Denver Mayor Mike Johnston Delivers First State of the City Address

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston Delivers First State of the City Address

Published on July 22, 2024

Today, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston delivered his first State of the City address at the historic Paramount Theater in downtown Denver. Joined by Denver City Council members, local elected officials, city leaders and residents, Mayor Johnston celebrated Denver's achievements over the last year, highlighted the city's strongly held belief that our toughest problems are solvable - and we are the ones to solve them - and outlined priorities for the year to come.

Highlights from the Mayor's State of the City address include:

Addressing Unsheltered Homelessness in Denver

In the years before Mayor Johnston took office, unsheltered homelessness in Denver skyrocketed and residents across the city named homelessness as their biggest concern.

• On his first full day in office, Mayor Johnston declared a State of Emergency on Homelessness, activating the Emergency Operations Center and bringing top city leaders together to develop what is now the All In Mile High program.

• Mayor Johnston set a bold goal to help 1,000 Denverites get off the streets and into housing by the end of 2023 and he delivered on that promise.

• As of today, we've opened 8 All In Mile High sites, acquired 1,202 transitional housing units, helped more than 1,650 people get off the streets and into safe, stable housing.

• In just one year, Denver has become one of the national models in the effort to end unsheltered homelessness.

• Denver is also on track to end unsheltered veteran homelessness in the city by the end of 2024.

Effectively Responding to the Unprecedented Migrant Crisis

• Over the last year, in addition to aggressively taking on unsheltered homelessness, Denver also saw a historic influx of nearly 43,000 newcomers - many of whom arrived in Denver on a bus with no support system.

• Denver responded in heroic ways: non-profit partners stepped up to help, volunteer groups formed to provide clothes, food, and housing, and countless city employees went above and beyond their official job description to support the efforts.

• We stood up the first-of-its-kind Denver Asylum Seekers Program , which helps newcomers apply for asylum, learn English, gain valuable job training for an in-demand career, and be ready to start working as soon as their work authorization is approved.

• Denver showed that you do not have to choose between being a welcoming city and a responsible city - we came together and brought new ideas to the table that allowed us to support newcomers while continuing to give residents the high-quality city services they expect.

Reimagining Public Safety

• Embracing evidence-based public safety strategies, Mayor Johnston and the city are investing in a comprehensive public safety plan to make Denver one of the safest big cities in America.

• This summer, the city helped put 700 young people to work, supported 20 community activation pop-ups that bring joy to neighborhoods, invested in additional infrastructure like street lighting, and added more patrols to places that need it.

• The Denver Police Department is stepping up patrols in places where risk of crime is high, ensuring police officers and local businesses and residents have an open line of communication and trust, and standing up more intervention programs for at-risk individuals.

• In his first year, Mayor Johnston also announced the new Office of Neighborhood Safety, which will align community-based services and make it easier for communities to engage in services without the pressure of law enforcement contact.

• While the work is just getting started, we're already seeing the positive impact of these strategies. Auto theft, gun crime, and property crime have all decreased by double digits this year.

Give5 Mile High

• Bringing Denver together around a spirit of service will also improve quality of life throughout the city.

• That is why Mayor Johnston and his wife, Courtney, are launching a new community engagement program initiative called Give5 Mile High, which encourages Denverites to volunteer 5 hours of their time each month in various service projects for our city and neighbors.

• Give5 Mile High will kick off with their first service event in August, partnering with Denver Public Schools to ensure every student is set up for success for the upcoming school year.

• Learn more about Give5 Mile High and sign up to join the initiative at www.denvergov.org/Give5MileHigh

Investing in a Vibrant City

• Downtown Denver is the economic and cultural engine of our city, and we cannot have a vibrant Denver without a vibrant downtown.
• In the year ahead, Denver will begin to build the next generation of downtown, starting with a revitalized 16th Street, and a steadfast commitment to make downtown Denver's Central Neighborhood District, a place where residents want to live, work, and play.
• Earlier this year, Mayor Johnston announced the Vibrant Denver plan, which will make a significant investment in downtown without raising taxes by investing in the Denver retail, restaurants, artists, and entrepreneurs that make Denver so unique.

• In addition to revitalizing downtown, Mayor Johnston is also focused on bringing more vibrancy to Denver neighborhoods.

• This fall, Mayor Johnston will host community conversations in every council district to ask residents what they want to see in their own neighborhoods and identify the types of investments the city needs to make to make those visions a reality.

Making Denver Affordable for All

• Affordability is top of mind for Denverites across the city.

• We have the opportunity to show the nation that a city can both grow economically and remain affordable for the residents who make up the fabric of our city.

• If Denver does nothing, our city will become a city just for the rich - and the families that make up the soul of our city, that built our neighborhoods and make the city vibrant will be pushed out.

• That's why Mayor Johnston is partnering with members of City Council to bring the Affordable Denver fund to this November's ballot.

• Affordable Denver will raise $100M every year to go directly toward affordable housing for the teachers, nurses, seniors, and working families who desperately need relief.

• This measure will put Denver on the path to deliver 45,000 units of affordable housing over the next ten years.

The full speech is available to watch online here. The written transcript of the address is available here.

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