It is true; there is no rest for the weary. And after a grueling campaign for mayor which includ- ed candidate forums, debates, meet-and-greets, coffees and a run-off election, no one can blame Denver Mayor-elect Mike Johnston of not being at least a bit weary. But few will offer sympathy. Being weary when running of a multi-billion-dollar enterprise—the City of Denver—comes with the territory.
Johnston, who beat Kelly Brough in the runoff election, has wasted no time, either in putting together a transition team or scheduling drop-ins around the city to meet with his new constituency to introduce himself, answer policy questions and share his vision for Denver.
Among Johnston’s transition team are former Denver Mayor Federico Peña, Colorado State Sen. Julie Gonzales, State Rep. and one-time challenger Leslie Herod and former Denver Post Editor Greg Moore. The team was picked based on the core values—transparency, innovation, collaboration, equity and transformation—that Johnston has stressed over the past several months on the campaign trail.
While each of the Mayor-elect’s transition team brings a unique talent and vision to the table, perhaps no one knows what Johnston will be stepping into like Peña, who shocked, electrified and inspired a city forty years ago with his own election to the city’s top job.
Johnston has his own track record in electoral politics; he served in the Colorado State Legislature. But he will be taking the reins of the city with no experience in local government—in this case, assuming power in the nation’s 19th largest city.
“I have been advising him to bring people in…people who know the day-to-day running of the city and know ‘where the bones are buried’”, said Peña. When Peña walked into City Hall he was a young attorney, albeit with a couple of terms in the state legislature. Local government was totally new but he, as he has advised Johnston, had good people around him.
Peña has full confidence that Johnston has the right stuff to do not just a good job, but potentially, a great one. The former mayor and presidential Cabinet Secretary believes Johnston will be prepared on day one and will address challenges that have escaped easy solutions for years, none more than homelessness.
“It has become a greater challenge…in ways that have surpassed the problem when I was mayor,” said Peña. Indeed, Johnston spoke early and often about homeless encampments in all sections of Denver and his plans for, if not eliminating them, dramatically reducing them in size. He also heard plenty from voters about the issue.
Throughout his campaign, Johnston consistently shared his vision for building micro-communities of tiny homes along with hotel conversions to address the omni-present and growing homeless issue. Of course, that is just one spoke of the housing challenge Johnston faces.
“The expense of living in Denver,” said Peña, is a wolf-at-the-door Johnston must also confront on day-one. “It has become a greater challenge for the city and metro area” than what existed in 1983, the year Peña walked into City Hall. The expense of living in Denver, he said, “is driving moderate income people out of the city and making it more difficult for young families.” Housing costs are impacting the recruiting of cops, firefighters and teachers to come to Denver.
Were that not enough, Johnston must cobble together answers—both short and long term—for dealing with a migrant challenge that continues to grow and draw more resources in an emerging but still unsteady economy. Then there are voices whose whispers are climbing in decibel level demanding the mayor take a more proactive hand in the city’s schools.
Any mayor—Johnston or any of his predecessors—walks into office with a sheet of ‘to-do’ chores. Some are easier than others to address. Then there are others that have not even been included on the list. They’re the unforeseen.
But just as Peña did forty years before, Johnston inspired with his message. There are opportunities, said Peña, that if seized will meet the challenge. “We have an extraordinary breadth of talent and experience in our city,” he believes. “People want to participate,” and Johnston has the ability to “harness that talent and energy.” He also thinks the city and metro area’s business community are eager to play an instrumental role in helping Johnston realize his dreams for the city.
Johnston will certainly put his own mark on the city and in doing so will have to deal with everything from business to climate change and the unique challenges it presents from the ozone to the residue of gridlock. But his transition team, Peña believes, will give him a running start on the job.
Every mayor enjoys a honeymoon period. When things go well, the honeymoon lasts longer. Johnston’s team is hoping that its early and focused homework will ensure the latter. To date, Johnston and his transition team have scheduled times to meet with citizens, city departments, business and philanthropic leaders. The team has also prepared him with notebooks outlining the A-Z of city government.
The Johnston team is confident that Denver’s new mayor will walk into City Hall as prepared or more prepared than any mayor before him. His June 6th win is also a testament of support he’ll have when he begins the first of the 1,460 days ahead of him—the days in a four-year term. Johnston benefitted from a progressive vote and endorsement from his most progressive primary election opponent in Lisa Calderon. Calderon finished third in the primary, two percentage points behind Johnston’s election day rival, Kelly Brough. Calderon’s endorsement may have brought over to Johnston a younger and more excitable bloc of voters ready to see Denver move ahead in a more progressive way.
The 48-year-old Johnston will be sworn into office on July 17th. He has lined up what he believes is the right coalition to do what a young, upstart mayor did four decades ago when he unseated an entrenched old-school boss and took a city along for a ride as he inspired them to ‘imagine a great city.’
