Wellington Webb

Wellington Webb
Webb (right) and Wilma Webb in 2017.
42nd Mayor of Denver
In office July 15, 1991 – July 21, 2003
Preceded by	Federico Peña
Succeeded by	John Hickenlooper
Denver City Auditor
In office 1987–1991
Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies
In office 1981–1987
Governor	Richard Lamm
Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare
In office 1977–1981
President	Jimmy Carter
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives
In office 1973–1977
Personal details
Born	(1941-02-17) February 17, 1941 (age 76) Chicago, Illinois
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Wilma Webb
Children	4
Residence	Denver, Colorado
Alma mater	Colorado State College (B.A.) (M.A.)

Wellington E. Webb (born February 17, 1941) is an American politician. He served as the first African American Mayor of Denver, Colorado. The Webb family relocated from Chicago to the Northeast section of Denver in August 1954, where the imposing six-foot, five-inch youth became active in sports. He is a graduate of the city's Manual High School. Webb was an all-conference basketball player at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado, in 1960. He obtained his B.A. in sociology from Colorado State College in 1964 and his M.A. in sociology from the same school, now known as the University of Northern Colorado, in 1971.

He is married to Wilma Webb, and they have four children.

Webb is the former president of the Democratic Mayors and the past president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and National Conference of Black Mayors. He lectures frequently on civic issues and was a guest lecturer at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Webb collaborates closely with his wife, former Colorado State Representative Wilma J. Webb.

In 2001, Webb served on the selection committee for the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence.

In 1972, Webb was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives, representing his boyhood home in northeast Denver. In 1977, Webb was selected by President Jimmy Carter to serve as regional director of the U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare. In 1981, Colorado Governor Richard Lamm appointed Webb to his cabinet as executive director of the Department of Regulatory Agencies. Webb was elected Denver city auditor in 1987, and served until 1991.

Wellington Webb's 1991 bid for mayor included his "Sneaker Campaign", in which he walked door to door through a large portion of Denver, introducing himself as a relatively unknown candidate.

Webb served as mayor of Denver for 12 years, from 1991 to 2003. One highlight of his years in office was the South Platte River Corridor Project, involving commercial and residential redevelopment, as well as reclamation of park land, along the South Platte River in central Denver. He was also mayor at the time of the completion of Denver International Airport, started by his precessor, Federico Peña.