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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Denver Governance Committee Hearing on Charter Amendment and Election Briefing - May 19, 2026

Council Committees — Tuesday, May 19, 2026

BodyDenver, Colorado

SessionCouncil Committees

DateTuesday, May 19, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:23:16

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Welcome back to this monthly meeting of the Governance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee of Denver City Council.

0:08

Thanks for joining us for the discussion.

0:10

The governance and intergovernmental relations committee starts now.

0:29

May 19th, Tuesday, May 19th.

0:31

You have reached the Governance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee of the Denver City Council.

0:38

My name is Paul Cashman.

0:39

I uh represent South Denver District 6 and have the pleasure of serving as vice chair on this committee.

0:47

We have a couple of items on the agenda.

0:50

We'll start uh with a uh action item for an ordinance submitting to a vote of qualified and registered electors of the city and county of Denver and a special municipal election on November 3rd will be presented by my colleagues, uh committee chair uh Sawyer and Councilwoman uh Parity.

1:12

And then that'll be followed by a briefing by our uh clerk and recorder.

1:17

And before we get started on the agenda, let's go with uh introductions of members of council, starting on my left with the esteemed councilwoman.

1:28

Good morning, everyone.

1:29

Serena Gonzalez Gutierrez, one of the council members at large.

1:31

Good morning, Amanda Sanovo, Northwest Denver District 1.

1:34

Good morning, Diana Romero Campbell, Southeast Denver District Four.

1:37

Good morning, Amanda Surger, District Five.

1:39

Sarah Hardy, or other councilmember at large.

1:41

Jamie Torres, West Denver District 3.

1:43

Thank you.

1:44

And I believe Councilman Flynn, are you joining us online?

1:47

There you go.

1:48

Right now, in Southwest Denver's District 2.

1:52

Good deal.

1:53

Well, I will turn the floor over.

1:55

Uh Councilwoman Sore.

1:57

Are you going to uh facilitate this uh presentation?

2:00

I guess I will drive.

2:02

Um, well, good morning, everyone.

2:04

Thank you so much.

2:04

Councilwoman Parity and I are here today with the auditor's office in Denver Labor to have a conversation about a charter change amendment that we would like to send to the ballot for the voters to vote on in November.

2:17

Um before we get started, do you want to introduce yourselves?

2:20

Sure.

2:21

Uh Tim O'Brien, Denver Auditor.

2:23

Matt Fitzmauer, Executive Director of Denver Labor in the Auditor's Office.

2:28

Uh, fantastic.

2:29

So we have a quick presentation.

2:31

Um, just talk a little bit about the background, our proposed clarification why we're sending this to the ballot and then answer any questions that you have.

2:39

Um, so as background, the auditor's office has enforced prevailing wage since 1950, as we just had a recent conversation about.

2:46

Um, Denver voters in 2006 created the independent auditor's office.

2:52

Um, and so then since 2016, we've made significant updates to the auditors' ability to enforce all of our different wage areas.

3:01

That is minimum wage, prevailing wage, and wage theft.

3:06

And I will just say the auditor's office and Denver Labor do an amazing job of this.

3:10

Um, where did our.

3:15

There we go.

3:18

That was amazing, you guys.

3:22

That's perfect timing with Denver.

3:24

That ladies and gentlemen, the road moment.

3:29

Um so let's talk prevailing wage first.

3:31

We have had a lot of conversation about this recently as we just recently updated to clarify our prevailing wage document uh and our prevailing wage ordinance.

3:40

So the 2016 update um to the prevailing wage ordinance from 1950, uh improved processes, removed some outdated things, um, and then clarified the scope of prevailing wage.

3:53

Um, and then in 2023, August of 2023, you may recall we voted um on just realigning the prevailing wage enforcement to streamline the processes.

4:03

So we moved um prevailing wage out of HR and into Denver Labor.

