Today is July 17, 2023 and here’s what you need to know:

The last of Mayor-elect Mike Johnston’s public forums concluded on Friday with one question ever-present throughout the night: “Where’s the mayor?” 

Johnston did not attend, or plan to attend, any of his 28 public forums over the last 10 days, which were led by his committee chairs and designed to collect community feedback to develop the priorities for his first 100 days in office. 

But Johnston’s absence was felt deeply during Friday’s housing and homelessness forum. 

“This is the forum he needs to be at to hear the people,” said Alicia Canady, a forum attendee who is homeless. “You ran on a platform that says you want to deal with the homeless. This is where the homeless people are.” 

Mike Johnston, who will officially be sworn in as Denver’s 46th mayor on Monday, is expected to outline an ambitious agenda for the next four years and offer a decidedly hopeful vision in his inaugural speech.

He has said that Denver – a city that, like other metropolises in America, is struggling to confront homelessness, drug addiction and crime – retains the promise of a thriving, vibrant community.   

When he defeated rival Kelly Brough in June, the former legislator proposed a “dream of Denver,” a city that is “big enough to keep all of us safe, to house all of us, to support all of us.”

His inaugural speech at 10 a.m. at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House will not only set the tone for his new administration, but many expect his words to be measured against how fast he can deliver.

Mayor-elect Mike Johnston named political strategist Jenn Rider his chief of staff Friday as his full transition into the position quickly approaches.

Ridder, a top political strategist both in Colorado and nationally, will play a key role in managing Mayor’s Office operations, coordinating city agendas and advancing Johnston’s agenda, according to a news release from Vibrant Denver. 

Colorado’s U.S. House delegation split Friday as the chamber narrowly approved a massive defense bill containing Republican-sponsored amendments on divisive social issues, including measures targeting the military’s policy on abortion and diversity.

Republican U.S. Reps. Doug Lamborn and Lauren Boebert voted in favor of the legislation, while their GOP colleague U.S. Rep. Ken Buck joined the state’s five House Democrats voting against it.

The $866 billion bill passed on a near-party line vote of 219-210, with four Republicans – including Buck – voting no and four Democrats voting yes.

Known as the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual military policy and spending bill typically passes on wide, bipartisan margins and emerged weeks ago from the House Armed Services Committee with near unanimous support.

Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis are dominating the fight for campaign cash in the Republican presidential contest, according to federal filings made public Saturday. While some struggled, like former Vice President Mike Pence, others reported significant hauls that help ensure the GOP’s 2024 primary will be crowded for the foreseeable future.

On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has quickly amassed a sizeable fortune. But longshot Democratic primary opponent Robert Kennedy Jr. also raised enough to ensure he won’t be ignored.

Overall, the 2024 presidential class’s second-quarter filings with the Federal Election Commission, covering the period between April 1 and June 30, leave unanswered several questions. For example, the total numbers of individual donors for each campaign, a figure tied directly to GOP debate participation, won’t be known until the end of the month.