Mike Johnston’s committee for the Denver Economic Development and Opportunity (DEDO) held a public forum Saturday morning, one of 28 public meetings the mayor-elect’s team is holding before Johnston takes office.

The forums are “a platform for community members across Denver to make their voices heard,” according to the Vibrant Denver website.

Each forum is two hours long and includes a brief overview of the committee’s work and opportunities for community members to participate in group discussions and share ideas, concerns and hopes for the future administration.

Transition co-chair Makisha Boothe, who made a brief appearance at Saturday’s DEDO forum before heading to another forum, said their team wants innovative ideas, urging people to share their ideas even if they seem too ambitious.

“Ideas have to come from the front lines,” Boothe said. “I’m super excited to hear what kinds of innovative ideas come from this process and I encourage you to think outside the box and just name things that you probably would never have before as solutions.”

The forum host, Dr. Asia Lyons, an equity-centered design thinking consultant with Lyons Educational Consulting, gave attendees questionnaires with several questions about Denver’s economy. Attendee groups had a chance to answer individually, discuss in a group and share with the entire forum.

The questions included the following.

• What can the city do better to help all businesses (small and large)?
• What kind of investments can the City make to help create jobs in your neighborhood?
• Are you aware of the city’s job-training programs? If so, how can they be improved and/or made more accessible and equitable?
• What can DEDO do downtown that will make it a great place to work, live and play?

“We are at such a special and monumental time for our city,” transition co-chair and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership Kourtny Garrett said. “With market disruption comes huge opportunity.”

Garrett expressed her appreciation for forum attendees, expressing the importance of doing “rapid, thoughtful and inclusive work” over the course of the next few weeks to set Johnston up for success.

Boothe said she is excited about Johnston’s administration’s inclusivity, innovation and urgency. 

“When the mayor-elect started this process, he said I’m not going to do it without 28 public forums so we’re going to start this process by hearing from the community,” Boothe said. “That was a big statement that I’m super proud of and super proud to support.”

Attendees voiced the need for changes in zoning and permitting, the process for getting business licenses, the number of community events, applications for loans and grants, the city’s employment of technology and the consideration of climate and environmental concerns.

They also voiced needs for things like more tax credits for small businesses, more workforce development specific to small businesses, de-risking entrepreneurship for those who may have higher risk leaving their jobs, more focus on youth hiring and mentoring and increased financial literacy.

“What I hope (the committee) takes out of this is that folks want a little bit more speed when it comes to permits and they want to make sure that buildings and storefronts become occupied by business owners,” Lyons said. “Another thing I picked up is that there’s also a need for more job training and more funding for job training. 

The general consensus from the forum was that people are happy with DEDO’s work, but know there can be improvement, Lyons said.

The public forums are important because they provide the opportunity for community members to interact with people in the departments that affect them and with other community members who share their interests, Lyons said. 

“This is my second meeting I’m facilitating and peoples voices are out there being heard and we haven’t had any tensions, people are agreeing,” Lyons said. “People should listen in and give their input because (the committees) are doing something with the information.”

The public can attend the remaining forums in-person or virtually on Google Meets at the locations or links below. 

• Sunday, July 9 at noon: Labor Relations public forum at Laborers’ International Union, 875 Elati St.
• Monday, July 10 at 4 p.m.: Community Planning and Development public forum at Carla Madison Rec Center, 24011 E. Colfax Ave.
• Monday, July 10 at 5 p.m.: Community Well-Being and Neighborhood Safety public forum at Mutual Aid Monday, Denver City and County Building, 1400 Bannock St.
• Monday, July 10 at 5:30 p.m.: Parks and Recreation public forum at La Alma Rec Center, 1325 W. 11th Ave.
• Monday, July 10 at 6 p.m.: Human Services public forum at Glenarm Rec Center, 2800 Glenarm Pl.
• Tuesday, July 11 at 4 p.m.: Children’s Affairs public forum at Carla Madison Rec Center, 2401 E. Colfax Ave.
• Tuesday, July 11 at 5:30 p.m.: National Western public forum at Johnson Rec Center, 4809 Race St.
• Tuesday, July 11 at 6 p.m.: Joint Human Rights and Community Partnerships and Migrants public forum at La Alma Rec Center, 1325 W. 11th Ave.
• Wednesday, July 12 at 5 p.m.: Education and City/DPS Partnership public forum at Carla Madison Rec Center, 2401 E. Colfax Ave.
• Thursday, July 13 at 6 p.m.: Transportation and Infrastructure public forum at Carla Madison Rec Center, 2401 E. Colfax Ave.
• Friday, July 14 at 5:30 p.m.: Arts and Venues public forum at McNicols, 2nd Floor Boettcher Cultural Pavilion, 144 W, Colfax Ave.
• Friday, July 14 at 6 p.m.: HOST Housing and Homelessness joint public forum at Twentieth Street Rec Center Multi-Purpose Room, 11011 20th St.

Sixteen of the public forums have already happened, with Emergency Management and Technology Services forums Wednesday; Employee Voice, Community Wellbeing and Neighborhood Safety, Finance and Excise and License forums Thursday; City Attorney forum Friday; and Mental Health, Economic Development and Opportunity, Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency, General Services, Community Wellbeing and Neighborhood Safety, Public Safety, DIA, Public Health and Environment and Social Equity and Innovation forums Saturday.