Denver, CO
Denver City Council rejects Gaza cease-fire proclamation in tense meeting
The Denver City Council on Monday rejected a proclamation that would have added Denver to the growing list of American cities that have called for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
That final vote — 8-4 — came via a hastily launched virtual meeting after council members vacated the council chamber at the Denver City and County Building following repeated disruptions of the meeting by pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Councilman Chris Hinds was unable to cast a vote due to issues logging into the online meeting.
Once the final vote was tallied and the results were shown on screens inside the room, the protesters — who numbered in the hundreds between the main chamber and overflow room — rallied in the building’s fourth-floor corridor. Chants included “Cease-fire now.” “Free, free Palestine” and “Vote them out.”
“We’re super disappointed but I don’t think it’s a surprise,” Emily Ingraham, one of the protesters who spoke in favor of the proclamation on Monday night, said after the final vote. “But there is always hope and we are going to keep fighting.”
The proclamation would have been a symbolic measure that would have been stamped with the city seal and forwarded to President Joe Biden and members of Colorado’s congressional delegation if approved.
The version the council voted on Monday was significantly pared down compared to a longer original draft that co-sponsors Sarah Parady and Shontel Lewis, two of the council’s most progressive members, discussed with colleagues at a committee hearing last month.
It outlined action steps already released by the United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF. Those included calls for “an immediate and long-lasting humanitarian ceasefire” in Palestine and Israel and “[s]afe and unrestricted humanitarian access to and within the Gaza Strip to reach affected populations wherever they are.”
“The cease-fire is the floor. We are asking for liberation,” Lewis said in comments that drew cheers from the chamber. “None of us are free unless all of us are free.”
Despite the narrowed language, opponents on the council noted they have received extensive comments from constituents who support Israel that were not reflected in that draft.
“I think that our communities deserve better from us as elected officials,” said District 5 Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer, who revealed during a committee meeting last month that she has a neighbor serving in the Israeli military. “We are divided up in a way that I haven’t seen us be divided in a very, very long time.”
One council member — District 7 representative Flor Alvidrez — indicated that her no vote was motivated in part by the behavior of the pro-Palestinian attendees at the meeting who regularly interrupted speakers they disagreed with.
During the public comment session, several speakers called out rising incidences of antisemitism in Denver and around the country.
One speaker, Elliot Fladen, said the proclamation “doesn’t call for peace, it calls for cessation that will allow Hamas to re-arm.”
Parady addressed antisemitism directly as she laid the case for calling for a cease-fire.
“I am here today to say that the killing in Gaza must stop, and I will be here tomorrow to say that we have to grapple with resurgent antisemitism and the fomentation of bigotry in our politics,” she said.
Parady, Lewis, and Councilmembers Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez and Jamie Torres voted in favor. Other politicians in the room Monday included progressive state Reps. Elisabeth Epps and Tim Hernandez.
The proclamation language included estimated death tolls from the conflict to date. They largely follow the latest reporting from The Associated Press, which counts the Palestinian losses from the war at more than 28,000 people, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. Of those, more than 12,000 are children.
The war was ignited by Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7. Hamas killed about 1,200 people, a majority of them civilians, and took 250 hostages. According to Israeli authorities, about 100 hostages are still being held by Hamas, The AP reports.
Monday’s meeting was tense even before the cease-fire proclamation was called up. Earlier in the afternoon, the council tried and failed to override Mayor Mike Johnston’s veto of a measure that would have banned sweeps of homeless encampments when temperatures are below freezing. One supporter of that measure, Jerry Burton, got up and shouted at the council members after that vote and was flanked by a Denver sheriff deputy as he walked into the hall. Many protesters Monday were there to support both measures.
Monday was the second time in four months that pro-Palestinian demonstrators have altered the direction of a Denver City Council meeting. In late November, the council walked out of its chambers and postponed the rest of its agenda after protesters refused to stop speaking out against Denver hosting the Global Conference for Israel at the Colorado Convention Center later that week.
Other major American cities have recently passed measures calling for a cease-fire in Gaza including Chicago, San Francisco and Atlanta. In Minneapolis, the City Council overrode a veto by Mayor Jacob Frey, who is Jewish, last week to reinstate a cease-fire resolution.
That measure goes much further than the proclamation that was rejected in Denver on Monday. It called for the U.S. to stop funding the Israeli military.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The city of Pittsburgh and the Steelers organization are awaiting word on the bid they submitted in February to host either the 2026 or 2027 NFL Draft. The NFL owners are meeting this week in Nashville, and an announcement is possible this week. Team president Art Rooney II expects word this week, and it would make sense with the meetings going on to discuss several league matters.
According to Carolina Panthers beat writer Joe Person of the Athletic on X, Pittsburgh is in the running alongside Denver.
