At-large candidates on homelessness, and the 7-6 sweeps vote that shows what one seat can do

With five days left before Denver's Nov. 3 special election, the race for the open at-large City Council seat keeps circling back to homelessness.

Nine of the 10 candidates answered questions about it at a forum in the City and County Building on Oct. 19, hosted by the advocacy group Housekeys Action Network Denver, Westword reported. The seat opened when Sarah Parady resigned in August for health reasons. Whoever wins takes office right away, with no runoff, and must run again in spring 2027, Denverite has reported.

Why it matters: Council votes on encampment sweeps, shelter sites and housing money have been decided by one or two votes. The winner of this race will be one of those votes within weeks.

What the candidates said

According to Westword:

• All candidates at the forum said they disagreed with encampment sweeps, and all said affordable housing is the most important next step.
• Monica Martinez, a nonprofit executive and the race's top fundraiser, was the only one who did not oppose outright what Mayor Mike Johnston's All In Mile High initiative has done. She called it a first multi-party step and said the city now has to focus on building housing.
• Jake Browne said the mayor's budget favors shelter beds over permanent housing.
• Whitney Traylor, whom Parady has endorsed, said there should be no sweep where there is no bed. Melissa Mejía asked what people are supposed to do when shelters are full.

Denverite reported on Oct. 29 that endorsements and fundraising have split among several candidates while others have consolidated behind Martinez, and that turnout may be unusually high because the race shares a ballot with the midterms. See our earlier stories on the 10 candidates and who is funding the race.

What our records add: the freezing-weather sweeps ban

Westword noted that Parady sponsored a ban on removing people's tents and shelter in freezing weather, which Johnston vetoed. Our records show how close it came.

The bill. Council Bill 23-1960 would have barred the city from removing a person's shelter when the forecast was 32 degrees or lower. Its sponsors were Parady, Paul Kashmann, Jamie Torres and Shontel Lewis (Legistar).

Final passage, Jan. 29, 2024: 7-6 (roll call).

• Yes (7): Stacie Gilmore, Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Kashmann, Lewis, Parady, Amanda Sandoval, Torres
• No (6): Flor Alvidrez, Kevin Flynn, Chris Hinds, Diana Romero Campbell, Amanda Sawyer, Darrell Watson

The veto. Johnston vetoed the bill on Feb. 2, 2024. Westword reported that he said it would limit the city's ability to move people indoors and respond to public health and safety risks.

The override vote, Feb. 12, 2024: 7-6 again (roll call). The same members voted the same way. Overriding a veto takes nine of 13 votes, so the bill died, and Legistar still lists its status as "Mayoral Veto."

What it means for this race. Of the seven members who voted yes, one, Parady, has left. The other six are still on the Council. A new bill on the same subject would need seven votes to pass and nine to survive a veto. With the seat empty, there are 12 members, and a 6-6 tie fails.

These are past votes. No sweeps bill is on the Council's agenda now.

Related votes this fall. The Council has also been voting on the city's shelter network one contract at a time. See our stories on the La Paz and Elati Village tiny-home sites and the cold-weather shelter plan.

What's next

• Nov. 3: Ballots are due by 7 p.m. The top vote-getter wins.
• After certification: the winner is sworn in and joins the Council for the rest of Parady's term.
• Spring 2027: the seat is on the regular city ballot again.

Read every member's record on our legislation page.