An Interview with Denver City Councilor Shontel Lewis

Shontel Lewis was elected to the City Council in Denver City Council District 8, making her one of the first two openly queer Black city councilors in Denver’s history, and the first openly queer Black woman. For our interview, the councilwoman suggested meeting at one of her favorite spots in her district: a restaurant in the Park Hill neighborhood, where I found her seated in a striking yellow dress and a neat set of braids.

After a brief introduction, we moved across the way to a local library for a quieter area to chat. As we changed locations, Lewis told me some of the recent history of the streets around us and how the buildings and neighborhood had changed over the years as a result of gang violence. The councilwoman also introduced me to some of the early work she did with the Gang Reduction Initiative of Denver (GRID). In this interview, Councilwoman Lewis reflects on her journey to elected office, the changing political landscape of Denver, and the challenges the city faces.

To start off with, can you tell our readers which district you represent, what that encompasses, and your relationship with that district? 

I was recently elected to District 8, which incorporates parts of Park Hill, parts of Montbello, East Colfax, Central Park, and Northfield. My relationship with the district is, I’ve actually lived throughout the entire community, except for Northfield and Central Park. I’ve lived in Park Hill for some time (I currently live there), I’ve lived in Montbello, and I’ve also lived in East Colfax. I’ve also organized a number of things throughout the district, so I’m very close to members of the community here. This is home—These are businesses and establishments that I’m familiar with and that raised me in some ways.

And could you give us some of your professional background?

One of my first jobs was actually with the city and county of Denver—I was with the youth employment program. The summer youth employment program provides organizations and agencies the opportunity to hire youths over the summer and teach them some kind of skill. So my first job with the city and county of Denver was refurbishing computers. Each year, I would get a new job and a different skill.

My professional experience really started with Goodwill Industries of Denver because I had gotten into some trouble previous to that and I had a misdemeanor on my record. Because of that, I would go to job interview after job interview, and I would get letters of offer, and then they would run the background check and say, “I’m sorry, we can’t actually hire you.” Goodwill Industries of Denver were actually the only folks willing to give me a chance. I was split between two schools—the Contemporary Learning Academy and the Academy of Urban Learning—two alternative schools where I worked directly with youth to help them find employment. It’s been circular in some ways in my life.

I then went on to do gang reduction in this neighborhood and all throughout District 8. Actually, all through Districts 8, 9, and parts of 11. I went on to work for the Regional Transportation District (RTD), and I worked in Title VI. This is really how I fell into politics, when I worked Title VI (which comes from the Civil Rights Act of 1964) that essentially says that agencies that receive national funding can’t discriminate based on race, color, or national origin. So I was the person who had the opportunity to evaluate projects and say, “This may disproportionately impact communities of color and low-income communities.”

I found during my time there that a lot of the projects we were working on … were being decided by people who weren’t necessarily close to the folks most impacted by those decisions, and that the outreach that was happening was more of a “check the box” approach than intentionally engaging with folks. The ramifications of those decisions were real: people felt that in a real way. When your bus goes away, you can’t get to grocery stores or schools or doctor’s appointments. I recognized where the authority was to make policy changes so that we were building engagement at the policy level.

So I decided to run for the RTD board, not really thinking about getting elected, but thinking about ‘How am I bringing folks from the bus stops into our board rooms?’ and I was able to make a lot of progress in that role. But it was hard; it was really hard and isolating. So I decided four years was enough and decided not to run for reelection. During this time, I had members of the community tell me, “Oh, you’re not running for reelection; great, you should run for city council.” And I was like, “I don’t know about that.” But my background was just so perfectly aligned with city council work that I gave it some thought and decided to run.

You started off your elected career with RTD. What is it about public transportation that drew you to that office?

I grew up on public transit. I grew up in a family with six children, and my mom was a single mom at that time and was often off dealing with the ills of poverty. We bussed from our neighborhood in Five Points to a more affluent school because our mom knew that there was the opportunity to have more resources and for us to have a more robust experience from an education standpoint. She understood the importance of education. So as she was off dealing with the ills of poverty, we were responsible for getting ourselves up and, as you might guess, kids don’t always get to places on time, so occasionally we would miss the school bus. If our neighbor wasn’t around, or we didn’t have the 10 cents required to ride the bus at the time, we wouldn’t be able to make it to school.

So at a very young age, I became aware of what it meant to have access to transportation, but also what barriers existed to that access. I found that public transportation had the potential to be the great societal equalizer. We saw what a big impact it had in our lives when we took the bus to grocery stores, laundromats, and schools—It was such an integral part of our childhood. It also has such a positive impact on the environment. You know, getting folks out of single-occupancy vehicles and getting them into shared spaces is exactly what we should be doing. It really met this need for me, to not only bring the community together and break down economic barriers but also create a positive impact on our planet and our environment.

Could you tell us some of what you consider to be your biggest accomplishments on the board? 

