Government of Denver

The Government of Denver makes up the public sector of the City and County of Denver, Colorado.

Denver is a consolidated city-county with an elected mayor, thirteen-member city council, auditor, and clerk and recorder. Denver city elections are on a non-partisan basis: that is, there are no official party nominees, though officials may belong to a political party. All city-wide elected officials have four-year terms, with a maximum of three terms.

Denver has a strong mayor/weak city council government. The mayor can approve or veto any ordinances or resolutions approved by the council, make sure all contracts with the city are kept and performed, sign all bonds and contracts, is responsible for the city budget, and can appoint people to various city departments, organizations, and commissions. The current mayor is Michael Hancock.

The thirteen-member Denver City Council is responsible for passing and changing all laws, resolutions, and ordinances, usually after a public hearing. Eleven members are elected from constituent districts and two from at-large districts. The Council can override the Mayor's veto with a nine out of thirteen member vote, and the city budget must be approved and can be changed by a simple majority vote of the council. They can also call for misconduct investigations of Denver's departmental officials.

The Denver District Attorney is responsible for the prosecution of state criminal violations in the Second Judicial District, composed entirely of Denver. A district attorney is elected for each of the state's 22 judicial districts in a partisan election.

The Auditor checks all expenditures and may refuse to allow specific ones, usually based on financial reasons.

The Clerk and Recorder functions as the city and county clerk, county recorder, and county public trustee, and manages elections and voter registration including campaign finance requirements. As clerk they are responsible for publication of the charter and municipal code, City Council minutes, agendas, ordinances, and resolutions, the Mayor's executive orders, and compiling rules and regulations enacted by Denver agencies. As public trustee they are responsible for foreclosure and deed release filings, including weekly foreclosure property auctions. As county recorder they are responsible for recording deeds, deeds of trust, quit claim deeds, liens, marriage licenses, and civil union licenses (the Domestic Partnership Registry), and acts as the repository for boundary maps of certain special districts.

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