by Chanel Ward
Over a hundred supporters gathered at Fuller Park for Denver Mayor Hancock’s “We Are All Denver” Rally on Saturday afternoon leading up to the City’s June 4th run-off election.
“You know, there was a real sense of an effort, a popular notion that this run-off election was going to divide this city,” Mayor Hancock conveyed in the opening of his speech.
“And having grown up in a city, I can tell you that the proudest moments for me have been witnessing our city come together to demonstrate our values of inclusion, compassion and concern for our fellow citizens. ‘We Are All Denver’ is not just some slogan that looks good on a yard sign, or on a TV ad,” he said, “I chose those four words because they embody who we are, who we’ve been, and who we continue to be.”
The Mayor continued, “This election cannot and will not divide this great city. We are a collection of people creating a world-class city together. We are one people who learn about, celebrate and embrace the many cultures that make our beautiful mosaic Denver. We don’t remain ignorant, or mock or laugh or disrespect those who don’t look like us, or whose culture or history we are not familiar with. Not us, not Denver.”
The Mayor expressed his support for immigrants and the City’s stance on ICE efforts.
“We stand with and protect people who arrive in Denver, despite their status, in the face of the backward actions of ICE and the discriminatory policies oozing out of the White House, because that’s Denver.”
“We saw Denver produce the states’ first African American Speaker of the House, this states’ first African American President of the State Senate and this states’ first Latina Speaker of the House in the history of Colorado, right here, from Denver, Colorado. Folks, that’s Denver,” he exclaimed.
“We are a city that celebrates diversity inclusion. Our city has one of the nations’ largest pride parades, celebrating the LGBTQ community, the largest Cinco de Mayo celebration in the nation, the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade, celebrating the Irish culture. The American Indian Powwow is a Denver destination. The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the greatest Asian Pacific celebrations in the nation. We don’t ask, ‘am I Asian?’ before we go, we show up and celebrate the Asian celebration,” the Mayor spoke over the cheering crowd.
The Mayor took time out to give an interview with El Semanario, while this event was his fourth stop of the day; we asked, why is every event important, including smaller community led gatherings?
The Mayor responded, “These are important because it shows that beyond the candidates you have a basis support, a very mosaic diversity support from all over the city from different ethnicities and faiths coming together for a common cause, for a greater Denver.”
“Just look at the numbers,” said the Mayor in response to the question of lack of diversity in his cabinet. “In fact, I believe I’ve had more women appointees in my administration and one of the things you can look at is our county court bench, as mayor that’s one of the most important roles you play is appointing county court judges. We have a total of 17 in Denver, I’ve appointed 13 of those seats, nine have been women and we’ve increased the diversity of that bench as well.”
“I think that third term gives you the opportunity, gives any elected official the opportunity to be really bold and to think outside the box. We’ve got some areas that we really want to focus on in terms of housing, affordable and attainable housing, in terms of mobility, which we already have activated those plans with a chance to boldly roll them out. In terms of sustainability and climate change, that’s going to gives us a huge opportunity I think to really roll out some bold initiatives in that sense, as well as around public safety, I’m excited looking forward to a third term.”
“My message is to the people of Denver, not to the opponent. This is about the people of Denver who deserve to hear what our vision is for the future, what we’re working on that’s going to carry forth into a third term and why it’s important for to them to invest their greatest trust in me, in terms of their vote,” said Mayor Hancock.
Chanel Ward is an Independent Reporter for The Weekly Issue/El Semanario.
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