Denver, Colorado
| Denver, Colorado | |
 | |
| General information | |
Mayor of Denver
Michael Johnston | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2023 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2027 |
| Last city council election: | 2023 |
| Next city council election: | 2027 |
| City council seats: | 13 |
| City website | |
| Composition data (2019) | |
| Population: | 705,576 |
| Race: | White 76.1% African American 9.2% Asian 3.7% Native American 0.9% Pacific Islander 0.2% Two or more 3.8% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic 29.9% |
| Median household income: | $68,592 |
| High school graduation rate: | 88.0% |
| College graduation rate: | 49.4% |
| Related Denver offices | |
| Colorado Congressional Delegation Colorado State Legislature Colorado state executive offices | |
Denver is the capital city of Colorado and the most populous city in the state. Its government is consolidated with that of Denver County. The city's population was 715,522 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Denver utilizes a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body, and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[1]
Mayor
The mayor serves as the city's chief executive and is responsible for proposing and overseeing the city and county budget, approving or vetoing council resolutions and ordinances, appointing departmental directors, and overseeing the city's day-to-day operations.[1] The current Mayor of Denver is Michael Johnston (nonpartisan). Johnston assumed office in 2023.
City council
The Denver City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for appropriating funds to run the city, passing or changing laws, approving mayoral appointees, and voting on zoning matters.[1]
Denver's city council has thirteen members. Eleven are elected by the city's eleven districts, while two are elected at large.[2]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Regional Transportation District
Other elected officials
Mayoral partisanship
Denver has a Democratic mayor. As of November 2024, 63 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 25 are affiliated with the Republican Party, one is affiliated with the Libertarian Party, four are independents, five identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
Elections
2024
The city of Denver, Colorado, held general elections for district attorney, Regional Transportation District board member, district court judges, and county court judge on November 5, 2024. A primary was scheduled for June 25, 2024. The filing deadline for major party candidates was March 19, 2024, the filing deadline for minor party candidates was April 1, 2024, and the filing deadline for unaffiliated candidates was July 11, 2024. The filing deadline for judicial retention was August 5, 2024.
2023
The city of Denver, Colorado, held general elections for mayor, city council, city auditor, and city clerk and recorder on April 4, 2023. A runoff election was scheduled for June 6, 2023. The regular filing deadline for this election was January 19, 2023, and the write-in candidate filing deadline was March 20, 2023.
2022
The city of Denver, Colorado, held general elections for regional transportion district board member—including a special election for the District I seat—county court judge, and district court judge on November 8, 2022. The filing deadline for this election was July 14, 2022.
2020
The city of Denver, Colorado, held general elections for the 2nd Judicial District, Denver District Attorney, Denver County Court, Denver Probate Court, and seven seats on the Regional Transportation District on November 3, 2020. The primary for district attorney was June 30, 2020. The filing deadline for this election was August 3, 2020.
2019
The city of Denver, Colorado, held general elections for mayor, city auditor, city clerk and recorder, and all 13 city council seats on May 7, 2019. A runoff election was scheduled for June 4, 2019. The filing deadline for this election was March 14, 2019. The May 7 and June 4 elections also featured local ballot measures.
City voters also decided four local ballot measures on November 5, 2019.
2018
The city of Denver, Colorado, held retention elections for 15 municipal court judges on November 6, 2018. The deadline for candidates to file to run in this election was May 7, 2018.
2015
The city of Denver, Colorado, held elections for mayor and city council on May 5, 2015. A runoff took place on June 2, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 11, 2015. All 13 city council seats were up for election, including two at-large seats.[3] Leaders in Denver are elected to four-year terms.
Census information
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
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| Demographic Data for Denver | |
|---|---|
| Denver | |
| Population | 715,522 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 153 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 65.7% |
| Black/African American | 8.9% |
| Asian | 3.6% |
| Native American | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% |
| Two or more | 12.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 29.2% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 90.5% |
| College graduation rate | 54.2% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $85,853 |
| Persons below poverty level | 8.2% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2017-2022). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | |
Budget
Denver's city budget follows the calendar year, January 1 to December 31. The mayor is in charge of submitting a proposed budget to the city council by September 15 each year. The city council then hosts public hearings on the budget and proposes amendments. The mayor submits a final budget, and the city council adopts it.[4]
Fiscally standardized cities data
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[5]
| “ |
FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[6] |
” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[7] | ||
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[5]
Denver, Colorado, salaries and pensions over $95,000
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information
Mayor's office
1437 Bannock St. # 350
Denver, CO
Phone: 720-865-9000
City Clerk and Recorder's office
201 West Colfax Ave.
Dept. 101
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: 720-913-1311
Click here for city council contact information.
Ballot measures
- See also: Denver County, Colorado ballot measures
The city of Denver is in Denver County. A list of ballot measures in Denver County is available here.
Noteworthy events
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Denver, following the death of George Floyd. Events in Denver, Colorado, began on Thursday, May 28, 2020, at the Colorado Capitol.[8] On May 30, Mayor Michael B. Hancock instituted a curfew. The same day, Gov. Jared Polis (D) activated the Colorado National Guard with members deployed to the city.[9]
2015: Nondiscrimination laws
In July 2015, the Movement Advancement Project described Denver, Colorado, as a city or county that prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[10]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 City of Denver, "How City Government Works," accessed September 10, 2021
- ↑ City of Denver, "City Council," accessed September 10, 2021
- ↑ City of Denver, "Municipal Candidate Information Packet," accessed December 4, 2014
- ↑ City of Denver, "Mayor's 2023 Budget," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ 9 News, "Tear gas deployed, windows shattered as crowd marches in Denver protesting death of George Floyd," May 29, 2020
- ↑ Denverite, "Hancock imposes citywide curfew starting Saturday at 8 p.m., Gov. Polis calls in National Guard," May 30, 2020
- ↑ Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
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