I believe in substance over style and symbols, although they can have tremendous value. One example was the Wellington Webb for Mayor campaign in 1991 where myself and my wife, Wilma, spent 42 days walking the city and staying in 42 different residents’ homes. The symbol was my tennis shoes that caught voters’ attention, and then I hit them with substance.

I believe we need to focus on seniority as well as merit for city employees. When you don’t have institutional knowledge, it leads to bad public policy, whether in local government or at a national level. Example, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth; do I need to say more?

Historic Facts

  • The McNichols Building was not named only after longtime Denver Mayor Bill McNichols. During my administration, I urged the City Council to name the building in honor of the McNichols brothers. Steve McNichols served as Colorado’s governor from 1957 to 1963; Bill McNichols served as Denver’s 36th mayor from 1968-1983.
  • When trying to revitalize Downtown Denver early in my administration in 1991, I agreed city agencies could serve as anchors for larger redevelopment projects. Therefore, I shared with Visit Denver and the Urban Renewal Authority that those agencies would stay downtown in the Denver Dry Building. Two city anchor tenants and private development saved the Denver Dry building
  • Before the Denver Pavilions became a reality, the project was in litigation between the owner Scott Moore and the city. I invited Moore for a one-on-one meeting at a downtown bar. After his five to six scotch drinks, and my three to four rum Cokes, we had an agreement.
  • The Coalition for the Homeless needed shelter for the growing population. I saw an opportunity by renting the Permit Center building to the coalition adjacent to the City and County Building, to be used for apartments. The city charged $1 a year for 30 years to house the homeless there.

Fun Facts: Did You Know?

  • The first flight to land and depart from the new Denver International Airport in 1995 was a private plane owned by cable magnet and pilot Bill Daniels. Yes, he served as my campaign chairman and he was a Republican.
  • During negotiations by former Colorado Avalanche (the voters’ Quebec Nordiques) and Denver Nuggets owners to sell the teams, the city of Denver put in a clause that Denver had the first right of refusal if the teams were to be sold. Then NBA Commissioner David Stern had a fit and came to Denver demanding the clause be removed. That didn’t happen. My roots are from the Southside of Chicago, Gary, Indiana and east Denver. I don’t bluff and I don’t do random. The clause was later removed by a different administration.
  • In addition to being the first pilot to use DIA, Bill Daniels opened his private home, called Cableland, for the city to hold such historic events as the Summit of the Eight. He later donated the home to the city for a mayoral residence, although Wilma and I never lived there, we did host some events. When former University of Denver Chancellor Dan Ritchie heard that Daniels donated his home to the city, Ritchie reminded Daniels that the chancellor had no donated home. Bill told him to go pick a home and send him the bill.
  • One of the reasons that the DIA baggage system was such a nightmare was a disastrous public test on a circular track when DIA is longitudinal. The baggage flying off the rails was not a pretty sight.
  • The current Wellington E. Webb Municipal Building is the former location of the University of Denver Law School and parking lot.
  • It’s important to reward your staff and develop team loyalty. That became clear during a large snowstorm when DIA officials called and said the keys for the snow plows were locked in a shed behind a locked gate and the snowplows drivers had no access. City employee Steve Garcia drove a truck through the locked fence and distributed the keys to the drivers. As mayor, I was so proud he didn’t wait around and got the job done.

Thoughts Moving Forward (to whomever wants to use them)

  1. Reemphasize basic city services and you can still do the Robert Moses projects. Don’t ignore local and minority businesses; we live here.
  2. Pull up the rail lines along Welton Street and slow down traffic. Welton Street is not the Indy 500.
  3. Set up a cultural walkway through Denver. Beginning in Auraria, recognize the Latino community; the Golda Meir House for the Jewish community; Sakura Square for the Asian community; and the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library for the Black community. This would be similar to The Freedom Trail in Boston, a 2.5-mile walking path marked by a red brick line that connects 16 nationally significant historic sites.
  4. I support the plan to set up a trolley system for the new Mile High Stadium under consideration and a proposal for a giant Ferris Wheel in LoDo that would provide amazing views of the mountains for riders. It worked in London to attract visitors; it could work in Denver.
  5. Develop electric charging stations at golf courses.
  6. Is that really the best redesign for the Kennedy Gold Course? That design looks pretty old.
  7. The Auditor should audit Denver Water and make sure water rates won’t increase to pay for the relocation of Denver Water offices for the new Denver Broncos stadium. We need to follow Councilwoman Jamie Torres’ lead in projecting the neighborhood.
  8. The organization of the Blair-Caldwell Library should be put on the ballot because of the uniqueness of the facility. The Denver Zoo may be a good model. Also, the city should follow Councilman Darrell Watson’s suggestion to purchase a nearby adjacent empty building for the library as a lecture hall.

Park Hill Park

One of my proudest moments after leaving the mayor’s office was helping the Park Hill neighborhood and voters citywide save 155 acres of open space from a concrete jungle. The Parks and Recreation Department has done a good job coming up with a design for the new park. The west side and the east side of the park should be built together. My goal here is to suggest putting a little more meat on the bone for the western section of the park.

  • A pickle ball court to be known as the “Big Pickle”
  • An ice rink named Avalanche Rink
  • A basketball and volleyball field house named Nuggets Field House
  • A football field named Broncos Field
  • Soccer fields named Rapids Summit Field
  • Running track and field named after Jerome Biffle, a Denver resident who won a long jump gold medal in the 1952 Summer Olympics and became a legendary track and field coach at East High School; and Glenn Morris, a Colorado native and Colorado State University alumnus who won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1936 Summer Olympics, setting a new world record.

There’s not enough money in the bond to fully build out the Park Hill Park without additional financing. I again recommend that the city use additional Certificates of Participation better known as COP.

Finally, my thoughts on the future of our country. As we begin giving serious thought to the 2028 presidential campaign, we should all be singing from the same hymnal. We must expand the U.S. Supreme Court and set staggered term limits. Considering all the recent court decisions, this move would please the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

As a nation, we also cannot forget our heroes, including Doris “Dorie” Miller who was a mess attendant during the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. He shot down between two and six aircraft to defend and protect his country and was the first Black American to receive a Navy Cross. His name deserves to remain on an aircraft carrier under construction. Any attempts to remove it are clearly racism.

Editor’s note: Wellington E. Webb is an American politician. He served as a Democratic member of the Colorado House of Representatives and was the first African American mayor of Denver, Colorado, serving from 1991 to 2003.