5 Questions: Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb

When Wellington Webb served as mayor from 1991 to 2003, he left a concrete mark on Denver’s skyline and a personal one on the people who live here. His leadership helped shape the city’s neighborhoods, cultural institutions and downtown identity.

But even two decades later, the man who famously walked every neighborhood in ASICS tennis shoes during his first campaign hasn’t stopped paying attention. In fact, he says he still walks the city—and still has thoughts on how to improve it.

Now in his 80s, Webb remains one of Denver’s most influential political figures. His responses to our questions reflect a deep understanding of both where the city has been and what it’s facing now: rising costs, public safety concerns and an urgent need to preserve community investment in the face of change.

In this week’s 5 Questions, he offers candid takes on everything from the state of downtown and the Park Hill Golf Course to the Democratic Party’s future and the burden of trash fees. Below, Webb shares what he sees when he looks at Denver today, what gives him hope and why he’ll never stop pushing for progress.

How do you think Denver is doing today?  

Like other large cities, Denver is dealing with several difficult issues, which include the high cost of housing and crime. We’ve weathered other difficult economic times by being bold and passing policies that help every corner of the city. It is very important we provide basic services, including public safety, maintained roads and parks, while cutting services that no longer help residents. 

Yet, my pet peeve with the city is having to pay a trash collection bill. For over 100 years, Denver was the only city that paid for its trash collection from its general fund budget. Now, Denver residents and businesses have to write a separate check for trash collection. Any elected official who voted for this should not have been re-elected. In my 12 years as mayor, trash collection for residents was free. Now there are new fees on everything from trash collection to sidewalk repairs. 

City officials need to understand that these fees are burdening people whose incomes have been stagnant. Still, I trust that the Mile High City always has been unique, and we can preserve our western values while addressing our challenges.

What more needs to be done to make downtown and the Central Platte Valley the vibrant places you envisioned during your terms?

Our downtown is the city’s living room, as Cherry Creek is our family room and patio. I applaud the city for finally addressing the problems in downtown instead of making excuses. 

First, clean up the downtown. That means there should never be overflowing trash cans or trash in the gutters. We must get back to the days when locals and visitors were impressed with our clean city, not apathetic with the trash and disarray. 

People also need to feel safe. That’s not about crime statistics, but people feeling safe to walk in downtown during the day and at night. I support bringing back the mounted police, which never should have been cut. 

People also need a reason to visit downtown, including keeping our professional sports teams near downtown; our art museums thriving; our symphony strong; the Denver Center for the Performing Arts vibrant; and better support of jazz clubs, such as Dazzle that hosts great musicians, including Stanley Jordan, Andrew Hudson, Freddie Rodriguez and Isaac Point. 

The city also must continue to house the homeless, and never allow the makeshift tents to take over blocks. We also must continue to help the businesses thrive and listen to the residents who live there.

You were very involved in keeping the Park Hill Golf Course an open space and have suggested that part of it be used for youth sports. With the current city budget constraints, how do you envision that working?

The city must explore private partnerships, including working with the Denver Broncos, Nuggets, Avalanche, Rapids, Rockies and the new Denver Women’s soccer club to help finance the new youth complex. It can be achieved. Each professional team benefits from the city, and they already give back through their charities. This project is so important for our Denver youth, who are now forced to travel to the suburbs for basic athletic fields. We must correct that now.

Public-private economic partnerships from local government to the federal government puts more money in the local communities and reduces overall the tax burden.

You are a lifelong Democrat, and the party is in disarray.  What needs to happen so that it can go head-to-head with the current administration?  

The Democratic Party needs to have a clear domestic agenda, economically based and a clear foreign policy agenda. We need to agree with Trump where we can, and oppose him on other issues. Democrats support his position on eliminating taxes on tips and overtime, but we oppose Trump on giving tax breaks to billionaires, including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Democrats oppose Medicaid cuts and education cuts. We support tax breaks for the middle class, including minorities, who all are not poor, and can benefit from tax breaks to reinvest in their businesses.

Democrats must strengthen our alliances with our allies and restate our opposition to authoritarian regimes like Russia, North Korea, Iran and China. We should be encouraging closer relations with China, not Russia. The U.S. should be giving a maximum effort to support Ukraine.

The Democrats also need a new generation of leadership, and we should be investing and recruiting younger leaders. We should be reengaging with labor unions and working-class people. But most of all we need to be fighting for our constituents and not giving lip service to them, like three Democratic Regents at the University of Colorado being manipulated by a MAGA Republican. Regent Wanda James should not have been censured; the punishment did not fit the infraction.

What do you like doing in your free time, and based on your sneaker tour when you introduced yourself as a candidate, do you have a favorite athletic shoe? 

I like to travel, having been to all 50 states and more than 40 different countries… I believe God gave each of us only so many days, and we use them or we lose them. I plan on using mine to the last minute. I can’t ignore someone in trouble, whether that’s a person or a group. I am a big parks and open space person, and I believe in vibrant cities. I’m a season-ticket holder to the Denver Nuggets, which my wife, Wilma, and I both enjoy. I also support elected officials who are fighters and not bureaucrats, meaning they are not scared to rock the boat.

The ASICS tennis shoes I wore walking the city in the 1991 mayoral election are now at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. My most stylish tennis shoes are a pair of Gucci shoes that I wore when a bronze statue of me, which my wife, Wilma, had commissioned and raised money for, was dedicated at the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Building in 2022. I continue to walk and keep my eyes on all aspects of the city and state because Denver and its residents have given so much to me and my family.