In June, Denver elected its first new mayor in 12 years. The election, following the transformational tenure of Mayor Michael Hancock, got some Denverites and Councilmembers wondering, is that too long to serve in office?
Currently, Denver Councilmembers and the Mayor can serve three four-year terms. The city has a history of electing mayoral incumbents; former mayors Michael Hancock, John Hickenlooper, Wellington Webb and Federico Peña all won reelection for second or third terms.
But on Monday, Councilmembers Amanda Sawyer and Amanda Sandoval raised the idea of shortening term limits to two, like the limits for the governor and president. Sawyer presented on the topic at Council's Charter Review Committee.
"During the campaign, we heard from a lot of people that they would like to revisit the discussion around term limits," Sawyer said. "There are pluses and minuses to everything, there are unintended consequences to every decision we make, so we really wanted to kind of learn a little bit more about what people were thinking."
Research from Sawyer's office found that the majority of the largest 30 cities in the U.S. exist at opposite ends of the spectrum, with either no term limit, or just two term limits. Most cities studied have four-year terms.
Term limits are rather new in Denver's history; voters first approved them in 1994 (and affirmed limits just two years later, when a ballot measure to remove them failed).
Sawyer emphasized that the initial idea is far from a formal proposal -- any change would require Council to vote to refer a ballot measure to voters. The earliest voters would see this proposal on the ballots would be November 2024.
"If it's not something that council members are interested in doing, then then we won't do it," she said.
Other Councilmembers supported the existing three-term limit.
Many said they had not heard from their constituents about concerns around term limits. Councilmember Paul Kashmann called the plan "a solution in search of a problem," while Councilmember Kevin Flynn said that three terms helps Council work together in a strong mayor system.
Others said they supported three terms because it gives new legislators time to learn how city government works and become more effective over time. Councilmember Chris Hinds pointed to the way that elected officials can turn over quickly, while lobbyists can stay in place and maintain power for much longer.
"I'd want to make sure that if we do have a compromise that we're not accidentally, negatively impacting the institutional knowledge of our elected body," he said.
Councilmember Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez said she has seen that dynamic play out in the State Capitol, where she served before her election to Council in June.
"What we see happening is that the lobby has the institutional knowledge, they know who to speak to, they know the process, and they have the upper hand," she said. "But I also believe that in order to move forward with anything, we would need to have a better representative survey and data to be able to support that."
An initial survey from Sawyer's office found initial support for shorter limits -- but was not representative of the city at large.
Almost 700 people answered the survey, but Sawyer noted that make up of respondents did not represent Denver's demographics or geography because white residents, older residents and higher income residents were overrepresented.
Around 340 people submitted comments about term limits, which were more evenly split in favor and opposed to changes. Ideas ranged from a two-term limit for the mayor but not Council, shortening the limit for the District Attorney as well and staggering elections.
Resident comments -- all anonymous -- were all over the map. "Officials get complacent the longer they're in office," one person wrote. Another agreed: "This is a long overdue change. Twelve years is too long."
"This seems an ill timed misuse of council energy," someone else wrote. "I'd much prefer the council work on ending our street encampments and public safety."
After Monday's Charter Review Committee, Sawyer said she is not yet sure what next steps might look like in revisiting Denver's term limits.
Editor's note: This article has been corrected to reflect that one idea submitted by respondents was for a two-term limit for the Denver mayor.
