Hancock Hosts Neighborhood Newspaper Editors at Policy Pow-wow
In an unprecedented move, Mayor Michael Hancock invited the neighborhood news editors to his office for a discussion on the City of Denver. He spoke on his first 100 days in office, his plans for 2012 and shared his vision of turning Denver into “a world-class city” – much like Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Mayor Hancock’s agenda boils down to four main facets: improving children’s services, public safety, growing the economy and making the government more efficient.
“I’m most excited about our agenda around children,” said Hancock.
According to the Mayor, Denver has enough resources dedicated to its kids, but the resources are spread out in a way that compromises their impact. Last November, he appointed Lindsay Neil as the Executive Director of Children’s Affairs, and tasked her with coordinating existing programs and working toward the goal of providing opportunities for children from “cradle to career.”
As for public safety, Hancock showcased his appointments of former Supreme Court justice Alex Martinez to Manager of Safety and Robert White to the Chief of Police as an example of his continuing efforts to improve neighborhoods. Hancock said the appointment of White, in particular, represents a concerted effort to “impact a department that is demoralized and has lost the trust of the public.”
On the economic front, Mayor Hancock considers his appointment of an atypical Office of Economic Development Director, LJS Capital founder Paul Washington, to the office a move in the right direction. Hancock said Washington’s focus on small business development is the fast track to job creation.
Finally, he highlighted the Peak Performance standards his administration has set to recalibrate, reenergize and “re-efficiencize” (his new word) city government. Hancock calls this streamlining effort, “the most wholesale review ever done in this city.”
Additionally, the Mayor is focusing on these issues in 2012:
• The creation of an aerotropolis around Denver International Airport
• The future of the National Western Stock Show
• Consideration of a 2022 Winter Olympic bid
• Homelessness
It’s Minneapolis-St. Paul that Mayor Hancock cites as a shining example for Denver, a city that became the home of Fortune 500 companies seemingly overnight by creating a climate that nurtured business and labor while improving neighborhoods and focusing on children.
Editors from the Front Porch, the Urban Dweller Newsletter, Urban Spectrum, North Denver Tribune, Your Hub, the Washington Park Profile, Downtown Denver News and Denver Weekly News were in attendance. The meeting adjourned with talk of making it a quarterly affair.
For more information on the Mayor’s office, visit denvergov.org/mayor