{"id":796,"date":"2026-05-24T17:03:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T17:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796"},"modified":"2026-05-24T17:03:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T17:03:19","slug":"whos-influencing-denver-officials-city-council-aims-for-overhaul-of-lobbyist-reporting-requirements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796","title":{"rendered":"Who\u2019s influencing Denver officials? City Council aims for overhaul of lobbyist reporting requirements"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n

The people who are paid to influence policy in Denver city government may soon have to publicly report a lot more about their activities.<\/p>\n

Read more Victorian home steeped in Denver history for sale, with nearly $1.8 million price tag<\/a><\/p>\n

Lobbyists who try to influence Mayor Mike Johnston\u2019s administration or City Council members are currently required to register only their names and their clients. But how much they\u2019re being paid, whom they\u2019re lobbying, and what issue they\u2019re supporting or opposing remain totally unsaid in the city\u2019s registry.<\/p>\n

That would all change under a proposal the council began considering last week. Besides requiring more detailed disclosures about lobbying activity, the measure would create a \u201ccooling-off period\u201d for former elected officials who want to become lobbyists.<\/p>\n

Across Civic Center, monthly disclosures for lobbyists, including who their clients are, how much they are paid, which bills or subjects they are lobbying on, and their positions on those matters.<\/p>\n

Denver Clerk and Recorder Paul L\u00f3pez\u2019s office is partnering with Councilwomen Jamie Torres, Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez and Shontel Lewis on the legislation. They proposed the changes in response to a shift in the way policy has progressed in the city in recent years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a different level of lobbying taking place in our current political climate, and we can\u2019t be behind the ball and not be able to be transparent with the public and the media about what\u2019s happening,\u201d Torres said during a committee meeting about the proposal.<\/p>\n

Lobbying became a recent flashpoint in Denver politics after the city\u2019s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure altered a project design last year to reduce the number of lanes along a portion of Alameda Avenue. It late came to light that Denver officials had changed the plan after a lobbyist \u2014 and former city employee \u2014 had contacted the city on behalf of Jill Anschutz, the daughter-in-law of billionaire Phil Anschutz.<\/p>\n

The revelation prompted criticism from transit and street safety advocates, who said the kerfuffle demonstrated how wealth influenced city politics. Johnston has insisted that the pivot came from the engineering experts inside DOTI.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Some of the council\u2019s most controversial topics, like pushing the repeal of a ban on pit bills and a ban on flavored tobacco, didn\u2019t produce any lobbying reports despite council members clearly being lobbied heavily, Torres said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNone of them have garnered lobbying activity in the reports, as of yet, because of the way that the law is written,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n

The new regulations, which would take effect in 2027, would require lobbyists to report details on their work every two months.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a need for reporters and the public, and even the officials themselves, to understand what interests are taking aim at Denver policies,\u201d said Aly Belknap, the executive director of Colorado Common Cause, a government watchdog group. \u201cIt gives everybody a better footing of where power lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Impact on grassroots campaigns<\/h4>\n

Organizations that engage in \u201cgrassroots lobbying,\u201d including by asking residents to email specific council members and ask them to vote a certain way, would also fall under the requirements.<\/p>\n

The regulations would include new ways of enforcing the lobbying rules. If a lobbyist doesn\u2019t report activity by a report\u2019s due date, they would incur a small fine. If their nonreporting goes on or what they file appears to be fraudulent in some way, the clerk\u2019s office would be able to refer the case to an independent judge. That person would then have the ability to issue a subpoena or a larger fine \u2014 or even ban the person from lobbying the city.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump Says Peace Deal Is Near<\/a><\/p>\n

Belknap said she thought the enforcement mechanism would be stronger if penalties were explicitly stated in the law, rather than applied retroactively by a hearing officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that might put us on a stronger path to accountability and to avoiding situations where something has risen to the level of needing to go to a hearing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Belknap also said she believed the reporting requirements should apply to lobbying activity related to businesses seeking work through the city\u2019s contract solicitation process.<\/p>\n

Cooling-off period<\/h4>\n

The proposed law would restrict elected officials from immediately beginning jobs as lobbyists after they leave office.<\/p>\n

