Denver, CO
Poll finds steady support for Denver’s mayor but suggests new tax increases may face skepticism
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s popularity is holding steady after 11 months in office, according to a new poll released Wednesday, but its findings suggest a sales tax increase he’s pitching for the November ballot could face some skepticism from voters.
Johnston remains confident in his tax proposal, unveiled Monday. It would generate an estimated $100 million a year to expand on the city’s affordable housing work, including by preserving or building tens of thousands of units affordable to people now getting priced out of the city. His own internal polling suggests two-thirds of the city would support the tax increase, he said.
But the June survey of 409 registered Denver voters for the nonprofit Colorado Polling Institute found that a solid majority — 64% — believe the city’s taxes are already high. Among them, 35% said the city’s taxes were “way too high,” while 29% said they were “high but acceptable.”
Still, it’s been rare for Denver voters to turn down tax increases, and a pollster noted that plenty of voters voiced moderate opinions on the question.
Those responses were collected before Johnston announced his proposed 0.5% affordable housing sales tax. If the City Council gives its blessing in the weeks ahead, that new tax would share the November ballot with a new 0.34% sales tax being sought to shore up the finances of Denver Health, the city’s safety net hospital.
If both pass, the city’s effective sales tax rate would increase from 8.81% to 9.65%, making Denver stand out along the Front Range.
The bipartisan poll, conducted by Democratic polling organization Aspect Strategic and Republican firm New Bridge Strategy, was conducted via a mix of online and phone interviews between June 13 and 18. It has a margin of error of 4.85 percentage points.
In good news for the mayor, the poll found 48% of voters viewed him favorably. That’s virtually flat compared to the 46% who viewed Johnston favorably in a Colorado Polling Institute poll in August, just his second month on the job.
But the share viewing Johnston unfavorably climbed significantly, from 22% in August to 38% in June, according to the results.
That’s due in part to rising familiarity as Johnston has been in the news, including as he’s spearheaded a new homeless strategy and responded to the migrant crisis. Just 11% of voters told pollsters they had no opinion or had never heard of the mayor in June, down from 32% in August.
His favorability ratings in the new poll contrast with results from a Magellan Strategies survey of 1,595 Denver voters conducted in May. That poll found that 43% approved of his performance — while fully 50% disapproved. The margin of error was 2.45 percentage points.
The survey was conducted for the council’s central office primarily to gauge support for a potential tightening of term limits. Its contract with Magellan was valued at up to $29,000, council spokesman Robert Austin said. The poll also found that the council’s approval rating was underwater, with approval at 36% and disapproval at 49%.
Regardless of his own support levels, Johnston is banking that voters will approve his tax request in November.
On the Colorado Polling Institute survey’s taxes question, Lori Weigel, of New Bridge Strategy, viewed the responses with some nuance. She noted that just about any voter is liable to say they pay too much in taxes, which is why the poll allowed respondents to grade the city’s tax burden by offering several options: way too high, high but acceptable, about right and lower than what one would expect.
“When we look at the ‘high but acceptable’ or ‘about right’ (responses), it’s a majority sort of gravitating towards that middle spectrum,” Weigel said.
The Johnston administration has done its own polling. In a meeting with Denver Post journalists on Tuesday, the mayor said his data shows 65% of city voters would favor the “Affordable Denver” sales tax increase. That figure was steady regardless of whether respondents owned or rented their homes, he said.
“We were really surprised that you have total alignment between renters and homeowners, and you also have — not surprisingly — massive support from younger voters for this issue,” Johnston said. “As we know, if you can’t afford to live here, then all the rest of the other things are secondary.”
Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot.
Denver, CO
Where to watch Minnesota Timberwolves vs Denver Nuggets Playoffs: TV channel, start time, streaming for April 18
The 2026 NBA postseason is finally here after a thrilling Play-In Tournament saw the Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers officially earn their spot in the playoffs
The postseason action continues on Saturday as the Minnesota Timberwolves visit the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the first round. We’ve got you covered on everything you need to know to tune in for tip off.
Want to see the full National Basketball Association schedule for April 18 and how to watch all the games? Check out our sortable NBA schedule to filter by team or division.
