Council seeks checks on the mayor’s power
With one proposal already on November’s ballot, three more measures in the works
Slowly but surely, Denver City Council members are making moves that — if approved by voters — will shift power from the city’s strong mayor back to their body of 13.
At least three proposals are underway or soon will be to provide a check on the mayor’s executive powers. The council has already placed at least one on the November ballot.
The measures are backed by hundreds, if not thousands, of protesters, demonstrators, activists and civically engaged residents, many of whom say they feel Denver’s leadership has lost touch with people in the streets. However, the changes will inevitably come slower than the masses would like.
And they won’t come with the blessing of Mayor Michael Hancock, whose office said the
proposals represent more of a power grab than a shift.
“All of these proposed charter changes have one thing in common: they appear to be a list of solutions in search of problems at a time when our residents need clear-headed leadership, not power-grab politics,” spokesperson Theresa Marchetta said in an email.
Council members say the changes aren’t about a power grab — and aren’t just about Hancock, even though clashes have increased since the 2019 city election. New council members elected last year have challenged the mayor, who won a third term in a runoff, on contracts for halfway houses and his administration’s treatment of them, among other issues.
“I still value a strongmayor system, but what’s coming to the surface today were issues in Denver for my grandparents’ generation,” said Councilwoman Jamie Torres. “Singular authority without meaningful balance is not what serves my district.”
The discourse spilled into City Council chambers in mid-June, when scores of activists interrupted the group’s meeting demanding to voice their frustrations and concerns. They called for police officers who’ve killed citizens to be fired, more police accountability, and more oversight of Hancock’s administration.
“Y’all should have more control over the mayor,” one demonstrator, Kenny White, told the council. “It’s supposed to be checks and balances.”
The council canceled the next week’s meeting in anticipation of a similar takeover, so the protesters met outside and repeated their calls for systemic change within city government.
While some on council work to push the needle in that direction, Councilman Kevin Flynn said he isn’t so sure the proposals represent much of a shift.
“I’ve seen plenty of power confrontations between mayors and councils that remind me of what’s happening at the moment,” Flynn said.
Council approval of mayoral appointees
On deck for the November ballot is Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer’s proposal that the mayor’s appointees be subject to approval by the council. The council unanimously approved referring her proposal to the ballot in one June vote, but a second vote is needed to cement the decision.
Mandating council approval of appointees such as the city attorney, public safety director and police chief is meant to boost transparency between council members and those staffers while also building relationships, Sawyer said. If approved by voters, the change would only apply to new appointees and change little else about the process. Hancock and future mayors would still select and oversee the appointees
Councilman Paul Kashmann, said the move would likely change little as far as the general public is concerned but he supports it: “It would set up a dynamic where there would be more give and take in advance, behind the scenes, rather than creating a public display that might embarrass the candidates.”
Flynn agreed and said he would also like if the council could fire an appointee “because it’s only after we see the job they do that we know how good they will be,” he said.
That’s not currently part of Sawyer’s proposal.
A truly independent monitor
Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca, who has long said she wants to diminish the power of Hancock’s office, is working on a charter change that would separate the Office of the Independent Monitor from the mayor’s oversight.
The office provides citizen oversight for law enforcement agencies, but it currently reports to the mayor and its recommendations can be too easily ignored, said CdeBaca’s chief of staff, Lisa Calderón. The councilwoman wants he office to be truly independent.
It’s an old criticism of the office, which was established when John Hickenlooper was mayor, but one the council and voters could act on this year.
Torres said the city’s Citizen Oversight Board, which also examines law enforcement agencies, should be strengthened along with the monitor’s office.
Additional budget oversight and control
The council can do little about recent calls to defund the Denver Police Department — which are part of a national push to put less public money toward enforcement and more toward more social services and more — Councilwoman Robin Kniech said. The group is bound by the fiscal year — which coincides with the calendar year — to change any expenditures.
But those calls have underscored the importance of a proposal from Kniech that dates back to January, which would allow the council to change the city’s budget mid-year.
It’s an important step, Torres, Sawyer and Kashmann agreed, and another that will require approval from Denver residents.
“We are weakened in many ways when it comes to the budget timing and process,” Torres said.
Sawyer said she often asks for line-item expenditures but receives little or no information in return. Most recently, she asked about police expenses during the city’s George Floyd protests.
“We blanketed an entire statistical neighborhood in tear gas, including people who were sitting in their homes doing absolutely nothing,” Sawyer said. “That’s a lot of tear gas. How much did we spend on that?”
How can the council make a decision about whether and how to shift money from the police “when we don’t have a line item budget on what the police are spending money on?” she asked.
The council will vote in July whether to forward Kniech’s proposal to the November ballot.
Already on the November ballot
One measure that the council has voted to put on the 2020 ballot would allow the body to hire outside help, such as experts to explain complicated contracts or investigators to look into more sensitive internal matters. In the past, the Hancock administration has blocked the council from doing just that, which can make the job difficult, Kashmann said.
“I’m not looking to shift to a town manager form of government, but I do think the council has been hamstrung in our ability to do our job the way our constituents deserve,” he said.
The proposal is already set on the November ballot and others that soon could be are small but important changes, Kashmann said.
While the city has a strong-mayor system, Councilman Chris Herndon said that is not to say the council is “weak.”
“Checks and balances are always important, but we have to remember that much of our power lies in our ability to work collectively as a body,” he said.
Collectively, the proposed changes aren’t an attempt to shift power, Flynn said, but rather an effort to enhance the city’s checks and balances.
Whatever changes are in store for Denver’s form of government will likely come slowly, but that’s by design, Sawyer said. The city’s charter transcends the individuals serving on the council and in the mayor’s seat, and any changes made must serve the needs of citizens in the future as well as in the present.