Mejia: City Should Pay Back Invalid Parking Tickets

Unauthorized city workers write thousands of parking tickets to the tune of $1 million Mejia calls for full investigation and audit of Department

DENVER - Denver Mayoral Candidate James Mejia said today the City of Denver should reimburse motorists over $1 million in parking fines that were levied by unauthorized parking agents for the City of Denver .

According to a report on KCNC Channel 4, at least two city workers wrote thousands of parking tickets without being legally authorized as special police officers. Without this authorization, the workers legally were not in a position to write tickets for parking violations.

“If citizens are expected to follow the rules, than so should the City,” Mejia said.

“A full investigation of how these two workers were able to write tickets without the legal authorization needs to happen,” Mejia said. “In addition, I’d like to see a full performance audit of policies, processes and procedures within the department. Are these workers properly trained and qualified? Do they have the correct backgrounds and clearances to become special officers? Was this intentional deceit? Who was asleep at the wheel?”

“Clearly, things are falling through the cracks and we need to know if other workers are also writing tickets without the legal authority to do so.”

“This couldn’t come at a worse time for the City,” Mejia said, referring to the massive budget deficit which officials have said could reach $100 million by 2012. “But at the same time, this is about doing the right thing and they need to be assured that those who are writing tickets are authorized to do so.”


About James Mejia:
James is a Denver native from a family of 13 children raised in Park Hill. He is a graduate of East High School , the University of Notre Dame, Arizona State University and Princeton University . He began his work with the City when as a college student he worked summers for Denver Parks and Rec to help pay his tuition, and later went on to become Manager of the Department for Mayor Webb. James has served on the DPS School Board, elected as an at-large member, is the founding CEO of the Denver Preschool Program and was selected by Mayor Hickenlooper to lead the development of the Denver Justice Center , a $425 million bond project which he delivered on time and on budget. He is one of Denver ’s most respected leaders having received the 2009 Community Leader of the Year from 9News and the Denver Chamber Leadership Foundation. James is married to Dr. Heather Riley. They have three girls; seven-year old “twins by marriage”, Moya and Alexandra and one year old Riley.

For more information about James Mejia, visit www.MejiaForMayor.com