Wellington Webb: walking to victory in Denver - Newest Black Mayors

I WILL BE the first mayor of Denver with a mustache," quipped Wellington E. Webb, 50, as if his stunning, come-from-behind election as the first Black mayor of the 68-percent White city had been merely a footnote to political history. On the contrary, he had climbed from a distant third in opinion polls, had raised only $375,000 to his opponent's $1.2 million, and had overcome campaign charges that he hoarded a "personal slush fund." Webb won 58 percent of the vote citywide to defeat District Attorney Norman Early, 45, in a June runoff that was held because no candidate received a majority in the May election.

"In December, Norm was at 67 percent in the polls and I was at 7 percent," Webb recalled. "But I've been battle-tested. I've been through this before. I ran for city auditor in 1987 against five other opponents and won. Norm has run unopposed each time for district attorney."

Cleverly, the city auditor capitalized on Early's popularity as district attorney for seven years. Aware that Denver (pop: 485,000--12 percent Black, 20 percent Hispanic) could become the nation's only city with both a Black mayor and a Black district attorney, he explained to voters: "By electing Webb, you still get to keep Norm."

Instead of buying television time, Webb went directly to the people, losing 15 pounds from his 6-foot-4, 245-pound frame while criss-crossing the city and logging 210 miles on foot during his campaign's last 21 days.

"I didn't ride in a car," he recalls. "The last five days we ended up using a trolley because my knees and ankles started swelling." Webb spent a night with each of 41 Denver families previously unknown to him. His election, he later said, was a sign that handshakes counted for more than "sound bites."

At his July inauguration, Webb succeeded Federico Pena, Denver's first Hispanic mayor who is credited with bringing a major league baseball team to the city, a new $2.1 billion airport slated to be the nation's largest and $91 million in library improvements.

Webb intends to ride herd on the city's $3 billion debt and to strengthen the tax base by luring more permanent residents to Denver which lost 26,000 in the last decade.

Drafting a prompt payment ordinance to force city agencies to settle their bills on time, Webb's first 100 days featured a "back-to-basics" effort concentrating on health care, police protection, snow removal and other routine services.

"You've got to do the fundamentals before you can do the fancy stuff," he says. "That's not to say there won't be major initiatives like downtown revitalization. But I think we have to focus on the people who re already here. Are we giving them adequate police protection, adequate trash pick up?"

The new mayor's methodical, pragmatic style evolved over time. He was born on Chicago's South Side the the late Wellington Webb Sr. and his wife, Mardina. Asthma attacks forced the boy, at 7, to move in with his grandmother, Helen Gamble (now deceased), a dressmaker, in Denver where the mile-high altitude favored his health.

Holder of a master's degree in sociology from the University of Northern Colorado, the former college basketball star spent four years in the Colorado House of Representatives after his 1972 election. Both were divorcees who brought two children each (now adults) to their union from previous marriages.

From 1977 to 1981, Webb served as regional administrator of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President Jimmy Carter, administering a $3 billion budget which affected some 300 social service programs throughout a six-state region.

In 1981, Colorado's then-Gov. ichard Lamm appointed Webb executive director of the state Dept. of Regulatory Agencies, making him the only Black in the cabinet. Two years later, in a development overlooked by national media, Webb ran for mayor, finishing fourth in a field of seven. He believes his first mayoral bid failed partly because his opponents were campaigning a year before the election while he was busy campaigning for his wife's second term.

Having finally triumphed, Webb hopes to serve two terms as Denver's mayor, concluding: "Eight years is long enough for anybody."

COPYRIGHT 1991 Johnson Publishing Co.
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