4:10

Um, and the way that worked is the city agreed to create a position, an independent position within Denver Labor that is our prevailing wage administrator position.

4:20

Um, and that position's job is to focus on prevailing wage, review um contracts for prevailing wage, update prevailing wages accordingly with market surveys that come from the federal government, all of those different kinds of things.

4:36

So the auditor's office has the authority to issue interpretations and clarifications on prevailing wage and to update those, as I mentioned, uh wage rates.

4:46

Um, and we are very lucky we have a great prevailing wage administrator who does those things.

4:53

Um let's talk minimum wage now.

4:56

So, minimum wage um was uh it was a bill at the state that changed the law because previously the entire state of Colorado was under the same minimum wage, and so the state legislature in 2019 changed the law to allow municipalities and local governments to set our own minimum wages.

5:16

Now, as we know, because we have there's been a lot of background conversation about the fact that when the state did this, they did not make that same change to the TIP credit, and that has been a little bit of a challenge.

5:30

So that is a whole thing I am not getting into here, but it you know, you all know what I'm talking about.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████41%

Worker Protections█████████████████████████25%

Elections Administration█████████████13%

Community Engagement████████8%

Public Engagement██████6%

Public Safety████4%

Civic Infrastructure███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Governance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee Meeting Summary – May 19, 2026

The Governance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee of the Denver City Council met on May 19, 2026, at 5:30 PM. The committee considered a proposed charter amendment to codify the Auditor's wage enforcement powers and received a briefing from the Clerk and Recorder's office on upcoming elections.

Public Comments & Testimony

Jesse Paris (President, Black Star Action Movement; candidate for House District 8) expressed support for expanding the Auditor's enforcement powers and asked whether the proposed amendment would add to existing authority. He also raised concerns about city spending under the current administration.

Discussion Items

Charter Amendment: Prevailing Wage, Minimum Wage, and Wage Theft Enforcement

Councilwoman Sawyer and Councilwoman Parity co-presented a proposed charter change to clarify that the Auditor's Office shall enforce wage, worker protection, and workplace rights as required by ordinance. They noted the Auditor has enforced prevailing wage since 1950, and that recent expansions (minimum wage in 2020, wage theft ordinance in 2023, subpoena power in 2024) have recovered over $10 million and served more than 15,000 workers in the last decade.
Auditor Tim O'Brien and Denver Labor Executive Director Matt Fitzmauer stated the change would make explicit what is already done, moving it from the "other duties" clause to a specific charter function.
Councilwoman Torres asked about other worker protections; Fitzmauer confirmed the office enforces prevailing wage, minimum wage, wage theft, and anti-retaliation. He noted a Rutgers study estimating $100 million annually in metro-area wage theft, and that capacity is a barrier, but revenue-neutral expansions are being explored.
Councilwoman Romero Campbell asked about barriers and budget impacts; sponsors confirmed the amendment is budget neutral and does not change current operations.
Councilwoman Sandoval praised the clarity of adding the function to the charter versus ordinance, noting it provides long-term stability.

Election Briefing from the Clerk and Recorder's Office

Clerk Paul Lopez, Election Director Todd Davidson, and Deputy Clerk Sabrina Alley provided an update on the 2026 primary (June 30) and general (November 3) elections.
Key statistics: 476,726 active registered voters; preparing for 40% turnout (194,000); 48 drop boxes (24/7 for 22 days); 17 voter service and polling centers (VSPCs); 600 election judges to be hired. Unaffiliated voters are 49.9% of active voters.
Davidson emphasized drop boxes as the safest, most secure voting method, noting they are under 24/7 surveillance and protected against intimidation. He discouraged mailing ballots within 8 days of election day (last recommended mail date June 23 for primary).
The office is working to add drop boxes at East Colfax, Athmar Park Library, and near Union Station. Clerk Lopez detailed challenges with a proposed site at the ROSE on Colfax affordable housing development (stalled by Wells Fargo) and the need for ADA-compliant infrastructure.
Councilman Flynn asked about drop box fire vulnerability; Lopez stated Denver's boxes are different from those attacked elsewhere and that multiple mitigation measures are in place (details discussed offline).
Discussion covered the Denver Blue Book (Councilwoman Gonzalez-Gutierrez called it harmful/misinformation), ballot exchange across counties, and contingency funding.
Councilwoman Sandoval noted that younger voters (24-35) are increasingly voting in person on election day, often at Union Station. She suggested exploring additional drop box locations along Platte Street or near the Millennium Bridge.
Councilwoman Torres praised the office's partnership on sending voter welcome letters to new 18-year-olds.
The committee heard that any voter intimidation at vote centers or drop boxes will result in arrest and prosecution, per federal law and agreements with DPD and the city attorney.

