DENVER — Now that Denver has a new mayor, Mike Johnston has new fans that were not supportive during the campaign, at least financially.
The inaugural celebration of Denver Mayor Mike Johnston was privately funded, there was no taxpayer money to throw the party.
Denver Vibes is a non-profit that was created to handle the mayor’s inauguration.
It solicited contributions at four price levels:
- $50,000
- $25,000
- $10,000
- $5,000
Contributions at each price level came with different levels of access and name recognition during the inaugural events.
Though, some of the companies and associations that contributed to the celebration spent money during the campaign, for his opponent, Kelly Brough.
National Association of Realtors contributed $471,156 to A Better Denver, the political action committee that was formed to help Brough become mayor. National Association of Realtors gave no money in support of Johnston during the campaign.
The realtor association name appeared in the second tier of inaugural contributors, suggesting a $25,000 contribution.
Associated General Contractors (AGC), which supports commercial construction, contributed $10,000 to the inaugural celebration.
During the campaign, AGC gave Johnston no money, but contributed $47,500 to the political action committee supporting Brough.
In emails to several of the contributing groups, Next with Kyle Clark asked how much they contributed and what the group expected in return for spending money to throw the new mayor a party.
“Many AGC member firms live and work in Denver and we are excited about the campaign to address safety, homelessness, and affordable housing to improve Denver for all,” said AGC of Colorado president Michael Gifford.
The Colorado Contractors Association (CCA) also contributed $10,000.
“Many CCA members live and work in Denver and we are excited to welcome the new administration. To the extent our contribution helps support Denver’s celebration of a new mayor, 13 council people and other elected officials, we see this as a great civic event that we are proud to be a part of,” said CCA President Tony Milo.
The Apartment Association of Metro Denver also contributed $10,000 to the celebration. During the campaign, the association gave both candidate campaigns $5,000 each. The association gave more to the political action committee supporting Brough. It gave A Better Denver $35,000, while contributing $10,000 to Advancing Denver, the political action committee supporting Johnston.
“Untreated addiction and its resulting destruction of mental health is a huge challenge for Denver. Scarce housing leads to prices being bid up, which hurts these at-risk people the most. We hope Denver leadership will embrace policies that provide treatment, expand housing supply to meet demand, and end the practice of allowing some individuals to exclude the rest of us from public spaces. We, like Mike Johnston and the majority of Denver City Council Members, want our children to be able to afford to live here and be able to safely enjoy the City,” said Drew Hamrick, Apartment Association of Metro Denver Senior Vice President of Government Affairs.
Besides the Apartment Association, other contributors that focus on housing included Airbnb and Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association.
After his inaugural address, Next with Kyle Clark asked Johnston what he was going to ask of those organizations in return, particularly because his top priority is to end homelessness in his first term.
“Our belief is today is the first process of bringing the city together, to actually get to work on the issues that are most important, that issue continues to be the most important, so we will ask everyone who was in attendance today, everyone who supported the effort today, everyone who watches at home on TV today, to be part of the effort going forward, which will start, many ways, with homelessness.”
Johnston said he would hold a news conference on Tuesday morning to announce his first-day and first 100-day plan.
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