Mayor receives a D grade on DSP's report card

January 30, 2026

What Happened

Denver Streets Partnership has issued report cards for previous mayors after a duration into their term. Mayor Hancock received them and now Mayor Johnston has received his first. He was given a D grade after his first two years. Mayor Johnston failed to live up to many of his promises regarding transportation, mobility, climate, and accessibility.

What Should Have Been Done

Mayor Johnston should have followed through on promises and policies made. Johnston made efforts to mention RTD, Denver Moves Everyone, climate, and accessibility. He's generally moved backwards on all these things.

Had he focused on the campaign policies he touted he wouldn't have received such an abysmal grade.

---
title: "Mayor receives a D grade on DSP's report card"
date: 2026-01-30
visible: true
category: governance
sources:
  - url: "https://denverstreetspartnership.org/mayors-report-card/"
    title: "Mayor's Report Card"
  - url: "https://denverstreetspartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/MJ_reportcard_v07a_english.pdf"
    title: "Report card 2 page summary (pdf)"
  - url: "https://denverstreetspartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/January-2026-Mayors-Report-Card.pdf"
    title: "Full report card (pdf)" 
  - url: "https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m1xJYApTwfzIV5FwiqYce6tnHgAvJnki/view"
    title: "Candidate Johnston's Denver Bicycle Lobby questionnaire answers (pdf)"
  - url: "https://denverstreetspartnership.org/get-involved/2023-voter-toolkit/"
    title: "DSP 2023 Voter Toolkit with candidate questionnaire answers"
  - url: "https://mikejohnstonformayor.com/issues/climate/"
    title: "Johnston's campaign website's climate goals"
  - url: "https://www.denvergov.org/files/assets/public/v/2/mayor/documents/2024-citywide-goals-report.pdf"
    title: "Johnston's 2024 goals. Absent any mention of Vision Zero"
  - url: "https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2026/01/12/traffic-deaths-denver-2025-increase"
    title: "Axios: Traffic deaths surge in Denver in 2025" 
alternativeSources:
  - url: "https://denvermoveseveryone.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2023_0426_DenverMovesEveryone2050_StrategicTransportationPlan_Opt2.pdf"
    title: "Denver Moves Everyone 2050"
---

## What Happened

[Denver Streets Partnership](https://denverstreetspartnership.org) has issued report cards for previous mayors after a duration into their term. Mayor Hancock received them and now Mayor Johnston has received his first. He was given a [D grade](https://denverstreetspartnership.org/mayors-report-card) after his first two years. Mayor Johnston failed to live up to many of his promises regarding transportation, mobility, climate, and accessibility.

## What Should Have Been Done

Had he focused on the campaign policies he touted he wouldn't have received such an abysmal grade.