, and even this is this comes straight from the governor himself, the past two years in Aurora, the crime rate has been declining. I don't think that's any coincidence Mandy that I've been the chair of the Public Safety Committee for two years in Aura. No coincidence at all, Governor of pull Us. But I want to see that it's still too much. It's still too much.
That means our crime rates were so high for us to be in decline for the past two years, even with the Venezulun prison gang and everything else going on, that means it's waste. It's still way too high. So I want to see that through as well. We have a new police chief now and I want to see our crime rates continue to decline.
Do you feel like it's a new police chief, Chief Todd Chamberlain, how do you feel like he's doing so far? I've you know, I have a few people in the Aura Police Superman. They send me emails every once in a while and they've sort of taken this so far so good stance. But they're still cautious because those officers have been through a lot in the past five years, especially six years, if they've been around that long.
Yeah, absolutely, I mean the Aurora Police Department, auroral police officers. They have not had a voice in years in this city. They have not had someone looking out for them in four years in this city. I would say, I'm this. I like the direction that the department is going. I do believe that crime is being fought. I do believe police officers are policing again. But again, I am also cautiously optimistic. You know, you've seen what happened in Aurora
after we got rid of Vanessa Wilson. It's been turnover after turnover, and from police chiefs who are also no good. So you know, I'm still cautious. I'm very cautious, and I am I stand ready at any minute to be the voice for the men and women of the Aurora Police Department should something take a turn.
Well, you've gotten to coming up a kickoff, if you will tell me about that. If people want to participate.
Yeah, So Saturday March eighth, from four to six pm at JJ's place in Aurora. You can get more information about the kickoff event or how to donate to my campaign or how to get involved be a volunteer. My website is Danielle for Aurora and that's fr Danielle for Aurora dot com.
Danielle Drinsky, I appreciate your time today. I wish you all the best in your re election campaign. I think that you know people may disagree with your methods, Danielle, but I always say the same thing. I never doubt that you love the city of Aurora and you want to help everyone who lives in Aurora have the best life possible. And you know, we can quibble about methods all day long, but I never doubt your love for the people that live there and your love for the city.
So I hope you win. I'm just gonna say it. I think you've done a great job for the citizens there. Even if you've ruffled a few feathers in the process, Well.
It's been worth every bit of it, and I'm here to ruffle with fe you more. Mandy, Thank you so much.
All right, Danielle, have a good Win. That's Danielle Drinsky