Mayor-elect Michael Hancock will officially be sworn into office as Denver Mayor today. The ceremony will start at 11:00 a.m. at the Buell Theatre and is open to the public. He will replace interim Mayor Bill Vidal who stepped in after John Hickenlooper, Denver's previous mayor, became governor.
Mayor Hancock is inheriting a $100 million budget deficit, a problem he will have to solve and present to the City Council for approval within 60 days of taking office. As Fox31 reports, this amounts to a 10 percent reduction in Denver's finances.
Hancock will be expected to balance the budget in the face of an already underfunded public transportation project. The project, FasTracks, includes mass transit rail expansion from Denver to Golden and to the Denver International Airport.
The young Hancock administration has already weathered a scandal. In June, rumors surfaced that Hancock previously visited Denver Players/Denver Sugar, a high-end Denver brothel. An allegation the Denver Post was unable to confirm.
Speaking of the challenges ahead, Hancock told CBS4, "the path begins with collaboration... we've got some tough decisions ahead of us."
KDVR reports that Hancock has already filled a number of positions, including appointing former Colorado Treasurer Cary Kennedy as the city's Chief Financial Officer, Wil Alston as Hancock's communications director, and Janice Sinden as chief of staff.