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Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration agreed to restore some funding for the Office of the Clerk and Recorder, but called malarkey on Clerk Paul López’s claim that election integrity was in danger for the 2026 midterms. After Johnston proposed cutting his budget by $210,000, López last month blasted the mayor, saying he would have to close eight ballot drop boxes and a polling center for the 2026 election as a result. But in his letter to the City Council on Monday, Johnston wrote that “little evidence” had been presented to support the argument that the clerk’s funding request was necessary or that services would need to be “meaningfully reduced” under the proposed budget. “Providing millions in new funding to the clerk when every other department is making cuts would result in even steeper cuts to other programs and personnel,” he wrote. The budget proposed for the clerk in 2026 would have marked a reduction of nearly $4.5 million, or 24%, from the 2024 budget, when there was a presidential election. But the proposed amount was also 3% higher than the clerk’s budget was in 2022, the year of the last midterm election. In his letter Monday, Johnston said he would add $800,000 to the clerk’s office budget. López said he had provided proof of increasing costs and that the latest proposal was still $2.7 million short of what his office needs. “Even after our own cuts, the shortage proposed by the mayor will harm Denver voters and undermine turnout in the 2026 primary and general midterm elections,” he said Monday. López asked the City Council to amend the 2026 budget to add $2.7 million to his office’s spending plan. The quarrel between elected officials comes as Denver is facing a bleak budget outlook for 2026. The city is expected to bring in $200 million less in revenue than originally anticipated. Already, Johnston’s office has imposed layoffs, a hiring freeze and service changes to help make up for that shortfall. The mayor, whose office has wide latitude to write the city’s spending plan, proposed his 2026 budget — with $77 million in contract and service cuts — on Sept. 16. The City Council then voted to recommend 16 changes, amounting to $18.7 million more in spending, on Oct. 10. Johnston ultimately addressed 11 of the council’s recommendations and added $4 million in additional spending. Those extra dollars will come from interest earned on federal grant dollars awarded through the American Rescue Plan Act, Johnston wrote. He noted that funding is a one-time infusion that won’t be available next year. Here are some of the other recommendations the mayor’s office accepted: Johnston agreed to add $2.9 million to the Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance Program, bringing it to $15.1 million in spending for 2026. The council had asked him to add $7 million. The mayor’s office will also add $2 million for this year’s budget, bringing 2025 funding for the program to $16 million. The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure will create a new system for residents to appeal parking citations without having to attend court. Johnston’s proposal originally abolished the city’s parking magistrates, eliminating any non-court options for residents who want to appeal their ticket. There is no new cost associated with this item. Johnston’s team agreed to add the full $125,000 that council requested to the Denver Immigrant Legal Services Fund. That brings the budget for those services to $750,000 in 2026. The mayor’s office will restore $120,000 to the Auditor’s Office budget. The council requested the restoration of nearly $500,000. Mayoral appointees will be moved under the mayor’s office budget rather than being spread out among various departments. This change has no cost. City Council president Amanda Sandoval said she received the letter and was “eager to review the details” with the rest of council. “I’m encouraged that he agreed with some of City Council’s recommendations to the 2026 budget,” she said in a written statement. “This demonstrates the strength of our collective leadership and our shared commitment to serving Denver residents responsibly and equitably.” Johnston said several council requests couldn’t be addressed without making further cuts elsewhere. Among those items were requests to restore $500,000 in funding for the city’s Support Team Assisted Response, or STAR program, which deploys behavioral health clinicians to people in distress. Johnston said that if the council is willing to consider a 5% budget reduction to their own budget, that savings could be used for STAR. Here are some of the other council requests that the mayor’s team rejected: Johnston said the city won’t spend $500,000 for the Denver Day Works program, which helps homeless people find low-to-no-barrier work experience. He said the city’s workforce development program also assists homeless people. He also rejected a $600,000 request for the WorkReady Denver Program, which connected immigrants with jobs during the height of the migrant crisis. The mayor also pointed to the city’s workforce development program to absorb these services. The city won’t add $1.36 million for right-of-way enforcement, Johnston wrote. He said some right-of-way enforcement positions will be filled once the hiring freeze is lifted. The council will have a chance to propose amendments Nov. 3 and has until Nov. 10 to approve Denver’s final budget. Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot.