What time is Minnesota Timberwolves vs Denver Nuggets Game 1?
Tip off between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, April 18.
How to watch Minnesota Timberwolves vs Denver Nuggets on Saturday
All times Eastern and accurate as of Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 11:45 a.m.
Watch the NBA Playoffs on Fubo
NBA scores and results
See scores, results for all of today’s games. .
See NBA scores, results from April 17
Odds for NBA games today
The latest NBA odds can be found below from the best sports betting apps . Some odds may include games scheduled on future dates.
Timothy Weil
OBITUARY
Timothy Robert Weil 1952-2026 Tim Weil was born in Los Angeles, California.
In his early life he held many jobs, but he often commented that among his most memorable and rewarding roles was using his Spanish fluency to teach elementary school students in East LA. It instilled in him the importance of social justice which he in turn emphasized to his children.
On April Fool’s Day, 1981, he and “NC” (Nancy) married, a partnership that launched a unique and fulfilling life. Theirs was a union of sly, poetic witticism; they collaborated in writing jokes, songs, stories, and mythologies for over four decades. They maintained a high level commitment to wordplay and the celebration of silliness for most of their marriage. Tim and Nancy lived together in Boulder, CO, Chico, CA, Alexandria, VA, and Takoma Park, MD, before finally landing back in Denver as empty-nesters.
Tim found community in many places: Taking on a role as Assistant Scoutmaster with Page and Louis’ Boy Scout troop in Takoma Park; crafting an award-winning beer with his homebrewing group; staying in the game of baseball in the Ponce de Leon (over 50) league; playing bluegrass and folk music with other enthusiasts; performing stories with creatives at Denver venues; and joining Jewish congregations Temple Shalom in Maryland, and Temple Micah in Denver.
Tim’s creativity and playfulness were among his most defining features. Nothing was brighter than the gleam in his eye when he prepared to tell a joke, with a setup spanning about ten minutes of vivid details, often ending in a personalized, spectacularly delivered pun of his own design. To label those jokes mere “groaners” would be a disservice to his masterful storytelling. A piece he submitted to Rolling Stone about his jocular parasocial relationship with actor Lou Ferrigno received a personal rejection letter, noted as “very interesting” by the editor.
His professional work in the field of network security computing provided an outlet for his intellect as well as many professional and personal relationships throughout a career that spanned over 30 years. His writing was published in IEEE magazine and other tech journals.
Throughout his life he engaged deeply with visual art, literature, film, and music. He traveled far and wide, including to Jerusalem, Rio de Janeiro, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Vancouver, Seoul, Paris, Ipswich, London, and Edinburgh.
His recent struggle with severe depression was devastating for him and those close to him. It robbed him of his light and kept him in isolation from which sadly he was unable to escape. He will be remembered as the person who, despite the pain he carried, led an incredibly full life and touched the hearts of countless people with his witty humor and warmth.
He is survived by Nancy, his wife of 45 years, sons Page and Louis, daughter-in-law Jessica, grandsons Felix and Calvin, and cats Shackleton and Whiskey, along with many family and friends coast to coast.
A celebration of his life will be held in Denver at 1pm on Sunday, May 17th at Temple Micah, 1980 Dahlia Street. Bring your fondest memories of Tim. Please, no gifts or flowers. If you would like to make a donation in his memory, please consider American Foundation for Suicide Prevention https://afsp.org/.
So far, the Denver Broncos have signaled a willingness — nay, an eagerness — to run it back at tight end this offseason. It’s a curious strategy, considering how weak the tight end group was for Denver in 2025.
Evan Engram was signed last year to be the “Joker” tight end — a big slot receiving weapon to help open things up for Bo Nix in the middle of the field and down the seam. That didn’t happen.
Engram still finished third on the team in receiving behind wideouts Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin, but it was a far cry from what fans expected to see from the two-time Pro Bowl tight end. Then there’s Adam Trautman — Denver’s in-line Y tight end — who was woefully inadequate as a blocker and offered little to Nix in the passing game.
