Wellington Webb

Wellington E. Webb (born 1941) is a former mayor of Denver, Colorado. He is a graduate of the city's Manual High School. He was Denver's first African-American Mayor.

Webb served as mayor of Denver for 12 years, from 1991 to 2003. One highlight of his years in office was the South Platte River Corridor Project, involving commercial and residential redevelopment, as well as reclamation of park land, along the South Platte River in central Denver. He was also mayor at the time of the completion of Denver International Airport, started by his precessor, Federico Peña. Prior to Webb's tenure as mayor, he succeeded Mike Geselbracht as Denver City Auditor and served from 1987 to 1991, and as Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agenices in the Cabinet of Governor Richard Lamm from 1981 to 1987.

He is married to Wilma J. Webb, and they have four children.

Wellington Webb's bid for mayor included his "Sneaker Campaign", in which he walked door to door through a large portion of Denver, introducing himself as a relatively unknown candidate.

Webb was mentioned in the documentary Bowling for Columbine during a speech by National Rifle Association president Charlton Heston. In April 1999, shortly after the high school shootings at Columbine High School near Denver, Heston claimed that Webb had asked him not to come to Denver.

Although he briefly sought the office of chairman of the Democratic National Committee in late 2004, Webb dropped out of the race in late January 2005 and endorsed fellow candidate Howard Dean, who went on to win the chairmanship. Webb was well known as the only African-American candidate for the DNC chairmanship.

In February 2007, Webb published his autobiography, "The Man, the Mayor and the Making of Modern Denver," (Fulcrum Publishing) co-written by former Colorado journalist Cindy Brovsky. In that book he mentioned his colleague in the state house, Rich Castro.

The Wellington E. Webb Municipal Office Building, completed in Fall 2002, was named in honor of Webb. It houses some forty municipal agencies and divisions from the City and County of Denver, as well as the office of the District Attorney.

In 2008, Webb voted for Barack Obama and Joe Biden as one of Colorado's presidential electors.^[1]

Notes

External links

• Biography by DenverGov.org - Focuses mostly on Webb's service as city auditor
• The Wellington E. Webb Municipal Office Building - Information and pictures
• South Platte project