The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce held its State of the Cities event Wednesday, just days after releasing a new report that shows a slowing economy in Colorado. 

The report, by economists at the Chamber and Boulder Leeds School of Business, finds unemployment and foreclosures are up year over year while consumer confidence and home sales are down. The one bright spot is jobs, which are up .1%.

The mayors of Denver, Aurora and Northglenn say they are feeling the shift.

“Our sales tax in Northglenn is down,” said Northglenn Mayor Meredith Leighty. “In May, we’re looking at a decrease of 2%.”

The mayors assured the Chamber’s small business owners they were doing what they could to help. They say the lack of affordable housing is among their biggest challenges.

“Right now, the cost of materials is going up, the cost of land is going up, and the cost of labor is going up,” said Denver Mayor Mike Johnston.

He says the city is giving tax breaks for middle income housing projects. Northglenn just opened a new townhome complex and senior living facility.

Coffman says he’s focused on redeveloping 30 blocks of Colfax Avenue.

“Transitioning back from retail over to multi-family residential — a mix of market-rate housing and affordable workforce housing.”

Economists at the Denver Metro Chamber say while Colorado ranked among the top states in real GDP, employment, income growth, and home price appreciation from 2008 to 2023, it ranked among the bottom 10 states in 2024.

If a cooling economy isn’t troubling enough, an icy relationship between Coffman and Johnston is complicating things further.

Johnston shrugged off the year-long standoff.

“There is no distrust, is no damage. My door is always open,” he said.

Coffman vehemently disagreed.

“There is an issue and there is distrust,” he said.

Aurora sued Denver saying it violated their mutual aid agreement during the George Floyd protests and then sent gang-affiliated migrants to Aurora.

Your Political Reporter Shaun Boyd, who moderated the event, ask the mayors what it would take to bury the hatchet. One suggested quarterly meetings that include the mayors and their top staff. The other agreed.

The Chamber’s State of the Cities event included more than 400 business and community leaders and focused on collaboration — not only between cities but between local government and the business community.