Denver City Council elects new president, president pro-tem to one-year terms
Denver City Council has a new president and president pro-tem leading the council’s work over the next year.
Council unanimously elected District 3 Council member Jamie Torres to the role of president and District 1 council member Amanda Sandoval to the role of president pro-tem, both the sole nominees for their positions. Both Torres and Sandoval emotionally thanked their staff, families and council colleagues for their continued support.
Torres served as council president pro-tem over the last two years and shared her enthusiasm to step up to the top seat of the chamber. The president of the council presides over council meetings, determines committee membership and function, and is a voting member of all committees, according to the city’s website.
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“We cannot fully deliver for residents in Denver without working together and really pushing the envelope where we can,” Torres said. “…I take this role with a great deal of humility and responsibility,” Torres said.
Sandoval previously chaired the council’s Redistricting Committee and is excited to continue to grow her leadership experience on council as second-in-command. Council president pro-tem steps in for the president should she be unavailable for a meeting.
“I will work to support my colleagues on the many complicated and pressing issues facing Denver,” Sandoval said. “As we carry out the work of the people and for the people, I’m always reminded as a public servant, we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. And those shoulders are great.”
On this note, both Torres and Sandoval thanked mulitple former council members who held their district’s seats before them, with Sandoval having worked as an aide for her predassesor.
District 11 Council member Stacie Gilmore stepped down from the role of president and thanked her staff as well as council staff for helping her through her two-year tenure, which included the peak of hybrid meanings during the pandemic. She said she looks forward to giving Torres the same support her colleagues gave her during her tenure.
“None of us knew what we were getting into especially when we ran for an elected position, and we certainly did not know what we were getting into come March of 2020, but I am very proud of this body. We represented the city and county of Denver well and her constituents very well during that time.
After Torres was elected, Gilmore presented her with a hand-made gavel and block Council member Jolon Clark’s father Joe made for Torres, as he did the same for his son when he served as president as well as Gilmore at the start of her term.
Starting tomorrow, July 19, council members will be paid $101,167 annually and the council president will be paid $113,288. Their pay increases annually as outlined in the Denver City Charter.
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