Denver Mayor and City Council Meeting: Election Updates and Announcements - November 19, 2024
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Denver Mayor and City Council Meeting: Election Updates and Announcements - November 19, 2024
This meeting of the Denver Mayor and City Council on November 19, 2024, began with introductions and announcements from council members regarding community events, food bank support, and the Great American Smoke Out. The main agenda item was a presentation by Adam Paul, Director of Regional and State Affairs, on the results of the 2024 election, covering local and state ballot measures and voter turnout.
Announcements
- Councilwoman Diana Romero thanked the Mayor for a community event at the Tamarck shelter that provided prenatal care, haircuts, and services to families.
- Council President Amanda Sandoval reminded of food bank needs at Bienvenidos in Northwest Denver and urged kindness during the holiday season.
- Councilman Daryl Watson congratulated the Mayor on his 50th birthday, noted the Great American Smoke Out, and celebrated the Ballpark General Improvement District passing.
- Councilman Kevin Flynn highlighted the Live Love D5 project encouraging neighborly acts and thanked the Mayor for the Green Valley Ranch pool opening and the film premiere of "The Order" based on his book.
Election Results Presentation and Discussion
Adam Paul presented election data. Denver voter turnout was 76% in 2024 (down from 83% in 2020, while statewide turnout was 80%). Local measures: 308 (fur ban) failed 57.58% against; slaughterhouse ban failed 63.75% against. City council referred measures: 2Q (40) passed 55.7%; 2R (Affordable Denver) failed 49.45% for, 50.55% against; other measures (2S, 2T, 2U, 2V, BW) passed. 2T (citizenship for police/fire) narrowly passed citywide but failed in some immigrant communities (Southwest Denver, GES, Montbello, Green Valley Ranch). State measures: Constitutional amendments 79 and 80 passed; H and I passed (judicial discipline, bail for first-degree murder); J passed (repealed marriage definition); KK passed (excise tax on firearms); 128 passed (85% time served for violent crimes); 130 (peace officer funding) failed in Denver with 56% against; 131 (open primary ranked choice voting) failed. Council members discussed impacts: Councilman Flynn asked about state funding impacts of 130 and requested analysis of affordable housing measures nationwide. Councilwoman Torres noted misinformation on 2T and the need to reinforce Denver as a welcoming city. Councilwoman Sawyer highlighted the work of collective bargaining implementation and the campaign to pass it. Councilman Watson celebrated the Ballpark General Improvement District passing. Councilwoman Sweet noted the erosion of public trust and the need to combat misinformation. Mayor Johnston added that the lengthy ballot (26 measures) led to high undervotes.
Key Outcomes
- Local measures: 2Q, 2S, 2T, 2U, 2V, BW passed; 2R, 308, and the slaughterhouse ban failed.
- State measures: 79, 80, H, I, J, KK, 128 passed; 130 and 131 failed in Denver.
- Council will monitor state funding impacts of 130 and 128; implementation of 2T (citizenship for police/fire) will begin after certification.
- Downtown Development Authority application process will be announced in December.
- The meeting was adjourned after the presentation and discussion.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome to this meeting of the mayor and Denver City Council. At this weekly session, city agencies brief the mayor and council members on various proposals and projects across the city. This meeting of the mayor and city council members begins now. It's amazing. Watch out, world. Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Mayor Council. Thank you all so much for being here. We will start with introductions. The distinguished gentleman to my right will begin. Good morning, Diana Romero. Southeast Denver District 4. Good morning, Amanda Sawyer, District 5. Good morning, Serena Gonzalez Cutier is one of your council members at large. Good morning, Daryl Watson, representing all of the fine district nine. Kevin Flynn, Southwest Denver District 2. Amanda Sandoval, Northwest Denver District 1. Well, great. Thank you all so much for being here. We have um uh one item on the agenda. We'll come back to just an election updates for folks from last week on issues around the city and around the state. Uh but before wanted to um we're not gonna we're not gonna take control of national election updates, go back to someone else. Uh um but uh we will start with announcements if anyone has announcements they would like to share with their fellow members or with the public at large. Floor is open. Yes, that's a present from Tim. Thank you. Um, Mr. Mayor, I had uh I just I said thank you last night, but uh thank you again for a great again, a great event at the Tamark shelter um this last Saturday. Just a few days ago, just last Saturday. Um it was tremendous, and I really think um a huge thank you to your office, to um your wife Courtney and uh to the to the whole team that was there, the Office of Children's Affairs, Father Dang, to Lily and Tron. Um the uh the amount of families that received pre- and postnatal care products and supplies and services was really tremendous. Um they were giving haircuts, meow wolf was there, people were signing up for SNAP benefits. Um, and what really struck me was the amount of um the amount of children that were just there and interacting and having fingernail painting, there was a little mini salon. Your daughter was also helping. She painted a lot of nails. Um, there were a lot of people paying nails. It was it was actually really very sweet, and a lot of people getting haircuts as well. Um the amount of children that were participating and the amount of infants and newborns. So many newborns there, and I think that being able to connect the families with services was tremendous. So thank you so much for that day, and we're glad to be able to um have hosted that at the Tamarck shelter. Thank you for hosting. It was really wonderful. We we really appreciate it and look forward to future events. Um that was all mine was just really nice. Yeah, it was a wonderful Saturday. Yes, Council President. So I'll just um as we enter next week for Thanksgiving. I think we all have lots to be thankful for. Um, I have a food bank, it's named Bienvenidos in Northwest Denver. And they are seeing hard times still.
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