Shortly after a dustup began between Denver International Airport and Frontier over taxes and landing fees, CompleteColorado.com filed a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request with Mayor Hancock’s office asking for documents related to Frontier Airlines.
The Mayor’s office originally responded by saying they could find no documents that met the criteria of the request.
However, other emails were later obtained from Denver International Airport which included the various employees in the Hancock administration. Those emails should have been in the custody of city hall employees, and should have been identified and produced under the Open Records Act. They were not.
Specifically, Complete Colorado asked for all documents, including inbound, outbound and deleted emails, regarding Frontier Airlines, from the dates of November 1 through November 19, for the Mayor’s Deputy Chief of Staff Evan Dreyer, Chief of Staff Janice Sinden, and Communications Director Rowena Alegria.
On December 1, Mayor Hancock’s Deputy Communications Director Amber Miller responded that, “We have searched the inbox, sent and archived email for the individuals and time period referenced in your CORA request. There are no records responsive to your request and, as indicated, no fees for the time required for this CORA.”
Yet, the emails obtained through DIA showed:
- Dreyer sent emails at 9:17, 9:24, and 9:27 AM on November 18. Janice Sinden was cc’d on both of those emails. The subject line of all the emails was, “Frontier.”
- DIA Aviation Director Kim Day sent an email at 10:27 AM on November 18. Sinden and Dreyer were both direct recipients of the email.
- Amber Miller sent an email at 4:37 PM on November 17 mentioning an online Denver Post story. Rowena Alegria, Sinden, and Dreyer were all cc’d on the email.
Those are just a sampling of the responsive documents that should have been identified and turned over by the Hancock administration. Embedded below are some of the emails proving the individuals named in the CORA to the Mayor’s office either created documents during the specified time frame, or were recipients of documents.
CompleteColorado.com will explore what remedies, if any, can be applied to this situation. The Mayor’s office did not return a request for comment.
Pages From Records- Re Frontier-2WM
Send us tips at CompleteColorado@gmail.com.
