Coyote Gulch

Saturday, August 2, 2003

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Election
The Friends of Denver Muncipal Service, led by DIA employee Dan Brown, are probably huddled up this morning plotting strategy says the Rocky Mountain News [August 2, 2003, "Pay plan foes see big issue, little time"]. From the article, "Brown and his group initially proposed a charter amendment to oppose the mayor's plan. But to get it on the ballot, they need the signatures of 10 percent of Denver's registered voters - more than 33,000 - by the close of business Wednesday, which is 90 days before the election. Brown said the group also is considering a different route: Asking voters in November to approve putting the question on the ballot at the next regular municipal election, which is May 2007. Going that route would drastically cut the number of signatures needed - they could do it with 5,383 - but they face the same time crunch."
Don't forget to attend today's meeting at the Webb Building. The fun starts at 9:00AM.
7:54:55 AM

2003 Denver Mayoral Transition
Mayor Hickenlooper is trying to show employees and Council that he will not be running City Hall the same way that his predecessor did. After participating in a public forum on Wednesday, knowing that he would hear few positive comments from the crowd of mostly City employees, he sent e-mail on Friday to those same City employees. The e-mail covered the proposed Charter amendment and his reasons for seeking it. He is convinced that the City needs the flexibility offerred by moving the employee salary survey out of the Charter and into an ordinance. He also thanked employees for their input, asked us to come to other meetings, and requested that we stay involved in finding creative ways to address the shortfall.
E-mail is cool Mr. Hickenlooper, we occasionally heard from Mayor Webb the same way. I'd prefer to see an e-mail that would point to your weblog. You could say the same things but there would be a place for comments. The best part is that in the future all of us would have an easily accessible place to access the historical record containing much of the conversation around the issues. We'd also get a bit of insight into your personality. In other words, it would be a way to get to know you better. That might lead to increased trust and respect. At the very least more information would flow.
There's a short article in today's Rocky Mountain News [August 2, 2003, "Mayor pulls up a chair with council"] talking about how the Mayor sat at the same table with Council members at this week's Mayor Council meeting. From the article, "Like the cool kid in the lunchroom, Mayor John Hickenlooper surprised City Council members Tuesday when he sat with them during his weekly mayor-council meeting. For 12 years, former Mayor Wellington Webb sat at his desk while the council sat at a separate table. The mayor and council would discuss building developments, zoning plans and city contracts, among other things." Nice touch. The article also attempts to clarify the Mayor's stinker of a one-liner from the Mayoral Forum at the Masonic Temple in North Denver on May 19th. Nick Trujillo, from Public works, took part of his 3 minutes on Wednesday to remind the Mayor about the incident. I was there Nick, the Mayor was trying to make a joke, in an uncomfortable and mostly hostile environment. No one laughed.
7:48:03 AM

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