Host cities for 2026 and ‘27 NFL Draft could be announced this week at spring meetings. Denver and Pittsburgh in the running. Charlotte still interested in hosting a future draft, but did not submit a formal bid for this round.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) May 17, 2024
Charlotte is interested but has not yet submitted a formal bid. I don’t know all of the specifics around the decision or the situation, but if Pittsburgh and Denver are the two teams that have submitted bids, then it would make sense that one of the two cities will host in 2026 with the other in 2027.
WPXI’s Jenna Harner interviewed several people close to the process in Pittsburgh in an article on Sunday, and the VisitPittsburgh CEO said that the level of detail the league is getting into at this point in the process seems promising for Pittsburgh. That would suggest 2026 could be the likely outcome, but we won’t have to wait long to find out.
The city of Detroit broke the draft attendance record with 775,000 fans over three days last month. That brought in an estimated $165 million in net economic impact for the city. Hosting the draft would be an event unlike any other that Pittsburgh has hosted, and it would be a welcome economic boon for the city.
Roger Goodell appeared on The Pat McAfee Show during the 2024 NFL Draft and said “that may be coming soon” when asked about Pittsburgh potentially hosting a future draft, so all signs point positive for the Steelers and the city of Pittsburgh.
Pro Football Focus went about finding every team’s most underrated player and with the Denver Broncos they went with guard Quinn Meinerz. I’m not sure how underrated he is outside of Denver, but he is surely rated very highly among us Broncos fans.
He was already called the Broncos ‘secret superstar’ back in January by this same PFF outlet, so he certainly hasn’t been underrated by them. In their offensive linemen grades, Meinerz came in fifth overall and third among the guard position.
5. RG QUINN MEINERZ, DENVER BRONCOS: 83.7
Meinerz’s movement ability and strength at the point of attack are incredible assets on the interior of Sean Payton’s offensive line. The Broncos guard proved to be a wrecking ball on the move, amassing the league’s best interior run-blocking grade when pulling (88.3). While he was limited to just 17 pull blocks this past season, his incredible 41.2% impact block rate ranked first among interior linemen with 10 or more.
That 83.7 is one of the better overall grades we’ve seen from an offensive lineman in Denver over the last decade and his 88.7 overall run blocking grade is just insane. He is just the type of guard that fits Sean Payton’s run-heavy scheme, so he is definitely one of the better draft picks in recent years.
In fact, I like the Broncos offensive line heading into a season for once. It seems like they have found a good mix of players there, but we’ll have to wait and see how they go about filling the hole left by Lloyd Cushenberry’s departure. Either way, I’m liking what Payton has done so far with the offensive line.
Horse Tracks
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As quarterback Bo Nix went through the many texts and calls he received after being drafted by the Denver Broncos, he saw a message of support from Hall of Famer John Elway, someone who knows the exact path Nix is embarking on.
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A wide receiver currently sitting on the free-agent market could make sense for the Denver Broncos for more than one reason.
Making it extremely hard on themselves, the Minnesota Timberwolves fell behind by 20 points in Game 7 of their playoff series against the NBA defending champion Denver Nuggets on the road, but all was not lost.
On Sunday night, former Husky forward Jaden McDaniels and his teammates regrouped in shocking fashion and rescued an improbable 98-90 victory to eliminate Denver from the postseason.
For the second consecutive game, the 6-foot-9 McDaniels came up big, scoring 23 points this time to share team scoring honors with 7-foot center Karl-Anthony Towns and propel Minnesota into the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks, beginning on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.
In 40 minutes of play in Game 7, McDaniels connected on 7 of 10 shots, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range, grabbed 6 rebounds, stole the ball twice, handed out an assist and blocked a shot.
“I wouldn’t call myself the MVP,” he said. “I was just doing whatever I can to help this team win.”
After scoring a collective 35 points in the first five games of the series, McDaniels provided 21- and 23-point outings to help pull the Timberwolves out of a 3-2 series deficit. He was good on a combined 15 of 20 from the field in the past two outings, including 6 of 9 treys.
“Coach just said to have an even keel and that’s what we do,” McDaniels said, referring to Timberwolves leader Chris Finch. “We stayed together through the adversity and got back into the game.”
The Timberwolves trailed 53-38 at halftime and the deficit grew to 58-38 in the third quarter before they the comeback began. Entering the fourth quarter, they still trailed 67-66. With 9:26 left to play, Minnesota went in front for good at 75-72 on Mike Conley’s deep 3-pointer.
“It ain’t the championship, but it’s good to beat the defending champs,” McDaniels said, “and show how good we can be.”
For the latest UW basketball and football news, go to si.com/college/washington
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