Trautman was re-signed to a three-year deal with a raise that’ll pay him just short of $6 million per year, while both Nate Adkins and Lucas Krull were also brought back. Denver is running it back, but the draft could bring another set of hands into the mix.
Meanwhile, for those Broncos fans wondering whether Engram still fits into the Broncos’ offensive picture entering a contract year, head coach Sean Payton sure made it sound like it during his pre-draft press conference alongside GM George Paton.
“We definitely view him as a key piece,” Payton said of Engram. “Relative to Evan, he’s someone that gave us a lot of big plays a year ago, and we will continue to find ways to keep him and add to his workload.”
The Broncos didn’t have much incentive to move on from Engram after one year, considering the salary-cap ramifications of such a decision. He remains on the roster for a reason, and while Payton made Engram’s contributions sound much grander than they perhaps were, it sounds like Denver’s head coach has some unfinished business with his tight end weapon.
Payton’s Read On the 2026 Draft Class
As for what the draft could hold, Payton extolled the virtues of the tight end class. It sounds like tight end is front-of-brain for Denver, but Payton’s words could be a smoke screen.
“I would say this about this class in my opinion, if you are looking for a blocking ‘Y’, there are a handful available that would be targeted,” Payton said. “If you are looking for a ‘move,’ maybe a little bit undersized ‘F’, they are out there. To each his own, the different type of tight ends are available. It’s always a challenge with that position because sometimes you are projecting maybe in an offense that is playing them differently.”
The Broncos have one of the better ‘F’ tight ends in Engram, even if he’s well on the wrong side of 30. Payton and Nix can still make a lot of hay with Engram, especially with new offensive coordinator Davis Webb now calling the plays.
However, the Broncos could really (and I mean really) use an upgrade at the Y. Trautman gives them a plausible option if they had to go to war tomorrow, but he’s not a true asset, and some would argue that he’s, in fact, a blocking liability, no matter how much the Broncos try to gaslight everyone on the subject.
Potential Y TE Candidates
This draft class features some very intriguing Y candidates, including Georgia’s Oscar Delp — who could be so, so much more — Texas A&M’s Nate Boerkircher, and Ohio State’s Will Kacmarek, to name a few. After the foot injury that was discovered at the Combine back in February, Delp’s draft stock took a hit, but he resurrected it during the Georgia pro day with how he performed.
I could see Delp going in Round 2. He could be in play for Denver at No. 62 overall. The Broncos say they have “six players” they’re targeting in Round 2, but there’s no way to know if Delp is one of them.
Another guy who could grow into a Y tight end but is, for now, an F is Ohio State’s Max Klare, who’s widely viewed as the third-best player at the position in this class behind Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq and Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers. I would rank Delp as the No. 2 behind Sadiq, but because he didn’t test at the Combine, he won’t be viewed that way until perhaps a few years down the road.
Delp could be one of the biggest steals in the 2026 NFL draft. If the Broncos were to target him, he could not only offer them long-term viability to replace Trautman inside, but he’s also one heck of a receiver, which would make him a great ‘move’ tight end, like Engram.
The Takeaway
The possibilities are endless, which is part of what makes the run-up to the draft so fascinating, but also maddening. Time will tell whether the Broncos prioritize tight end in this draft, but we can all say for sure now that Engram is part of the 2026 offensive vision.
Sign up for our free Denver Broncos On SI newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
-
Connecticut2 minutes agoOvernight Forecast for April 19
-
Delaware8 minutes agoState Police Arrest Dover Man for Assault and Aggravated Menacing in Dover – Delaware State Police – State of Delaware
-
Florida14 minutes agoSNAP benefits will be changing in Florida starting Monday
-
Georgia20 minutes agoGeorgia on nobody’s mind: The Dawgs are under the radar, and that’s a compliment
-
Hawaii26 minutes agoLarge section of Aloha Stadium demolished as project proceeds – West Hawaii Today
-
Idaho32 minutes ago
Idaho Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Pick 3 on April 18, 2026
-
Illinois38 minutes ago5 tornadoes confirmed in Illinois from Friday’s storms
-
Indiana44 minutes agoAn Indiana district turned to voters to fund more preschool seats. Here’s what happened next.