Wellington E. Webb (born February 17, 1941) is an American politician. He served in the Colorado House of Representatives and was the first African American mayor of Denver, Colorado, serving from 1991 to 2003. He served as a Democrat.
The Webb family relocated from Chicago to the Northeast section of Denver in August 1954, where the imposing six-foot, five-inch youth became active in sports. He is a graduate of Denver's Manual High School. Webb was an all-conference basketball player at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado, in 1960. He obtained his B.A. in sociology from Colorado State College in 1964 and his M.A. in sociology from the same school, now known as the University of Northern Colorado, in 1971.
Career
Wellington E. Webb Municipal Office Building
In 1972, Webb was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives, representing northeast Denver. In 1977, Webb was selected by President Jimmy Carter to serve as regional director of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. In 1981, Colorado Governor Richard Lamm appointed Webb to his cabinet as executive director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA). Webb was elected Denver city auditor in 1987 and served until 1991.
Mayor of Denver
Wellington Webb's 1991 bid for mayor included his "Sneaker Campaign", in which he walked door to door through a large portion of Denver, introducing himself as a relatively unknown candidate.
Webb served as mayor of Denver for 12 years, from 1991 to 2003. One highlight of his years in office was the South Platte River Corridor Project, involving commercial and residential redevelopment, as well as reclamation of park land, along the South Platte River in central Denver. He was also mayor at the time of the completion of Denver International Airport, started by his predecessor, Federico Peña.
Mayor Webb (center), with others at a rally on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on "Gun Safety Day" organized by the U.S. Conference of Mayors
In his three terms as mayor of Denver, Webb focused on four major areas: parks and open space, public safety, economic development and children. Accomplishments during his administration include a record 40 percent decrease in crime since 1991 as unemployment dipped below 2 percent.[citation needed] Webb's development projects include the new Denver International Airport, a new sports stadium, expansion of the Denver Art Museum and a new African American Research Library.
Webb is the former president of the National Conference Democratic Mayors, the past president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and National Conference of Black Mayors.
Later career
He lectures frequently on civic issues and was a guest lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School. Webb collaborates closely with his wife, former Colorado State Representative Wilma Webb.
Webb was mentioned in the documentary Bowling for Columbine during a speech by National Rifle Association president Charlton Heston. In April 1999, shortly after the high school shootings at Columbine High School near Denver, Heston claimed that Webb had asked him not to come to Denver.
Although he briefly sought the office of chairman of the Democratic National Committee in late 2004, Webb dropped out of the race in late January 2005 and endorsed fellow candidate Howard Dean, who went on to win the chairmanship. Webb was well known as the only African-American candidate for the DNC chairmanship.
The Wellington E. Webb Municipal Office Building, completed in Fall 2002, was named in honor of Webb. It houses some forty municipal agencies and divisions from the City and County of Denver, as well as the office of the District Attorney.
In November 2006 The Wellington E. Webb Center for Primary Care opens at Denver Health Medical Center, becoming the first in the country community health center adjacent to an acute care hospital.
In February 2007, Webb published his autobiography, The Man, the Mayor and the Making of Modern Denver (Fulcrum Publishing), co-written by former Colorado journalist Cindy Brovsky.
Arapahoe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, its population was 655,070, making it the third-most populous county in Colorado. The county seat is Littleton, and the most populous city is Aurora. The county was named for the Arapaho Native American tribe, who once lived in the region.
Kenneth Lee Salazar is an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who is the United States ambassador to Mexico. He previously served as the 50th United States Secretary of the Interior in the administration of President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was a United States Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009. He and Mel Martínez (R-Florida) were the first Hispanic U.S. senators since 1977; they were joined by Bob Menendez in 2006. Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, he served as Attorney General of Colorado from 1999 to 2005.
Federico Fabian Peña is an American politician and attorney who served as the 12th United States secretary of transportation from 1993 to 1997 and the 8th United States secretary of energy from 1997 to 1998, during the presidency of Bill Clinton. He previously served as the 41st mayor of Denver from 1983 to 1991.
The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The convention was held in Denver, Colorado, from August 25 to 28, 2008, at the Pepsi Center. Senator Barack Obama from Illinois gave his acceptance speech on August 28 at Invesco Field in what the party called an "Open Convention". Denver last hosted the Democratic National Convention in 1908. Obama became the party's first nonwhite nominee, and nominee of African descent, for president. Senator Joe Biden from Delaware was nominated for vice president.
Manuel Alberto Diaz is a Cuban-American politician who served as the chair of the Florida Democratic Party from 2021 to 2023. From 2001 to 2009, he served as the mayor of Miami, Florida.
