State of Downtown speaker pushes for strong mayor - Sacramento Business Journal:

John Hickenlooper, who went from a small brew pub owner to mayor of Denver and is now running for Colorado governor, on Tuesday urged the passage of a strong-mayor system for Sacramento.

“You can’t get the collaboration you need with the city manager form of government,” said Hickenlooper, whose city of Denver provides the mayor even more power than most strong-mayor cities. Hickenlooper's remarks came at the Downtown Sacramento Partnership’s “State of Downtown” breakfast.

Mayor Kevin Johnson’s strong-mayor effort to increase mayoral powers is on hold, as a judge recently ruled the initiative should be removed from the June ballot.

Hickenlooper also urged officials and downtown business owners to collaborate to spur redevelopment downtown. Denver has been largely lauded for its rebuilt and reinvigorated downtown, aided immensely by the presence of three sports and entertainment venues. Hickenlooper didn’t pass judgement on whether Sacramento should follow the same course with its bid for a new sports and entertainment complex.

But he noted that Denver’s revitalization was accomplished largely through collaboration. When he opened his brew pub, he ignored advice to the contrary and advertised competing restaurants within his establishment to help build the reputation of the area.

Johnson, who also spoke at the event, emphasized that no decision has been made about where to put a new arena. He continued to push for Sacramento to become a “world-class city.” (Story Continued...)

State of Downtown speaker pushes for strong mayor - Sacramento Business Journal: