DENVER — One day after a "Reopen Colorado" rally at the Colorado Capitol, held in protest of Gov. Jared Polis’ stay-at-home order, the governor announced a "Safer at Home" plan that will allow the state to gradually reopen.
Steve Peck, one of the organizers for the Sunday rally in Denver, spoke with Next anchor Kyle Clark Tuesday to answer questions regarding the rally, Polis’ outline for reopening the state and how he thinks residents will move forward in the wake of the pandemic.
Kyle: When you guys had this big demonstration over the weekend, did you ever think that the governor was going to announce the reopening schedule on Monday?
Peck: No, no I didn’t. I’m not ready to announce a ‘mission accomplished’ and that all things are good to go, but I’m very happy, speaking for myself. I think there were a lot of people who were there and a lot of friends of mine who are in a wait-and-see posture — they want to see that these commitments are met, and trust and verify is what we’re looking for. The devil is frequently in the details, and I like a lot of what I heard. I sense that the governor is listening to those people at the rally two days ago, and what I sense is a willingness to cooperate and to hear us out, so I am cautiously optimistic.
Kyle: So, one thing that most epidemiologists agree on is that the method of quarantine doesn’t get rid of the virus, it just keeps people from exposing themselves to it. When you have the reopening, there is going to be an increase in spread and an increase in infections and so-forth. We are going to have another up and down. What is your message to Coloradans about what’s to come in terms of that?
Peck: Quarantine, no quarantine, this will continue to live on. Will it be the flu, cold and COVID-19 five years from now? That might be the case. There’s a tradeoff, though, to having this strict lockdown, and that’s what Reopen Colorado is all about. What are the trade-offs? Because it’s not jobs versus lives, this really is lives versus lives. Lives lost to COVID-19, but also lives lost to depths of despair, lives lost to those who don’t have cancer treatment screenings, because those aren’t allowed right now — even under the direction of the governor, today, you can’t get that, and lives lost to poverty. We know that there’s a direct relationship to poverty and life expectancy. Every day that we go by, where we are increasing the bankruptcies and dwindling savings, we are digging ourselves into a deeper and deeper hole, so we have to feather this clutch, and I think we can, I think the governor is trying to. That’s why I am encouraged.
Kyle: There might be folks who have a high risk tolerance, but at the same time are high-risk in terms of their health situation, or people who are at high-risk economically, but who are also high-risk on the health side. What would you hope the future looks like for those folks who don’t particularly have a safe way of being fully exposed to society again in a reopened Colorado?
Peck: I have some friends who are compromised. People who don’t have the luxury that maybe you or I do. Other friends of mine that have assisted living homes here in Douglas County, I mean, their attitude and their behavior, they might agree with me in principle, but they aren’t going to take a risk with their business with the lives of the people that they are responsible for. I understand what you’re saying — I think what I would like to see pushed down to the counties is more latitude for businesses, and I see that happening. Just before we had that conversation, there was something in the Highlands Ranch Herald, it looks like the three county commissioners here in Douglas County are actually moving to open up even more than the governor has. So, I don’t know where one line of responsibility ends and the other begins, but I imagine you’re going to have people like me, who are going to push the envelope, and there’s going to be another group of people who are going to say, 'We’re doing this too soon.' We all have to get along.
Kyle: What do you think would’ve happened if Gov. Polis had not immediately come out after the rally and announced, “It’s happening Sunday, we are starting to lift the lid”?
Peck: I didn’t expect that, I was pleasantly surprised, actually. I was shocked. I was talking with a lot of other folks and we were prepared to do this again and again and again. This isn’t necessarily my story, but many people don’t have the luxury of waiting for another two weeks or another three weeks. After a certain point, you start to exhaust protesters, but then I think there’s always a group of people who want to wait and see - 'What’s going on here, I don’t want to be with a group of 25 people.' There were thousands of people out there…Most of them were in cars. Reporters like yourself were asking me, 'Well, are you encouraging people to stay in cars?' Yes, I want people to be safe, I want people to be responsible, I don’t want to spread this disease...There were a lot of people, and I think if we were to do it again, you’d see more people is my guess.
Kyle: I know that you were saying that you thought there was a cross-section of right and libertarian at the event. This is a group that has been incredibly demoralized and frustrated in Colorado over the last couple of years. Democrats have more electoral control in the state and positions of power than they’ve had since the 1930s. Do you see the reaction to that rally and the governor's decision as a significant victory for folks who are on the political right?
Peck: I think it’s true that we’ve had a series of losses, the governor races that we could’ve won but didn’t. I view this as a victory. But, again, I’m not looking at this in the lens of the next election cycle or the next political victory to notch into our belt, I really do want to see people be successful as they can possibly be. I’ve got neighbors here, in Highlands Ranch, that are very close, and both of them are on board. They’ve got kids that are grown, fortunately, but they have no revenue coming in. I ran into them in the street last night and they were all smiles. All smiles because they have a date on the calendar where they can see money coming in again. So, I’m just really happy for them is what it boils down to at this point.