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Tag: Mike Johnston

Denver Mayor’s Sanctuary City Legal Costs Reach Full $2 Million Limit
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver Mayor’s Sanctuary City Legal Costs Reach Full $2 Million Limit

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette The bill for Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s legal defense for that March 5 hearing before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on “sanctuary” cities has reached its $2 million contractual limit. Just as the year closed out on Dec. 30, a fifth payment, in the amount of $950,000 — almost half of the value of the entire contract — was made from the city’s general fund to Covington & Burling LLC, the D.C.-based law firm that represented Johnston and the city during the highly publicized congressional hearing. The payment now brings the total for Johnston’s defense to $2 million, the exact payment cap set forth by the contract city officials entered into shortly before the hearing in Washington, D.C.  ...
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Do Better Denver breaks cover, says her mission is “calling out the failures of our elected officials”
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Commentary, Local

Do Better Denver breaks cover, says her mission is “calling out the failures of our elected officials”

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has no shortage of critics, but perhaps his harshest is the mysterious person behind "Do Better Denver." The social media account -- on X and Instagram -- launched right after Johnston took office two years ago and has amassed a following of more than 150,000. The manager of the account is anonymous and has never granted an in-person interview until now. She spoke exclusively with CBS Colorado Your Political Reporter Shaun Boyd, but insisted she remain anonymous. Her critics say she hides her identity to avoid accountability for what she posts online. She says she's concerned for her safety, especially with the recent rise in political violence. She shared some of the threats she's received. She is a polarizing and powerfu...
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Denver Council Rejects Mayor’s Budget, But Johnston’s Spending Plan is Alive and Well
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver Council Rejects Mayor’s Budget, But Johnston’s Spending Plan is Alive and Well

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette The Denver City Council rejected Mayor Mike Johnston’s $1.66 billion spending plan, but the proposal, as amended, will still govern operations, as the charter requires the city to have a budget in place by Nov. 12. In a split 6-6 vote on Monday, councilmembers expressed disappointment with various aspects of the budget process, citing its complicated nature and “lack of collaboration and transparency.” One councilmember was absent. Councilmembers Chris Hinds, Kevin Flynn, Diana Romero-Campbell, Jamie Torres, Amanda Sandoval and Darrell Watson voted in favor of the budget, while Councilmembers Flor Alvidrez, Shontel Lewis, Stacie Gilmore, Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Paul Kashmann, and Amanda Sawyer balked at the spending plan. At-large C...
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Denver Voters Approve $935 Million Bond, Expanding City Debt and Mayor’s Agenda
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Denver Voters Approve $935 Million Bond, Expanding City Debt and Mayor’s Agenda

By: Phil Rankin | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — Mayor Mike Johnston has declared victory on the $935 million Vibrant Denver bond package, Ballot Issues 2A-2E in Election 2025. Voters are being asked to approve funding for projects spread across five areas: 2A: $441M for transportation and mobility 2B: $175M for parks and recreation 2C: $30M for health and human services 2D: $244M for city infrastructure and facilities 2E: $59M for housing and shelters READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT KDVR FOX31
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Denver’s Budget Crisis Deepens Amid $2 Million Rent Default
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Denver’s Budget Crisis Deepens Amid $2 Million Rent Default

By Brian Maass | CBS Colorado The city of Denver's largest tenant, the leaseholder for the Denver Post building at 101 West Colfax Avenue, stopped making its monthly $650,000 rent payments to the city in August. And with late charges, the leaseholder is now about $2 million behind in rent, according to an exclusive CBS News Colorado investigation. "It is a large amount of income for the city, and if we cannot recover that, we will have to turn around and find more budget cuts," said Denver City Councilwoman Sarah Parady. The city of Denver bought the Denver Post building in early 2024 for $88.5 million, saying the 303,000 square foot building would eventually be needed to house Denver's court system. The Denver City Council approved the purchase by a 9-4 vote but several council m...
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Critics Say City Resources Misused in Denver’s $1 Billion Bond Campaign
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Critics Say City Resources Misused in Denver’s $1 Billion Bond Campaign

