Your Daily Guide

🙅 Inside Mayor Johnston’s Budget Battle with Council

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston responded to City Council’s 2027 budget recommendations this week, declining multiple requests for additional spending. City Council pushed for around $26 million in various suggested changes to the mayor’s initial budget proposal, but Johnston only accepted $4.2 million of their suggestions, warning that the city doesn’t have room for much new spending in 2027. [Denver Gazette]

• Public safety: Johnston declined City Council’s request to redirect $8.9 million from the Transportation and Mobility Special Revenue Fund toward street-safety improvements, instead of the parking operations that fund was originally intended for.
• Rental assistance: Johnston also rejected City Council’s request for an additional $5.5 million for the Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance program, which helps people facing eviction. Johnston explained that he is open to additional funding, but wants to wait to reconsider until a team from Harvard University delivers its evaluation of Denver’s rental assistance program in the spring. [Harvard University]
• Sheriff’s recruitment: Johnston declined $2 million to fund an additional recruitment class for the Denver Sheriff’s Department, saying the city already has two classes planned and budgeted for 2027.
• So, what did he say yes to? The mayor agreed to more funding for Denver Health including money for the city “drunk tank,” more funding for the Business Impact Opportunity program, and agreed to fill 18 vacant roles in emergency communications, 311 response, inspections, and Parks & Rec.
• What’s next? On Oct. 26, City Council will hold a public hearing, and the final budget must be passed on Nov. 9.

✈️ Is DIA an ICE Hot Spot?

Flights associated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations at Denver International Airport have more than tripled in the past two years, according to a new investigation from 9News. That increase was previously unknown to both city officials and airport leadership. ICE-related aircraft use DIA more frequently than most major airports in the country, but many of the flights are transferring ICE detainees, rather than being final deportation flights. [9News]

• Key Lime Air, a small airline that contracts with ICE, has been dominating Denver headlines recently, ever since City Council approved the company’s lease at DIA despite tensions over their work with ICE. 9News’ investigation found that four out of every five ICE flights at DIA are actually being carried out by other airlines, not Key Lime Air.

😷 Elected Officials Receive Suspicious Mail

Recently, multiple Colorado lawmakers received suspicious letters, some containing a white substance. The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating these mailings, which follow a similar pattern to some other recent reports from elected officials in other states. Reps. Joe Neguse, Jason Crow, Diana DeGette, and Brittany Petterson confirmed receiving the suspicious mail, as well as Sen. John Hickenlooper’s office in Denver. [CPR]

🛣️ I-270 Under Construction Until 2033

The Colorado Department of Transportation broke ground Monday on the long-awaited, $806-million revamp of I-270, the interstate that connects I-25 and I-70 from the I-25/U.S. 36 interchange to northeast Denver. The project is planned in phases and will add a tolled express lane in each direction, replace 12 aging bridges, rebuild an interchange, build a pedestrian bridge, improve ramps, and add sidewalks, multiuse paths and bus stops along local streets. The entire project is set to be finished in 2033. [Denver Post 🔒]

🚃 CoCo’s New Botched Ballot Captain

On Monday, leaders of the Front Range Passenger Rail District unanimously voted to name Pam Anderson as the new designated election official to oversee Ballot Issue 7A, which looks to increase sales tax in the FRPRD. The former Jefferson County clerk and recorder replaces the FRPRD’s previous election official, Brent E. Butzin, who resigned on Oct. 12 after 800,000 ineligible Colorado voters mistakenly got ballots featuring question 7A on them. [Denver Post 🔒]

🔍 Data Release Denied after DNA Tampering Case

This week, the Colorado Supreme Court denied a request for the release of DNA analyses in about 900 criminal cases worked on by Yvonne “Missy” Woods, the former CBI forensic scientist who was imprisoned for altering and deleting case data. The decision overrules a Boulder County ruling from February that would have seen the documents turned over to the defense team for murder suspect Michael Clark. Justice William Hood of the Colorado Supreme Court called that decision “at best, premature” and wrote in his opinion that the lower court should “make more complete findings” in Clark’s case. [Denver Gazette]

🌊 Will This Election Bring a Blue Wave?

Recent polling indicates Democrats nationally have nearly a 10 percentage point lead on a generic ballot, and they are expected to retake the U.S. House of Representatives, if not also the Senate. Today, host Bree Davies chats with editor of The Lever David Sirota about Colorado’s role in a potential blue wave, as well as the hotly contested CD8 race between Manny Rutinel and Gabe Evans and some GOP endorsements for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Weiser. [City Cast Denver 🎧]