By: Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette
Nearly a year after Denver cut city jobs to close a $250 million budget gap, Mayor Mike Johnston used his third State of the City address to promise universal childcare and 20,000 homes as part of a new redevelopment vision connecting seven major sites by transit, bicycle and pedestrian routes.
Johnston took center stage on Tuesday at the National Western Center, replacing his 2025 city theme “Capital of the New West” with “the open frontier,” as he laid out an ambitious plan for Denver’s future.
Among the guests attending Johnston’s address were Gov. Jared Polis, Attorney General and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Phil Weiser, former Denver mayors Michael Hancock and Federico Peña, and Melat Kiros, the Democratic socialist who won her party’s nomination for Colorado’s 1st Congressional District.
Hecklers interrupted Johnston more than once as he highlighted what he describes as some of the city’s accomplishments over his first three years in office, pointing to a 64% drop in unsheltered homelessness and nearly 6,000 income-restricted homes delivered for Denverites. The mayor had spent at least $150 million to reduce the number of visibly homeless people.
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