Denver City Council members on Monday night faced a dilemma: Would they continue doing business with the for-profit companies that dominate Denver’s system of community corrections?

Or would they cut ties, potentially closing most of the city’s halfway houses and leaving hundreds of people facing a possible return to prison?

Just after 10 p.m., they delivered a surprising upset. What was going to be a routine vote ended with the refusal of $10 million of contracts for CoreCivic and GEO Group.

The companies run a total of six community corrections facilities, or “halfway houses,” in Denver — but their nationwide businesses sprawl from private prisons to immigration detention.

“We’ve watched these large entities gobble up smaller providers with public dollars and little to no transparency or accountability,” said Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca, who took office last month and led the charge against the companies.

CdeBaca hadn’t expected to win, she said.

But she drew the support of seven other council members, including all of the newly elected and several veteran members. Council members CdeBaca, Jolon Clark, Stacie Gilmore, Chris Hinds, Robin Kniech, Jamie Torres, Amanda Sandoval and Amanda Sawyer all voted against the contracts.

The decision twisted council members back and forth as they wrestled with the risk of disruption and a crowd with a stark moral message.

“I don’t really want to speak tonight,” said Kniech. “If I do (vote against the contracts), I’m gambling one vulnerable group of people for a symbolic fight. And believe me, I want to do that. I really, really do. But I also don’t want to accept that that’s my only choice.”

But she ultimately joined CdeBaca. Sawyer also said her vote came down to the last minute: “I don’t know what to do,” she said, clasping her hands, before voting against the contracts.

City staff declined to comment on what would happen next. The contracts already have expired, according to Skye Stuart of Mayor Michael Hancock’s administration.

If the companies close their Denver facilities, the state Department of Corrections would have to decide whether to find prison space for more than 500 people or grant them parole. Hancock’s administration also could try to renegotiate the contracts and send them back to council.

But GEO and CoreCivic own their facilities and can’t easily be replaced. And city staff warned that they could walk away and work with other levels of government instead.

“I can tell you right now, there are no other options,” said Jane Prancan, chair of the Denver Community Corrections Board.

Council members Debbie Ortega, Chris Henrdon, Kevin Flynn and Kendra Black voted to keep the contracts, saying they wanted a more careful approach to change. Councilman Paul Kashmann was absent.

Ortega said it was “absolutely an important policy issue,” but she rejected the stark arguments for immediate action.

“Sign me up for the (reforms) committee, but I will be supporting this tonight,” she told the crowd. “You can look at me with your scowls on your faces, but at the same time we’re talking about the lives of people.”

CdeBaca said that the city could try to redirect the $10 million-plus of state money that was earmarked for the contracts, spending it on different services for the halfway house residents. But it’s not a sure thing, she acknowledged.

“I think there is some element of risk, and that is what we were tasked with tonight: weighing the risk of people who are in these specific facilities, versus getting better outcomes in the long run,” CdeBaca said afterward. “What we heard tonight is that all of the outcomes have been subpar and we’ve renewed (the contracts) over and over.”

CdeBaca also suggested that the city could use eminent domain, a law that allows governments to forcibly purchase property.

The debate

In Denver, the companies operate residential-style buildings where people can live and work as an alternative to prison. Together, CoreCivic and GEO have bought six of 10 such sites in the city since 2016.

But it’s their immigration facilities that drew the most initial attention. The two companies have the “lion’s share” of the detention contracts for Immigration & Customs Enforcement, NPR reported.

GEO runs the ICE detention facility in Aurora, where federal inspectors recently found violations such as the unnecessary use of handcuffs. GEO agreed to some changes but maintains its facilities are safe and humane.

“Will my family end up in one of the GEO and CoreCivic concentration camps that profit off of us?” asked Alma Urbano, describing herself as a DACA status holder, at Monday’s meeting. The Denver council’s decisions will not affect the Aurora detention facility.

The companies’ local contracts would have totaled about $10.6 million over the next year, mostly paid by state money. The providers also may collect up to $17 per day from participants.

“We’ve gotta quit feeding the beast of for-profit in our criminal justice system,” said Denise Maes, policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado.

Greg Mauro, the city’s community corrections director, said the city has no other options for community corrections, in part because zoning rules have effectively banned new community corrections sites. The companies also have consolidated corrections businesses across the country, buying up competitors.

City officials have been looking to allow new facilities to open across more of the city, possibly including city-owned land. But zoning changes will take at least six months, according to Stuart. Councilman Kevin Flynn asked if the city could study the idea of running its own system.

“I like the resolve to examine how we’re doing things right now,” he said. “But to transition to a new model does require time, and it requires thought and insight.”

The companies defended themselves in written statements, and through employee comments at the hearing.

The “politicization of these services is undermining the important work we provide to this vulnerable population,” read a statement from GEO provided by Rich Coolidge of EIS Solutions.

CoreCivic is “proud of our longstanding track record of delivering meaningful reentry programs” with the state and city, wrote spokesperson Brandon Bissell prior to the decision.

This article was updated to include Councilman Kevin Flynn’s vote.