Denver City Council member Chris Hinds noted Monday that Mayor Mike Johnson was in the audience. He said his predecessor, Michael Hancock, never attended council meetings. He then corrected himself and said he attended one.
The City Council is Denver’s legislative branch and the mayor’s office is the executive branch. Johnston was in the audience Monday as the City Council honored city employees for their work on the mayor’s House1000 initiative.
Council member Sarah Parady lauded the employees for doing exemplary work during a challenging time. Not only were they working with a new mayor and City Council, but they were also under tremendous pressure to make House1000 successful. The city deemed it a success as more than 1,200 people were moved into shelter in the final months of 2023.
“City staff have been on the front lines of some really ugly behavior,” Parady said. Despite that, they upheld the city’s values of “We don’t think people should die on the streets.”