A \u201ccooling-off period\u201d is common in other forms of government. In the Colorado legislature, for example, lawmakers must wait at least two years before they can join the lobby. In the U.S. House, the period lasts one year, and in the U.S. Senate it is two years.<\/p>\n

The proposal in Denver would require a six-month gap between elected office and lobbying. That\u2019s the same amount of time to a restriction on former city employees from doing work at their next job that takes advantage of the direct action they had exercised in their city role.<\/p>\n

The drafters of the proposal intended that lobbying time-out for former officials as a way to prevent elected officials from using the positions and relationships they build in office to improve their future earnings. It is also meant to prevent council members from taking favorable votes for a certain interested party with the promise of working for that firm after they leave office.<\/p>\n

Councilwoman Sarah Parady said she believes a six-month period wouldn\u2019t be long enough to be effective.<\/p>\n

But Torres said that based on her conversations with other council members, Parady was in the minority on that point.<\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s cabinet would also fall under the cooling-off period requirements.<\/p>\n

More details on proposal<\/h4>\n

Under the measure, lobbyists would have to report when they meet with elected officials like council members or the mayor, or with people in their offices, as well as people the officials have appointed to policy-making or advising positions.<\/p>\n

They wouldn\u2019t have to report casual meetings or conversations. But if a lobbyist asks the person to support or oppose a specific piece of legislation, they must report it. All of the reporting requirements would fall on the lobbyist, rather than on the official they\u2019re contacting.<\/p>\n

The proposal considers anyone who is paid at least $1,000 to engage in lobbying to be a lobbyist. A volunteer lobbyist or individual residents who represent their own interests would be exempt.<\/p>\n

The full council is set to consider the bill on its first reading on June 1.<\/p>\n

Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Suspect dead after opening fire near White House security checkpoint, Secret Service says<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lobbyists hired to influence Denver policy may soon have new regulations to follow as the City Council considers an ordinance beefing up the disclosure rules.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nWho\u2019s influencing Denver officials? City Council aims for overhaul of lobbyist reporting requirements - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Who\u2019s influencing Denver officials? City Council aims for overhaul of lobbyist reporting requirements - Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lobbyists hired to influence Denver policy may soon have new regulations to follow as the City Council considers an ordinance beefing up the disclosure rules.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-24T17:03:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=796#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=796\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"headline\":\"Who\u2019s influencing Denver officials? City Council aims for overhaul of lobbyist reporting requirements\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-24T17:03:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=796\"},\"wordCount\":1109,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=796#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ab8c29d47fb6b8daa7e8879ee68826a8.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=796#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=796\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=796\",\"name\":\"Who\u2019s influencing Denver officials? City Council aims for overhaul of lobbyist reporting requirements - Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=796#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=796#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ab8c29d47fb6b8daa7e8879ee68826a8.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-24T17:03:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=796#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=796\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=796#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ab8c29d47fb6b8daa7e8879ee68826a8.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ab8c29d47fb6b8daa7e8879ee68826a8.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":699},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=796#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Who\u2019s influencing Denver officials? City Council aims for overhaul of lobbyist reporting requirements\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Who\u2019s influencing Denver officials? City Council aims for overhaul of lobbyist reporting requirements - Colorado Springs Moverss","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Who\u2019s influencing Denver officials? City Council aims for overhaul of lobbyist reporting requirements - Colorado Springs Moverss","og_description":"Lobbyists hired to influence Denver policy may soon have new regulations to follow as the City Council considers an ordinance beefing up the disclosure rules.","og_url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796","og_site_name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","article_published_time":"2026-05-24T17:03:19+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"headline":"Who\u2019s influencing Denver officials? City Council aims for overhaul of lobbyist reporting requirements","datePublished":"2026-05-24T17:03:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796"},"wordCount":1109,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ab8c29d47fb6b8daa7e8879ee68826a8.webp","articleSection":["News","Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796","name":"Who\u2019s influencing Denver officials? City Council aims for overhaul of lobbyist reporting requirements - Colorado Springs Moverss","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ab8c29d47fb6b8daa7e8879ee68826a8.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-24T17:03:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ab8c29d47fb6b8daa7e8879ee68826a8.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ab8c29d47fb6b8daa7e8879ee68826a8.webp","width":1024,"height":699},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=796#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Who\u2019s influencing Denver officials? City Council aims for overhaul of lobbyist reporting requirements"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/","name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}