How each Denver Council member voted on the 2027 budget: Alvidrez, Kashmann and Lewis voted no

The city has posted the roll call for the Denver City Council's Nov. 9 vote adopting the 2027 budget. It passed 8-3. Council members Flor Alvidrez, Paul Kashmann and Shontel Lewis voted no, and Stacie Gilmore was absent (roll call).

Why it matters: the vote doesn't decide whether Denver has a budget. Under the charter, the mayor's proposal as amended by the Council takes effect either way. It does put each member on record, and it shows who moved since last year, when the 2026 budget failed on a 6-6 tie.

Our Tuesday story reported the 8-3 total before the city's record was posted. This story adds the names.

The roll call

Yes (8): Kevin Flynn, Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Chris Hinds, Amanda Sandoval, Amanda Sawyer, Jamie Torres, Darrell Watson and Council President Diana Romero Campbell.

No (3): Flor Alvidrez, Paul Kashmann and Shontel Lewis.

Absent (1): Stacie Gilmore.

Sawyer made the motion to adopt the budget, 26-1547, and Hinds seconded it, according to the city's record. Flynn and Sandoval attended remotely. The 13th seat, the at-large seat Sarah Parady left in August, is vacant until the special election is certified.

What changed since last year

We compared the vote with the Nov. 10, 2025 roll call on the 2026 budget (roll call).

Two members switched from no to yes: Gonzales-Gutierrez and Sawyer. Our Tuesday story said at least two members had to have changed sides. These are the two.

Three voted no both years: Alvidrez, Kashmann and Lewis.

Six voted yes both years: Flynn, Hinds, Romero Campbell, Sandoval, Torres and Watson.

Gilmore voted no last year and was absent this year. She was absent for every roll call at the Nov. 9 meeting, according to the city's records.

Why the three said no

The meeting video and transcript weren't on our meeting page as of Wednesday, so these reasons come from Denverite's report on the vote. Kashmann said the budget doesn't fund STAR, the program that sends mental health responders to some 911 calls, well enough. Alvidrez cited frustration with the budget process. Lewis, who Denverite noted is running for mayor, also criticized the budget.

We'll add what members said on the floor when the recording posts.

What our records add

The same three split on the amendments. On Nov. 2, Kashmann and Lewis voted for both of the amendments that passed 7-5: $300,000 for Nest56 supportive services (26-1663) and $200,000 for youth violence prevention data (26-1671). Alvidrez voted for Nest56 and against the youth violence money. Sawyer voted against both. Our amendment roll-call story has every member's votes. Mayor Mike Johnston accepted all five amendments that passed (our story).

The no votes didn't line up with the night's other split vote. Gonzales-Gutierrez voted for the budget but against the Alterra lease at the former Denver Post building. Kashmann did the reverse. The lease passed 8-3 (our story).

Three years of budget votes. The 2025 budget passed 13-0 in November 2024 (roll call). The 2026 budget failed 6-6. The 2027 budget passed 8-3.

What's next

The Long Bill, 26-1638, turns the adopted budget into spending authority. It went to the Mayor-Council meeting Nov. 10 (meeting) and needs a final Council vote by Nov. 23. The year-end bill that spends the last of this year's contingency cleared committee Nov. 10 (our story).