Northglenn Mayor Meredith Leighty sipped her drink as Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, seated on either side of her during a State of the Cities panel Wednesday, argued over the relationship between the two cities.

On stage in front of a crowd of hundreds of local leaders, Emcee Shaun Boyd asked the two mayors to agree to meet with each other. 

A hostile back-and-forth kicked off the event, which took place at Denver’s Performing Arts Center, as the mayors responded to a quiestion Boyd asked about ongoing tension between Denver and Aurora.

The tension dates back to a mutual aid agreement between the cities that led to a lawsuit, Coffman said at Wednesday’s event. More recently, Coffman has accused Johnston of sending immigrants to Aurora through a third-party nonprofit organization without permission — a claim Johnston denies.

Johnston has said multiple times that his “door is always open” to Coffman, and he said it again on Wednesday, adding that there is “no issue, no challenge for me.” 

“Well there is an issue, and there is distrust,” Coffman shot back, adding that he wants to “resolve the issue,” bringing the conversation back to one Coffman had at his State of the City address in early July. 

In his State of the City speech, Coffman said he is ready to offer a deal to Denver — giving the city five years to pay back money to Aurora over the mutual aid lawsuit, with the condition that Johnston and his team meet with Coffman and his team quarterly, he said.

Johnston tried to shift the conversation, saying there were “more important issues” to discuss at the State of the Cities event.

But the two mayors verbally agreed to meet with each other before changing topics.

The rest of the event focused on several key issues facing the metro Denver area, including homelessness, economic stress and a lack of affordable housing.

The Denver area has seen an economic slow down, and Aurora is seeing the slow down reflected in its sales tax, Coffman said, addressing his city’s financial shortfall.

“We’re going to have to do some belt tightening,” Coffman said, adding that the city has made efforts to save in the past to prepare for such financial challenges. “The City of Aurora will not have to lay off a single employee next year when the city will see a $20 million shortfall.”

One of Aurora’s strengths when it comes to economic development is the city’s immigrant integration plan, which is meant to help immigrants start and run businesses, Coffman said.

Northglenn has also seen a sales tax decrease and is making efforts to support small businesses, Leighty said. They have also honed in on shifting two commercial areas to residential areas, but are still facing challenges with affordable housing because of zoning restrictions.

“We’re doing all we can, but there is a constant risk, as many of us know, with the pushback of local control,” Leighty said. “That is very concerning because we know our cities best, we know our communities best … we need to be making those decisions on our own zoning.”

A big part of supporting businesses in Denver has been addressing homelessness and crime reduction, Johnston said. 

“The most significant issues are we want to make sure that our neighbors are safe and that our employees are safe,” Johnston said. “We want to make sure that we do not have tents or encampments in front of our businesses or in front of our homes.”

Denver has seen a 58% reduction in homicide rates, Johnston said, pointing to its public safety team’s efforts. The data he cited came from a Major Cities Chiefs Association report.

Between 2024 and 2025, the number of homicides in the first three months of the year dropped from 24 last year to 10 this year, the report said.

Denver also recently launched a property tax rebate for developers who target middle income housing, Johnston said.

All three mayors talked about the importance of regional collaboration, especially when it comes to public safety and transit. 

Johnston pointed to the Sundance Film Festival coming to Boulder as a prime example of regional collaboration to boost the local economy.

He also requested the help of everyone in the room to encourage people to come back to downtown Denver, saying many people have a pandemic-era perception of the city despite the positive changes going on.

Johnston was met with applause after telling the crowd the city is improving, and everybody needs to play a part in bringing more business and visitation downtown.  

“We need you to be ambassadors for us,” Johnston said. “Businesses in this community have worked incredibly hard to transform this city into a place that is thriving, and we also need perception to catch up with that reality. This is our chance to lead that recovery, but we need your help.”