By Deborah Smith | Colorado Politics A group that is seeking to push back on government debt argued that big dollars are rolling in from funders supporting Mayor Mike Johnston’s $1 billion debt package and alleged some of those contributions may be legally prohibited. The group said the contributors included entities that receive taxpayer funding, questioning whether public money is going to the campaign that seeks to persuade voters to support the borrowing package. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston is asking residents to let the city take on nearly $1 billion in new debt as part of his “Vibrant Denver” bond initiative on the Nov. 4 ballot. City officials have framed the bond as a “much-needed” investment in the city’s future, aimed at repairing and improving infrastructure and commu...
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Mayor’s $3.6 Billion Plan Pledges Fiscal Stability for Denver
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Local, Approved, kdvr.com

Mayor’s $3.6 Billion Plan Pledges Fiscal Stability for Denver

By Gabrielle Franklin | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — Denver Mayor Mike Johnston is releasing his 2026 budget proposal. The mayor said the $1.66 billion plan should get the city back on good financial footing. The mayor said the way he has the numbers mapped out should mean no more cuts to personnel. He did have to make some cuts to programs and technology used by city workers. “Remember, we announced first the personnel savings. Today, we will announce $77 million in savings and services, supplies, contracts. I’ll walk you through and a couple of million dollars in revenue additions,” Johnston said during his press conference unveiling the plan Monday. Johnston said the 2026 budget proposal is the biggest economic adjustment in the city since 2011, outside of the COVID era when ...
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Polis says Colorado isn’t a sanctuary state but the laws say otherwise
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The Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Polis says Colorado isn’t a sanctuary state but the laws say otherwise

By The Gazette editorial board | Commentary, The Gazette Gov. Jared Polis has distinguished himself in business and politics, yet he arguably missed his true calling — doing stand-up at a comedy club. He’d leave his audience in stitches. Case in point: His thigh-slapper the other day — about Colorado not being a sanctuary state. He had us rolling on the floor. We were laughing through our tears, of course, given the toll illegal immigration has taken here. But there’s no denying the governor is a hoot. He is in fact such a natural-born comic, his familiar, “Sanctuary? What sanctuary?” routine is uproarious even when delivered secondhand by his communications staff. “Colorado is not a sanctuary state,” Polis’ office deadpanned in a news release Thursday for our news affiliate Co...
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Denver Mayor Accused of Political Purge After City Hall Layoffs
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Local, Approved, Axios Denver

Denver Mayor Accused of Political Purge After City Hall Layoffs

By: John Frank | Axios Denver Some Denver elected officials and laid-off staff are accusing Mayor Mike Johnston of weaponizing budget cuts to punish critics of his administration. The big picture: Their reproach reflects growing resentment at City Hall toward Johnston, whose governing style has frustrated many city policymakers. What they're saying: City Clerk and Recorder Paul López on Tuesday suggested this week's layoffs were retaliatory, calling them "part of a deliberate, hand-selected purge of those in the ranks who've … maintained responsibility and transparency in an administration that is neither." López also blamed job cuts on Johnston's "mishandling" of the city's budget. Councilmember Stacie Gilmore, a frequent challenger...
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As businesses flee downtown Denver, Johnston points to falling homicide rate
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Local, Top Stories

As businesses flee downtown Denver, Johnston points to falling homicide rate

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Mayor Mike Johnston has been pointing to a 44% drop in homicides in the first half of 2025, calling it proof his crime plan is making a difference. The figure is a sharp improvement from last year, but it’s recent and doesn’t show where things stood before the pandemic. In the city’s core, the gains are harder to find. A report from the Common Sense Institute shows murders in District 6, the downtown police district, have risen 133% since 2020. Aggravated assaults, drug crimes, public disorder, and larceny are also up. While some neighborhoods have seen improvement, downtown has not kept up the same pace. Citywide Gains, Downtown Losses Data from DenverCrimes.com shows citywide violent crime down more than 30% from last...
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