The Platform
Comprehensive, data-driven proposals for a just Denver. Every policy includes the problem, the solution, and how we pay for it. Click any proposal to read the full plan.
Housing & Homelessness
The Denver Social Housing Act
10,000 publicly owned, permanently affordable homes. Mixed-income, democratically governed, and funded without raising your taxes.
Read Full Proposal →Denver Rent Stabilization Act
Hard cap on rent increases at CPI or 3%, whichever is lower. No vacancy decontrol. No loopholes. Real protection for every Denver renter.
Read Full Proposal →Denver Tenant Bill of Rights
Universal right to counsel, 90-day notice for rent increases, anti-retaliation protections, and the right to organize. Every renter deserves dignity.
Read Full Proposal →Vacancy Tax on Empty Units
Progressive tax on vacant residential properties. You don't get to sit on empty homes while people sleep on the street.
Read Full Proposal →Ban Corporate Landlords
Denver is for humans. Ban institutional investors from buying residential property. Homes are for living, not for hedge fund portfolios.
Read Full Proposal →City-Funded Community Land Trusts
Permanently affordable homeownership through community-controlled land. Housing that stays affordable forever, not just until the tax credit expires.
Read Full Proposal →Anti-Displacement Zones
Protect communities around transit stations and development areas. No more building light rail to gentrify neighborhoods.
Read Full Proposal →Housing First - End Homelessness in Denver
Give people homes first, then address everything else. Finland did it and is the only EU country where homelessness is declining. It's cheaper than shelters. It works.
Read Full Proposal →Zoning for All: End Exclusionary Zoning in Denver
Legalize homes on every block. Eliminate single-family-only zoning, allow ADUs by right citywide, and remove parking minimums near transit to make housing more abundant and affordable.
Read Full Proposal →Short-Term Rental Reform: Housing First, Hotels Second
Thousands of Denver homes sit empty except for tourists while workers cannot find affordable rentals. Restrict short-term rentals to primary residences, ban investor-owned STRs, and return housing to Denverites.
Read Full Proposal →Anti-Harassment Protections for Tenants
A standalone Denver anti-harassment ordinance that names and bans coercive landlord tactics - utility shutoffs, lockouts, pretextual inspections, threats, and constructive eviction - backed by civil penalties and a private right of action so tenants can sue.
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Workers & Wages
$25 Minimum Wage
A real living wage for a real city. $25/hr is what a family of four needs to survive in Denver - and it's still not enough for single parents.
Read Full Proposal →One Fair Wage - Eliminate Tipped Minimum
Tips are a bonus, not a wage. Every worker gets the full minimum wage. No more subsidizing restaurants with your server's rent money.
Read Full Proposal →Gig Worker Protections
If you work in Denver, you deserve Denver's protections. Reclassify gig workers as employees with the ABC test. End the exploitation loophole.
Read Full Proposal →Sectoral Bargaining & Wage Boards
Industry-wide wage negotiations instead of company-by-company unionizing. Every restaurant worker covered. Every hotel worker protected. The European model, adapted for Denver.
Read Full Proposal →Works Councils & Worker Codetermination
Workers elect councils in every workplace with real power over scheduling, safety, and layoffs. Workers sit on company boards. This is how Germany became an industrial powerhouse - by treating workers as partners, not costs.
Read Full Proposal →Right to Disconnect & 32-Hour Work Week
Your boss can't text you at midnight. Your weekend is yours. And the evidence shows we can work 4 days and produce the same output. France, Iceland, Belgium, and Spain already did it.
Read Full Proposal →Universal Paid Leave
6 months paid parental leave. 4 weeks paid vacation minimum. Unlimited paid sick days. Every other wealthy country does this. America is the only one that doesn't.
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Healthcare
Healthcare as a Right
Medical debt forgiveness, hospital cost transparency, non-police mental health crisis response, community health centers in every neighborhood, dental care for all, and a behavioral health system that goes beyond crisis response.
Read Full Proposal →Aging, Disability & Accessibility
Age-friendly city design for Denver's fastest-growing demographic. Universal accessibility beyond ADA minimums. Senior services expansion. Caregiver support. Social isolation prevention.
Read Full Proposal →Disability Rights & Inclusion
Full inclusion for the 10% of Denver residents living with disabilities. Enforce ADA with real teeth. Accessible housing in every new development. Supported employment and city contractor requirements. Independent living services. Police accountability for disability-related violence. Nothing about us without us.
Read Full Proposal →Food Access & Urban Agriculture
Eliminate food deserts in Denver by 2030. Healthy corner store initiative. Urban farm expansion on city land. Free school meals for all DPS students. Community food hubs in every food desert. Protect and expand community gardens.
Read Full Proposal →Maternal & Infant Health Equity
End racial disparities in birth outcomes. Community doulas for every Medicaid birth. NICU family support and financial navigation. Anti-racism accountability in hospitals. Home visiting in every neighborhood. No parent should face racist harassment while their child fights for their life.
