“My life has been a life of perseverance,” said former Denver Mayor Federico Peña. “How many mayors have worn a bulletproof vest the day they were sworn into office? None. That’s how I started.”

That was in July of 1983. Federico Peña became the city’s first Hispanic mayor and continued to lead Denver for the next 8 years, a pivotal time in the city’s history. Peña believed in what was possible, in fact in his campaign slogan was “Imagine a Great City.”  Shortly after he took office, the city fell into a recession and he felt enormous responsibility to lead the city back to better times. There were many, loud doubters, he had death threats and bad press but.. “never did we have a doubt!”

“I was only 37-years-old when I was Mayor of Denver…. I had no fear,” said Federico Peña. “Me and my team believed we could do anything. We wanted to just work hard and as obstacles came up, we just figured out a way to go right through them or go around them or make an adjustment, but never did we have a doubt. Never did we have a doubt we could do whatever we set our minds to do.”

“Mayor Peña has never been an ideologue. He loves this city. He loves the work, and he loves to serve,” Denver City Council Member Darrell Watson said. “Let’s go back to 1983, Denver had many of the same situations that we’re facing today: a housing crisis, skyrocketing inflation.. and the Peña Administration faced it. They faced it head on.”

Watson gives some of the credit for his move to Colorado from the Virgin Islands in the 80s to Mayor Peña. “I wanted to go to a place where the outdoors were beautiful, and where I could enjoy the outdoors like I did on my island so I chose to come to University of Colorado. I also wanted to come to a place where there was history being made, and I read up about Mayor Peña. I understood the importance of this man hailing from Texas, moving to Denver, and really building a city that I actually felt I was a part of. We still had high vacancies downtown. We still had all of the problems that face urban centers, but we had a mayor that believed in us, and we believed in him, and I felt part of that community. And from then, I’ve had this attachment to Mayor Peña, his administration and all the good work that they have done.”

And so, In August of 2025, decades after Peña left the Mayor’s office, City Council Member Watson delivered a proclamation in Peña’s honor, acknowledging his impact on the City of Denver, the metro area and the state. City Council members spoke one-by-one at the weekly meeting, also thanking Peña for his service and love of Denver.  Peña humbly accepted the honor, while acknowledging his team that worked alongside him. Many of those former colleagues were in attendance in the City Council Chambers that night.

For the newcomers to Denver or those who have been born since Mayor Peña was in office, they’re not aware that much of what our city has to offer today is because of his ideas, his strategy and leadership. Here’s a list of just a few:  Denver International Airport, Major League Baseball in Colorado, Redevelopment of the the Central Platte Valley, Creation of the Lower Downtown Historic District, New Convention Center, New Downtown Denver Public Library, the One-Percent for the Arts Program, New Cherry Creek Shopping Center… and reduced pollution.

Current Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said this at the Proclamation Reading: “Whenever you take your kids to see Santa Claus at the Cherry Creek Mall, you are living in Federico Peña’s Denver. If you have ever gone to see the Rockies play with friends and family, you are living in Federico Peña’s Denver. If you ever attended a convention at the Convention Center, you’re living in Federico Peña’s Denver. If you have ever taken a flight out of Denver International Airport, you are living in Federico Peña’s Denver. If you have ever gone out for a drink on the patio at Union Station, you are living in Federico Peña’s Denver. So many of the places we consider to be the biggest places of joy in our city, are the places you (he was speaking to Peña at this point) had the vision and courage for. You dreamed of it and you delivered it and that has fundamentally changed the city.”

Following the accolades, Federico Peña spoke candidly, admitting, “I wasn’t prepared for this, to be honest.” He then turned to the Denver City Council with words of encouragement: “I want to thank you for your service, because these are indeed difficult times, and you are all up to the task. If we did great things over 40 years ago, all of you can do greater things today.”

Months earlier, Federico Peña’s wife, Cindy, along with Council Member Watson, had approached me as they began planning the Proclamation. Cindy was thrilled that Council Member Watson wanted to acknowledge and honor her husband’s legacy, as well as the leadership lessons he pioneered during a time when Denver faced significant challenges yet was boldly moving forward.

When Federico Peña jumped into the campaign for Denver, he was at the bottom of list of all the candidates. When moving to Denver as a young lawyer, he was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1979 and eventually became the Minority Leader for the House. He had no interest in running for Mayor but was encouraged by friends and colleagues. He defeated Mayor William McNichols, the established incumbent. After his two terms as Mayor, he was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve as Secretary of Transportation and then, he served as Secretary of Energy.

As I’ve gotten to know Federico Peña over the years, I would describe him as deeply engaging and curious, but above all, remarkably humble. When I asked what he is most proud of from his time as mayor, he shared that it was “opening the doors” to everyone—making all people feel welcome in every sense of the word.

“For many years, and I don’t know why, the bronze doors at the front of the City and County Building were always locked,” Peña recalled. “So I said, I want to literally and figuratively open those bronze doors to send a message: ‘This is your government, and you can walk in anytime you want through the front doors of the City and County Building.’ And I’m thankful that today, they’re still open.”

It would be exceptional to dive deeper than this short story, chronicling the impacts of Federico Peña on the City of Denver, and the region as a whole. Here’s hoping to that kind of project in the future… to steal his campaign slogan.. “Imagine that Great Story!”

In the meantime, may I suggest his autobiography: … Not bad for a South Texas boy: A Story of Perseverance.