In a race full of city government outsiders, Debbie Ortega might seem like the safe, establishment pick for mayor.
But during nearly three decades as a City Council member, she’s often proved a wildcard — a skeptical voice and self-described taxpayer advocate who, at times, has been a thorn in the side of three mayors.
Ortega argues her public service has prepared her for the job.
“There are so many challenging issues facing our city that it really is going to take someone who knows how the city works,” said Ortega, 68, an at-large council member who is term-limited.
Among those issues is the sprouting of encampments on city sidewalks. Ortega, who led Denver’s Commission on Homelessness in the 2000s, between her two stints as a council member, is tough to pigeonhole on the issue.
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She voted against the city’s camping ban in 2012, arguing Denver lacked enough shelter beds and services. She argues now for more city investment in jobs programs and single-room housing to get people on their feet.
Yet she also sees what’s at stake for downtown, where visible homelessness feeds negative perceptions among office workers, convention-goers and suburbanites out on the town. Crime concerns and a glut of underused office space compound the problem.
Ortega acknowledges “a balancing act” is needed and says her grounding is why voters should support her. This year, she stood in support of the camping ban at a mayoral debate.
“I have a good understanding of so many of the issues and challenges going on across the city,” Ortega said. “And I’m absolutely committed to us making sure that we save our downtown — that we don’t let it continue to go in the direction that it’s going towards, because it’s our economic engine, besides the airport.”
Ortega says her family instilled a sense of service. She grew up in Raton, New Mexico, and then west Denver as a teenager. Later, as a single mother, she entered politics as a secretary and aide to politicians, landing in the City Council office of Latino trailblazer Sal Carpio.
She won his seat representing west and northwest Denver in 1987 and served for 16 years as a fierce advocate for neighborhoods, while fighting off plans for controversial projects that included a new city jail in her district.
After losing a race for city auditor in 2003, Ortega became the first executive director of the city’s homelessness commission. It was also referred to as the “Commission to End Homelessness,” echoing the name of the city’s 10-year plan under then-Mayor John Hickenlooper.
Homelessness has evolved and even intensified since then. But Ortega said the commission achieved its major goals, including starting jobs programs, opening new shelters and housing more than 1,000 families sponsored by faith-based groups.
In 2011, Ortega returned to the City Council, this time winning an at-large seat. She’s voted against some major public projects launched by Mayor Michael Hancock’s administration — including the ill-fated first contract for Denver International Airport’s terminal renovation — while working with colleagues and Hancock to beef up the city’s affordable housing initiatives.
That will remain a focus, Ortega said, along with plans to fight crime, expand transit connections and speed up permitting processes for businesses.
The mayor’s office is appealing because it would allow her to “truly make an impactful difference on people’s lives,” she said. “In the business sector, in housing, in how we deliver city services — the spectrum is far and wide.”
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