Read Full Proposal →Reproductive Healthcare Access
Defend and expand abortion access in Denver. Ensure Amendment 79's constitutional promise becomes a lived reality - adequate provider reimbursement, clinic sustainability, medication abortion access, and a city that protects patients and providers from federal and interstate threats. Bodily autonomy is non-negotiable.
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Climate & Environment
Climate & Environmental Justice
Investigate radioactive contamination from Rocky Flats affecting Denver. Remediate lead in Denver soil and water. 100% renewable city operations by 2030. Environmental justice for frontline communities.
Read Full Proposal →Waste Reduction & Circular Economy
Universal curbside composting. 90% waste diversion by 2035. Plastic bag and polystyrene bans. Right to repair. Producer responsibility for packaging waste. Zero-waste city operations. Water resilience and greywater reuse for Colorado's arid future.
Read Full Proposal →Water Security & Conservation
Protect Denver's water future. Mandatory conservation standards, greywater recycling, drought-resilient infrastructure, and equitable water rates. Denver is a semi-arid city acting like water is unlimited. It isn't.
Read Full Proposal →Green Jobs & a Just Transition for Denver Workers
Fund retraining for fossil-fuel and trades workers, build apprenticeships in solar, weatherization, and transit, and attach local-hire and prevailing-wage standards to every publicly funded climate project so the clean-energy transition creates good union jobs for Denver residents.
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Public Safety
Mental Health Crisis Response: Expand STAR Citywide
Denver's STAR program proves that trained mental health responders outperform armed police for behavioral health crises - at lower cost, with better outcomes, and without violence. Fund it fully. Deploy it everywhere.
Read Full Proposal →Community Safety & Police Reform
Actually reduce crime through evidence-based investment in communities, not just policing. Civilian oversight with subpoena power. Mental health crisis teams, not armed officers. Community violence intervention. Address root causes: housing, jobs, mental health, and youth opportunity.
Read Full Proposal →Emergency Preparedness & Climate Resilience
Wildfire smoke response plan with clean air shelters in every neighborhood. Extreme heat action plan with cooling centers. Flood preparedness and green stormwater infrastructure. Community resilience hubs. Equitable disaster response.
Read Full Proposal →LGBTQ+ Sanctuary & Protection
Full municipal LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination protections. Trans healthcare sanctuary. Ban on conversion therapy. Protection from federal rollbacks. Because Denver doesn't wait for permission to protect its people.
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Immigration
Full Sanctuary City
Zero cooperation with ICE. Municipal ID for all. City-funded deportation defense. Language access in every service. Our neighbors are not criminals.
Read Full Proposal →Newcomer Reception & Asylum Support
Systematic reception infrastructure. Rapid work authorization support. Transitional housing with employment pipelines. Federal reimbursement advocacy. No more emergency scrambles - a real plan.
Read Full Proposal →Immigrant Workforce Integration
Credential recognition for foreign-trained professionals. Bridge programs to fill labor shortages. Immigrant entrepreneurship fund. Stop wasting talent - Denver needs every skilled worker it has.
Read Full Proposal →Anti-Exploitation & Trafficking Prevention
Dedicated enforcement against wage theft and labor trafficking. Industry-specific crackdowns on construction, restaurants, and agriculture. Housing exploitation protections. Immigrants are workers with rights, not disposable labor.
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Education
Universal Childcare
Publicly funded childcare from 6 months. Capped at $200/month for any family. Free for low-income. Because no parent should have to choose between working and raising their children.
Read Full Proposal →Youth Services & Opportunity
Guaranteed summer jobs for all Denver teens. Year-round youth centers in every district. Youth advisory council with real budget authority. Mental health counselors in every school. Violence intervention programs.
Read Full Proposal →Education for Every Child
Universal Pre-K, free school meals, after-school programs in every neighborhood, teacher housing assistance, and no more privatization.
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Infrastructure & Services
Bank of Denver - Public Banking
A city-owned bank that keeps Denver's money in Denver. Low-interest loans for housing, small businesses, and green energy. Financial services for the unbanked.
Read Full Proposal →Municipal Broadband
City-owned fiber network. $30/month gigabit. Free tier for low-income households. Net neutrality guaranteed. No more Comcast monopoly.
Read Full Proposal →Transportation & Public Transit
Free RTD transit for low-income residents. Protected bike lanes on every major corridor. Vision Zero with real enforcement. Parking reform to reduce housing costs. Transit equity for underserved neighborhoods. 15-minute city framework so every Denverite can reach daily needs on foot or bike.
Read Full Proposal →Autonomous Vehicle Safety & Accountability
Waymo is coming to Denver. Colorado has almost no rules. We need community safety standards, labor protections for displaced drivers, public transit integration, data privacy safeguards, and local democratic control over how self-driving cars operate on our streets.
Read Full Proposal →Pedestrian Infrastructure & Sidewalk Equity
Complete Denver's sidewalk network. 43% of Denver's sidewalks are missing or deficient - 1,480 miles. 34% are too narrow for a wheelchair. 9% are missing entirely. Low-income neighborhoods have double the pedestrian death rate. 54% of transit stops have missing sidewalks within a two-minute walk. Prioritize ADA compliance in underserved communities. Make the fee structure progressive. Build a city where you can walk safely whether you own a car or not.
