DENVERITES URGED TO MAINTAIN THEIR RESOLVE

In speech, Hancock urges resolve and “doing what is right”

Mayor Hancock takes somber tone amid COVID-19 in his state of the city speech.

Facing economic hardship, homelessness, a tax shortfall and the possibility of a strong resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic in Denver, Mayor Michael Hancock urged residents Monday to maintain their resolve, lest things turn for the worse.

Hancock’s annual state of the city speech looked different this year. And the mayor took a somber tone as he spoke into a camera streaming his speech online rather than to a room full of community members.

Hancock stressed the need for the city to face the challenges ahead as cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, rise once more in Colorado. He mourned the 300 Denverites and more than 1,600 Coloradans the virus has killed.

“Staying together, as a community, is more important than ever before. In these last few months, we’ve faced uncertainty, upheaval and loss,” Hancock said. “But we have also acted with resolve.”

Maintaining that resolve means ignoring partisan politics and leaning on the science-backed measures to curb the spread of the virus, Hancock said. That includes wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and more.

“These temporary public health measures are about social responsibility, yours and mine, to ourselves, each other and the welfare of our city, state and nation,” Hancock said.

Such measures are meant to help Denver’s economy back on its feet, Hancock said. City officials are working to provide financial support to small businesses, rent and mortgage help, food drives and free testing.

Cautioning that he doesn’t want Denver to transform into the next national hot spot, Hancock said his administration is collecting protective gear with the goal of stockpiling a six-month supply.

The mayor praised Denver’s response to the virus and his early adoption of a stay-at-home order alongside mask mandates, but he also offered words of caution.

“But this is far from over, and I’m asking you to stay the course,” Hancock said.

Denver is projected to fall $227 million short of previously anticipated tax revenue, Hancock said. Already city employees are taking mandatory, unpaid furlough days, but more, difficult cuts are on the horizon, he said.

However, Hancock said his administration will maintain essential services while strategically investing in the city’s future through an equitable lens. At the same time, the mayor said he’ll call on federal politicians to renew unemployment benefits and to send more aid directly to cities and states.

“Our local recovery must be supported if there’s going to be a national recovery,” he said.

Hancock said his administration will continue public projects already on track and will speed up already funded infrastructure programs. In addition, the administration will waive fees and expedite approval for five affordable housing projects and five green projects in the works.

Embracing an environmentally friendly economy is a good way to create new jobs, lower utility costs and correct public health and environmental disparities, he said.

At the same time, more work is needed to help people experiencing homelessness in Denver, Hancock said. He touted the forthcoming city sanctioned encampments — though stressing they’re temporary measures — and urged residents to support a measure from Councilwoman Robin Kniech which would provide more funding for shelters, services and housing options.

Hancock also called for further police reform, saying Denver’s deputies will be outfitted with body cameras this year. He also called racism a public health crisis and said until the community can discuss and address the issue honestly, nothing will be solved.

“Let’s be honest. Racism brought to this hemisphere over four centuries ago, through the original sin of slavery, still impedes our progress as a society,” he said.

While Hancock’s laundry list of Denver’s hardships might seem daunting, he urged residents to take a positive approach and to work together with the common goal of coming through the pandemic stronger than ever. He asked residents to go out and get into a bit of “good trouble,” borrowing a signature slogan of the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta, the civil rights legend who passed away July 17.

“We’re not a city defined by what’s wrong with us, we’re a city defined by what’s right, what we can make right, and by doing what’s right,” Hancock said.