Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn has called for an investigation into the allegations that Mayor Mike Johnston pressured the Civil Service Commission to ignore “red flags” in applicants to Denver’s police and fire departments

The Commission’s five-member board said it made the decision to release Executive Director Niecy Murray on May 16 and had arranged a meeting to inform her of that decision. Murray, however, held a press conference Tuesday morning in which she made her allegations public. 

Flynn said some of her claims are “lacking specificity,” and cites that as his primary motivator in calling for an investigation. Murray should “name names, tell us when, what was done and who recommended lowering acceptable test scores,” he said. 

Adding to this, Flynn said the council and city at large cannot “solve a problem if no one tells us the specifics of the problem.”

“(I’d like to see) any and all evidence of any malpractice,” Flynn said, noting his colleagues have yet to share any of the documents they claim demonstrate political pressure. 

“The director talked about being pressured to accept lower test scores, but the recommendation was made by a consultant she hired,” he said. “What happened in between?”

Flynn added he wants to see the report created by the consultant that recommends lowering scores for new recruits. He also took issue with the claim the city is forging ahead to “meet an arbitrary quota,” as Councilwoman Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez said.

“The claim is made that the mayor won’t back off a campaign promise to hire 167 recruits this year. This is confusing because the City Council last year approved the mayor’s budget that included funding for 168 recruits across three academy classes,” he said. “We’ve historically been unable to fill all those seats, even though we need to in order to keep pace with staffing due to retirements and attrition. There’s no ‘backing off’ needed.”

During the Tuesday press conference, three city council members joined Murray on stage: Sarah Parady, Shontel Lewis and Serena Gonzales-Guiterrez. Two council members, Parady and Lewis, were endorsed by the Democratic Socialist Party of America during the election. 

The Denver Gazette attempted to obtain a copy of the records alleging malpractice, but none of the three councilwomen could provide them. A spokesperson for Parady’s office said she did “not retain a copy of the document that she reviewed,” while Lewis and Gonzales-Gutierrez have yet to respond for comment. 

Denver’s Civil Service Commission is made up of a five-member board and an executive director. Two of the five members are appointed by the mayor, another two by the City Council and the fifth by joint mayoral-council appointment. The Commission has been part of Denver’s charter since 1904, when city home rule started, Flynn said. 

And the Civil Service Commission is an agency independent of the council and mayor’s office, overseen by the board of commissioners. 

Murray’s claims were strongly disputed by the board of commissioners. In a statement provided to The Denver Gazette, the board said it is attempting to “look for efficiencies and improve operations” to “alleviate unnecessary bottlenecks, all while meeting the needs of a skilled, modern workforce.”

“Unfortunately, Ms. Murray’s claims to the press (Tuesday) morning appeared to have been a preemptive attempt to block or influence her release. These developments have not deterred us from our course of action, and we have separated Ms. Murray from her position,” the board said after firing Murray.

Lewis, Gonzales-Gutierrez and Parady did not reply to emails seeking comment Thursday.