Read Full Proposal →Power Reliability & Municipal Energy
End Xcel's monopoly failures. Municipal power option for Denver. Mandatory backup power for critical facilities. Life-safety protections for medically vulnerable residents. Use the franchise renewal to demand accountability or build our own.
Read Full Proposal →Nuclear Energy Readiness - Small Modular Reactors for Denver
Position Denver to deploy clean, firm baseload nuclear power as SMR technology matures. Support DIA feasibility study. Leverage HB25-1040 to include nuclear in clean energy planning. Protect ratepayers from first-of-a-kind cost risk. Complement - not replace - renewable energy expansion.
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Criminal Justice
Decriminalize & Heal
Decriminalize all substances for personal use. Redirect enforcement budgets to treatment and recovery. Safe consumption sites. Expunge prior convictions. Harm reduction saves lives.
Read Full Proposal →Reparations & Racial Justice
Denver has a specific history of racial harm: redlining, urban renewal displacement, Rocky Flats contamination, and ongoing segregation. Evanston proved cities can act. Denver should be next.
Read Full Proposal →End Coerced Prison Labor
Colorado voters banned slavery and involuntary servitude in 2018. Seven years later, incarcerated people still face punishment for refusing to work for pennies. Enforce Amendment A. End coerced labor. Guarantee workplace protections, fair wages, and voluntary participation in all prison work programs.
Read Full Proposal →Faces Are Not Evidence: Ban Government Facial Recognition in Denver
Denver has no ordinance restricting biometric surveillance, license-plate-reader networks, or algorithmic risk-scoring. Ban city use of facial recognition, rein in mass ALPR tracking, prohibit predictive policing, and require public, council-approved oversight before any new surveillance tool is bought.
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Democracy & Governance
Participatory Budgeting & Citizens' Assemblies
You decide how $100M+ of Denver's budget is spent - directly. Plus randomly selected citizens' assemblies to tackle the big questions. Real democracy, not just voting every 4 years.
Read Full Proposal →Government Transparency & Digital Rights
Surveillance technology oversight ordinance. Open data for all city operations. Publicly financed elections. Lobbyist disclosure and revolving door restrictions. Algorithmic accountability for city AI systems. Data sovereignty and digital public infrastructure.
Read Full Proposal →Ranked Choice Voting & Electoral Reform
Replace Denver's costly, low-turnout runoff elections with ranked choice voting so every voter can support their true first choice without wasting their vote. End the spoiler effect. Elect leaders who have broad support.
Read Full Proposal →Campaign Finance Reform: Get Big Money Out of Denver Politics
Denver already has a tool to track money in politics. Now we need reform: lower contribution limits, LLC disclosure, and a small-dollar matching program so working Denverites can compete with corporate donors.
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Small Business & Economy
Small Business & Local Economy
Streamlined permitting for small businesses. Commercial rent stabilization. Full worker cooperative ecosystem with legacy business conversion pipeline. Local-first city procurement. Micro-loans for BIPOC entrepreneurs. Anti-monopoly enforcement.
Read Full Proposal →Denver Guaranteed Income
Direct cash payments to Denver's lowest-income residents. No strings attached. 150+ cities have piloted this. Not a single one showed decreased employment. Cook County made it permanent. Denver should too.
Read Full Proposal →Fiscal Reform & Progressive Revenue
Fix Denver's broken revenue structure. Replace regressive sales taxes with progressive alternatives. Tackle the budget crisis without cutting services that working families depend on. Make corporations and wealthy property owners pay their fair share.
Read Full Proposal →Worker Cooperative Development: The Solidarity Economy
Fund worker-owned businesses, convert retiring owners' companies to employee ownership, and prioritize cooperatives in city contracting. Build an economy where workers own what they build.
Read Full Proposal →Consumer Financial Protection: Stop the Debt Trap in Denver
Cap predatory interest rates, require plain-language loan disclosures, and expand community credit unions so working families in Denver keep their money instead of losing it to payday, rent-to-own, and high-cost auto lenders.
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Community & Culture
Parks, Recreation & Public Space
Equitable park access for every neighborhood. Free recreation center programs for youth and seniors. Community gardens in every food desert. Trail connectivity across the city. Parks as public health infrastructure.
Read Full Proposal →Arts, Culture & Creative Economy
Protect artists from displacement. Percent-for-art on new development. Affordable studio and performance space. Cultural district designations. Invest in Denver's creative economy as economic engine.
Read Full Proposal →Foster Care & Child Welfare Reform
No child should face homelessness or jail because they aged out of foster care. Fully fund kinship caregivers with monthly stipends, build transition housing for youth leaving care, cap caseworker caseloads so families get real attention, and deliver culturally responsive services that keep children connected to their communities.
Read Full Proposal →Join the Movement
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