Denver Mayor Michael Hancock has designated parks director Allegra “Happy” Haynes as the city’s deputy mayor for 2017, his office has confirmed.
Haynes, appointed in September 2015 as executive director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, took over the largely ceremonial role this month from Don Mares. He remains the executive director of Denver Human Services.
That means Haynes, a former City Council member, now occupies three public posts: deputy mayor, parks director and at-large member of the Denver Public Schools board, an elected unpaid position. She is the board’s secretary.
Her dual positions with DPS and the city had drawn controversy after her appointment by Hancock in 2015, especially after she spent significant time on board business during her first several weeks in the parks job, when she was still the board president. But within a few months, time sheets showed she had curtailed time away from her city job during work hours.
The Hancock administration made the change without an announcement this month, a spokeswoman said, and it reflects a change in Hancock’s approach to the deputy position.
Former Denver chief financial officer Cary Kennedy served as deputy mayor for more than four years, until she left her city job a year ago. Hancock then appointed Mares. Going forward, he intends to cycle the position among others in his cabinet each year, spokeswoman Jenna Espinoza said.
The deputy mayor occasionally subs for the mayor at Mayor-Council meetings and other occasions and is first in line to be acting mayor if the mayor is unable to perform his responsibilities. The designation adds $5,000 a year to Haynes’ regular salary as parks director, which is $144,168 by ordinance.
“Per Charter, the Mayor must appoint a deputy mayor each year and it must be a member of his cabinet,” Espinoza wrote in an e-mail. “The mayor has decided to begin to alternate that appointment to provide his cabinet members the opportunity to expand their public service experience outside of their daily roles.
“This year, Allegra ‘Happy’ Haynes was appointed deputy mayor for her dedication to leadership and passion to serve the residents of Denver.”