Key Outcomes

Motion to refer the charter amendment ordinance to the full City Council passed unanimously (moved by Councilwoman Torres, seconded by Councilwoman Gonzalez-Gutierrez, all committee members present signaled approval). The measure would appear on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot.
The committee received the election briefing and acknowledged the Clerk's preparations. No formal vote was taken on the briefing.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome back to this monthly meeting of the Governance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee of Denver City Council. Thanks for joining us for the discussion. The governance and intergovernmental relations committee starts now. May 19th, Tuesday, May 19th. You have reached the Governance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee of the Denver City Council. My name is Paul Cashman. I uh represent South Denver District 6 and have the pleasure of serving as vice chair on this committee. We have a couple of items on the agenda. We'll start uh with a uh action item for an ordinance submitting to a vote of qualified and registered electors of the city and county of Denver and a special municipal election on November 3rd will be presented by my colleagues, uh committee chair uh Sawyer and Councilwoman uh Parity. And then that'll be followed by a briefing by our uh clerk and recorder. And before we get started on the agenda, let's go with uh introductions of members of council, starting on my left with the esteemed councilwoman. Good morning, everyone. Serena Gonzalez Gutierrez, one of the council members at large. Good morning, Amanda Sanovo, Northwest Denver District 1. Good morning, Diana Romero Campbell, Southeast Denver District Four. Good morning, Amanda Surger, District Five. Sarah Hardy, or other councilmember at large. Jamie Torres, West Denver District 3. Thank you. And I believe Councilman Flynn, are you joining us online? There you go. Right now, in Southwest Denver's District 2. Good deal. Well, I will turn the floor over. Uh Councilwoman Sore. Are you going to uh facilitate this uh presentation? I guess I will drive. Um, well, good morning, everyone. Thank you so much. Councilwoman Parity and I are here today with the auditor's office in Denver Labor to have a conversation about a charter change amendment that we would like to send to the ballot for the voters to vote on in November. Um before we get started, do you want to introduce yourselves? Sure. Uh Tim O'Brien, Denver Auditor. Matt Fitzmauer, Executive Director of Denver Labor in the Auditor's Office. Uh, fantastic. So we have a quick presentation. Um, just talk a little bit about the background, our proposed clarification why we're sending this to the ballot and then answer any questions that you have. Um, so as background, the auditor's office has enforced prevailing wage since 1950, as we just had a recent conversation about. Um, Denver voters in 2006 created the independent auditor's office. Um, and so then since 2016, we've made significant updates to the auditors' ability to enforce all of our different wage areas. That is minimum wage, prevailing wage, and wage theft. And I will just say the auditor's office and Denver Labor do an amazing job of this. Um, where did our. There we go. That was amazing, you guys. That's perfect timing with Denver. That ladies and gentlemen, the road moment. Um so let's talk prevailing wage first. We have had a lot of conversation about this recently as we just recently updated to clarify our prevailing wage document uh and our prevailing wage ordinance. So the 2016 update um to the prevailing wage ordinance from 1950, uh improved processes, removed some outdated things, um, and then clarified the scope of prevailing wage.

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