Jared Polis spent much of his gubernatorial campaign cultivating an image of a savvy tech executive who could bring managerial expertise to state government.
However, two new reports out from CPR this week have revealed systemic problems with Jared Polis’ management of the state’s COVID-19 response.
Earlier this month on Meet the Press Jared Polis refused to directly answer when pressed on why Colorado has lagged on COVID testing, instead shifting blame calling national testing a “complete disgrace.’
As it turns out, that description may be more appropriate for Polis’ own failures in Colorado.
Colorado Public Radio’s Ben Markus details a number of disturbing problems that have contributed to Colorado ranking dead last among peer states in COVID testing per 100,000 residents.
Polis’ CDPHE Director’s lack of experience reportedly created severe bureaucratic dysfunction at the agency last year, leading to the departures of multiple epidemiologists and public health experts both before and during the pandemic.
Faced with the need to scale up testing last March and a CDPHE in disarray, Polis sidelined the agency and recruited an email marketing executive with no public health experience to address the state’s testing issues:
“That’s a long list of bottlenecks,” Matt Blumberg wrote back while preparing to travel to Denver. “No tests, no one to test, and no lab to process results.”
Polis responded: “Yeah but other than that, it’s easy-peezy.”
There was one other problem: Blumberg had no experience in public health.
“I don’t know what the f— I’m doing,” Blumberg texted to Brad Feld, a Boulder venture capitalist who connected Blumberg and Polis. “Fortunately, I never have, and that’s usually OK.”
Not this time.
Chair of the Colorado School of Public Health Glen Mays called Polis’ naïve directives to Blumberg “concerning”:
A day later, on March 16, Polis forwarded that email to Blumberg, the tech executive. “We need a strategy in each area,” Polis added.
“That’s definitely concerning,” said Mays, from the Colorado School of Public Health, in an interview with CPR News. “I think it partly reflects an overly optimistic view of what technology alone can give us without the requisite expertise and experience about how to apply it.”
While Blumberg was only in his position for a short period, Polis’ Innovation Response Team according to CPR has still completely failed to deliver “the widely available, fast, free drive-through and walk-up testing available in some other states.”
CPR also revealed frayed relations between the state and county health officials who have grown increasingly weary of Polis going over their heads, as well as dysfunction at the CDPHE.
Bottom Line: These reports make clear Jared Polis is severely mismanaging Colorado’s COVID-19 response. Polis needs to stop passing the buck and exercise clearer leadership if he hopes to restore any confidence in the state’s ability to manage this pandemic.
Read more here:
‘Brain Drain’ And A Startup CEO: This Is How Colorado Leapt Into Coronavirus Testing
Colorado Public Radio
Ben Markus
July 27 2020
It was just 11 days into the coronavirus crisis and Colorado’s testing labs were overwhelmed. Gov. Jared Polis needed help.
“We are doing our best to be one of the leading states, if not the leading state for testing,” Polis said on March 16. “But scaling that up has been very frustrating.”
Just before that news conference, Polis forwarded a memo detailing “mass testing limitations” to the former CEO of an email marketing company in New York City, asking him to come to Colorado and help solve the testing riddle.
“That’s a long list of bottlenecks,” Matt Blumberg wrote back while preparing to travel to Denver. “No tests, no one to test, and no lab to process results.”
Polis responded: “Yeah but other than that, it’s easy-peezy.”
There was one other problem: Blumberg had no experience in public health.
“I don’t know what the f— I’m doing,” Blumberg texted to Brad Feld, a Boulder venture capitalist who connected Blumberg and Polis. “Fortunately, I never have, and that’s usually OK.”
Not this time.
Read more here.
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Colorado And Its Counties Are Out Of Step In Their Shared Public Health Response To Coronavirus
Colorado Public Radio
July 28 2020
Ben Markus
On July 8, a group of local county public health directors from around the state got on their regular conference call.
The percentage of positive coronavirus tests was rising across Colorado, as were hospitalizations. The trends threatened the limited freedoms counties had gained in recent weeks from state health restrictions.
The discussion turned to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the most important partner for the counties in the pandemic response. Following recent departures at CDPHE, they were trying to figure out who their point of contact is now, four months after the first COVID-19 case was discovered in Colorado.
“I don’t know who to go to,” said Tom Gonzales, public health director for Larimer County.
Read more here.