🗳️ Melat Kiros on challenging a 30-year incumbent

🤝 City Council Workers Seek Better Conditions, Unionization

Denver City Council aides — who help elected officials write bills, research policy, and gather public comment — are moving to unionize. A “significant majority” of eligible employees have agreed to join the union, the Legislative Workers of Denver. They’re currently waiting on official recognition from Denver City Council. The move comes in response to seemingly inconsistent working conditions across staffers who support different council offices.

• A plan for streamlining operations: Conversations between City Council workers have revealed that pay structure, job description, job titles, and daily duties all vary greatly for what is essentially the same role. The unionization efforts are a move toward more employment guarantees and protections at a time when city workers see significant turnover, along with 169 layoffs in 2025. [Denverite]
• Collective bargaining rights take effect: The city council staffers have the right to unionize thanks to an ordinance passed in 2024 allowing municipal employees to organize. Federal law prevents employees in the public sector from unionizing, but now, public employees both in Denver and those working at the state level are eligible for collective bargaining. Elected officials are exempt. [Economic Policy Institute]
• A new era for Denver: A union of City Council workers could transform the way city officials operate and make decisions behind closed doors. In turn, this could change who is elected to positions of leadership, how negotiations are conducted, and how the mayor takes a stance on labor issues in the city. [Denver Post 🔒]

🏀 Governor Signs Sports Gambling Restrictions Into Law

Governor Jared Polis signed a bill into law aimed at protecting Coloradans from the harms of sports betting. The legislation prohibits people from using credit cards to place bets and limits the number of deposits in a 24-hour period to six. Proposition bets and television advertising are still legal, however, because banning them was deemed too costly for Colorado’s already tight budget. [CPR]

👷 Dispute Halts Massive Construction Project in Glendale

Construction on an entertainment complex in Glendale that would’ve allowed open containers until 4 a.m. is officially on pause. A dispute between Glendale city officials and the development company led to the ground lease expiring, halting construction. The $150 million entertainment district, which would’ve had a movie theater, shops, restaurants, bars, and more, is on hold for the foreseeable future. [CBS News]

• Déjà vu? Multiple editions of an entertainment district have been proposed over the last few decades in Glendale — with some plans getting funded and some even getting close to breaking ground. But not a single one has been successful. [Westword]

⚖️ Billy Strings’ Brother Goes on Trial for Murder

Denver resident Patrick Lee Apostol, half-brother of Grammy-winning bluegrass artist Billy Strings, was arrested three years ago for the 2020 fatal shooting of local musician Zackary Smith. Jury selection for Apostol’s trial began on Monday, and the court will decide if Apostol killed Smith intentionally. [Westword]

🏛️ Melat Kiros Talks Running For Congress

The race to represent Denver in congress is heating up. Diana DeGette has held the 1st Congressional District seat for nearly 30 years, but two challengers have been gaining steam and grabbing headlines. Today, Democratic Socialist and former lawyer Melat Kiros joins the podcast to get into living wage vs. minimum wage, what she would do if elected to congress, and more. [🎧 City Cast Denver]