Norman Blann Rice is an American politician who served as the 49th mayor of Seattle, Washington, serving two terms from 1990 to 1997. Rice was Seattle's first elected African-American mayor.
The Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library is a branch of the Denver Public Library in Denver, Colorado, in the United States that opened in 2003 and serves the Five Points neighborhood. It is also a research library with collections focusing on the history of African Americans in Denver and the American West. As of 2017, the library sees 135,000 visitors a year, including school groups visiting the third-floor museum. The library’s mission is to “collect and preserve the history and culture of African Americans in Colorado and throughout the Rocky Mountain West.”
Wilma J. Webb is an American politician who was a member of the Colorado General Assembly from 1980 to 1993. A Democrat, she represented Denver County in the Colorado House of Representatives. She sponsored dozens of bills including school reform and equality initiatives. She is best known for sponsoring legislation that adopted Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a Colorado state holiday before it became the federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, and for her efforts to educate the young about King's legacy.
The Denver Civic Center is a civic center area that includes two parks surrounded by government and cultural buildings and spaces. Civic Center is located in central Denver, Colorado, on the south side of Downtown Denver. Much of the area is a historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. A somewhat smaller area was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 2012 as one of the nation's finest examples of the City Beautiful movement of civic design. Denver Civic Center lies partially within the north end of an official Denver neighborhood also named Civic Center. It includes the Colorado State Capitol building, in the west end of Denver's official Capitol Hill neighborhood, and it includes a few buildings in the south end of Denver's Central Business District.
The Government of Denver makes up the public sector of the City and County of Denver, Colorado.
Peter C. Groff is a former member of the Obama administration and a former Colorado legislator and President of the Colorado Senate. An attorney, public servant, and political veteran, Groff was elected as a Democrat to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2000, then re-elected in 2002. In 2003, he was appointed to the Colorado Senate, where he represented Senate District 33, which includes northeastern Denver, Colorado. Groff was the first African-American to serve as Colorado Senate president pro tem and Senate President. In May 2009, he was selected by President Barack Obama to head the faith- based-initiatives center for the U.S. Department of Education.
The 2008 United States presidential election in Colorado took place on November 4, 2008, as a part of the 2008 United States presidential election throughout all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Voters chose nine representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Michael Christopher Johnston is an American educator and politician serving as the 46th and current mayor of Denver, Colorado. A member of the Democratic Party, he won the 2023 Denver mayoral election, defeating Kelly Brough in the June 6 runoff election.
Michael B. Hancock is an American author and politician who served as the 45th mayor of Denver, Colorado from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he was in his second term as the Denver City Councilor from the 11th district at the time he was elected to the mayorship.
The Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence (RBA) was established in 1986 by Cambridge, Massachusetts architect Simeon Bruner. The award is named after Simeon Bruner's late father, Rudy Bruner, founder of the Bruner Foundation. According to the Bruner Foundation, the RBA was created to increase understanding of the role of architecture in the urban environment and promote discussion of what constitutes urban excellence. The award seeks to identify and honor places, rather than people, that address economic and social concerns along with urban design.
Philip Cole Finegan II is an American lawyer who has served as the United States attorney for the District of Colorado since 2021. He served as Denver's city attorney and chief of staff to then Denver mayor John Hickenlooper from 2003 through 2006. He was also the regional managing partner of the Americas for Hogan Lovells and managing partner of the law firm's Denver office.
The 2018 Colorado gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Colorado. Incumbent Democratic governor John Hickenlooper was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term. The primary election was held on June 26.
The 2019 Denver mayoral election was the 2019 edition of the quadrennial elections held to determine the Mayor of the City of Denver, Colorado. The election was held on May 7, 2019. Since no candidate received a majority of votes, a runoff election was held on June 4, 2019, between the two candidates with the most votes, incumbent Mayor Michael Hancock and Jamie Giellis. Hancock defeated Giellis in the runoff election, winning a third term as Mayor, and becoming the first mayor to be reelected to a third term since Wellington Webb in 1999. Hancock's third inauguration was held on July 15, 2019.
Penfield Wallace Tate III is an American politician.
The 2023 Denver mayoral election was held on April 4, 2023 to elect the mayor of Denver, Colorado, with a runoff held on June 6. The election was officially nonpartisan and was held concurrently with elections for the Denver City Council, as well as city auditor and city clerk and recorder. Incumbent Democratic mayor Michael Hancock was term-limited and could not seek a fourth term in office. A historic field of seventeen candidates filed to run in the race to succeed Hancock.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
