City Council makes laws, approves the mayor's budget, and can investigate city agencies and employees. Since 1971, the council has had 13 council members -- 11 from equally populated districts and two elected at large.
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About Denver's City Council
City Council makes laws, budgets City money, and can investigate City agencies and employees. Since 1971, the Council has had 13 council members — 11 from equally populated districts and two elected at large. Council members, who must be at least 25 years old, U.S. citizens, and two-year Denver residents, are all elected at the same time every four years. Council committees, each concerned with various areas of city government, meet frequently to discuss and prepare proposed laws.
History of Denver's Mayor-Council Government
Settled in 1858, Denver became a town in Kansas Territory in 1860 — named after the governor who never saw the place. It became part of the Colorado Territory in 1861 with a board of aldermen stronger than the mayor. The State of Colorado made Denver its capital in 1877. Denver became a City and County in 1902 and adopted a new Charter with a mayor-council government in 1904.
The Charter is "the Constitution" of Denver. A commission form of government, instituted in 1913, lasted only three years. The Speer Amendment, named after a Denver mayor, created the present non-partisan city government with a strong mayor and a city council.
Today, more than 704,000 people live in the City and County of Denver in an area of 154.97 square miles.
Denver City Council Land Acknowledgement
The Denver City Council honors and acknowledges that the land on which we reside is the traditional territory of the Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Peoples. We also recognize the 48 contemporary tribal nations that are historically tied to the lands that make up the state of Colorado.
We honor Elders past, present, and future, and those who have stewarded this land throughout generations. We also recognize that government, academic and cultural institutions were founded upon and continue to enact exclusions and erasures of Indigenous Peoples.
May this acknowledgement demonstrate a commitment to working to dismantle ongoing legacies of oppression and inequities and recognize the current and future contributions of Indigenous communities in Denver.