Johnston faces accusations of retaliatory layoffs in City Hall "purge"
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Denver Mayor Mike Johnston in 2023. Photo: RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Some Denver elected officials and laid-off staff are accusing Mayor Mike Johnston of weaponizing budget cuts to punish critics of his administration.
The big picture: Their reproach reflects growing resentment at City Hall toward Johnston, whose governing style has frustrated many city policymakers.
What they're saying: City Clerk and Recorder Paul López on Tuesday suggested this week's layoffs were retaliatory, calling them "part of a deliberate, hand-selected purge of those in the ranks who've … maintained responsibility and transparency in an administration that is neither."
- López also blamed job cuts on Johnston's "mishandling" of the city's budget.
Councilmember Stacie Gilmore, a frequent challenger of the mayor, said on the council dais Monday that her husband, parks department executive Scott Gilmore, had been let go "because of his sassy, loudmouthed wife."
- Both Gilmore and her husband called his termination targeted. Scott Gilmore told Denverite it stemmed from his wife's calls for transparency.
Zoom in: Among the 171 people laid off this week was Jessica Calderon, a longtime employee locked in a discrimination lawsuit against the city.
- "We can see a pattern of people who [the Johnston administration] didn't want around anymore," she told Axios Denver.
- Calderon claims the city's layoff procedures are neither fair nor transparent — but characteristic of the Johnston administration, something Gilmore and López alluded to in their public statements.
The other side: In a statement, mayoral spokesperson Jordan Fuja said executive directors, the Office of Human Resources and the City Attorney's Office used "an objective tool to identify employees and positions for layoffs."
- The mayor has framed his decision to trim jobs as necessary to balance the city's coffers.
The bottom line: The full fallout from this week's decision has yet to unfold, but Johnston now faces the challenge of repairing strained relationships within City Hall.
Go deeper: Laid-off Denver employees must give up right to sue to get severance
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from Mayor Mike Johnston's office.