There are a few I am most proud of. I was able to help the Montbello Organizing Community attain land that RTD was no longer using—It was a park-and-ride. We helped them attain that land, so now they are developing an affordable unit with space on the bottom area that will be used as a cultural center and have community resources in addition to housing. That was one of the first things that I did out of the gate at RTD. I am the reason that we have public comments at committee meetings; that was not happening at first. What would happen is, we would have all of our committee meetings, and our board meetings, and our board would vote, but by the time you came to give public comments, most of the board would have already made up their minds. So we were able to shift that, and now we have public comments at each of our committee and board meetings, as well as live streaming.

When I was first elected to the board, live streaming of our meetings did not exist, so I kept pushing and pushing our staff to make sure those were available to individuals. Eventually, we were able to win that. I will give you two more: I put forward, in partnership with Director Dishell, the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Resolution, essentially saying, ‘Hey, as an institution we are going to thread these values throughout all of our agency.’ I think what came from that was that I had pushed to make rides free on election day and initially that had failed. We had given that resolution to someone else to run and it passed unanimously.

During your election, you were endorsed by LPAC and Victory Fund. How would you define your relationship with the LGBTQ+ community?

The queer community is my community. I know when we talk about marginalized and vulnerable populations; LGBTQ+ folks fall into that category. So as I am looking at our policy through a lens of equity, I am often thinking about who is going to have the hardest time accessing these things, and who is going to have the toughest barriers. What we find is that it’s communities of color, low-income communities, LGBTQIA+ communities, disabled communities, and those who don’t speak English as a first language.

So, I am constantly thinking about those things. I was just telling Tiffany, my chief of staff, I had an experience where my son is 20, and he is just much more fashionable than I am. That’s just a matter of fact. So we went into a store, and I was like, “Diego can you come into the dressing room with me and tell me which one of these I should wear for the inauguration?” And folks were like, “No, he can’t go in there. He can go into the men’s, and you can go into the women’s, but you can’t go into both.” So it’s those types of experiences I think about. What does it mean to have these spaces that you can’t occupy in the way in which you live your life? So when we talk about queer communities, that is often a lens that I operate from.

And do you personally identify as queer?

Yes, I am queer and that is very important to me. 

Some political pundits have characterized the recent election in Denver as a rejection of progressivism by Denver voters. Do you think that is a fair assessment?

I don’t know. I think there were a lot of factors—low voter turnout, the fact that this election wasn’t in November, and it was during an off-year cycle. So I think there were a number of factors that played into that. Like having an April election, there was a lack of understanding that April isn’t where it ends; that was a runoff. So when I went back on the campaign trail in May folks were asking things like ‘Wait, how does this work?’ So, I think it’s easy to put in simplistic terms, but I wonder if it’s a bit more nuanced than that. There are multiple factors that contributed to the outcome of the election.

One can tell how deeply embedded in the community Shontel Lewis seems to be. Upon entering the library, Lewis was immediately greeted by the librarians, as one would a close friend. Later, while we were taking photos, Lewis was hollered at by a woman driving by who let Lewis know that she loved her dress. Even at the restaurant, the councilwoman appeared friendly with the patrons. People seem to truly consider Lewis a member of the community, a friend, and an advocate.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Denver currently? 

If we were to do something overall, I would say affordability. A number of things can fall into that. That can be housing, property taxes, trash collection, and access to food. It can even be the lack of feeling safe in neighborhoods. I think we really have to focus our efforts and reduce the expenses that families and people are burdened by. We may not be able to increase the revenue that is coming into your household, but we can reduce the amount of dollars that are leaving your house from a city lens. I think affordability is huge in that regard. 

What do you see your role as while working with the new Johnston administration?

I see my role as someone who acts as a liaison between the city. I can’t fix your pothole, but what I can do is I can contact you with the proper department who can. So I see myself and my staff as a liaison … I have a responsibility to be in communication with the mayor to say, ‘I saw this plan of yours and we have done this thus far. I saw this plan of yours, have you considered this?’ How do I make sure that the mayor is not just looking at individual districts to put affordable housing or transportation in, but looking at the city as a whole? Identifying which communities may have affordable housing deserts or transportation deserts so we can focus our efforts more there. I consider it my responsibility to continue to push the mayor to ensure that what is important to our communities actually shows up in our budgets.

What are your thoughts on the state of emergency Mayor Johnston declared on homelessness?

I actually appreciate it, honestly. I would say advocates and activists and even people who are unhoused have been saying we are in a state of emergency … a lot of them would say that this is well past due. So I commend the mayor and his decisiveness to say, ‘This is what we need to do.’ Now the opportunity has come for the mayor, the other city councilors, and I to ensure that what we are putting in place is actually representative of what communities need. That we are not perpetuating the issues we say we’re solving or sweeping folks and calling it something else. That we are putting forth solutions that are grounded in human dignity and humanity. 

You worked closely with Dr. Lisa Calderón, who is a proponent of creating more social housing. Do you also see that as a solution to the rising cost of housing and what do you propose the city should do to combat the rise in homelessness?

Absolutely, so, right now, we are in the process of submitting ideas to the mayor of what we hope to see included in his budget. What I proposed was funding to set up a social housing authority. That could be us partnering with a consultant to see how it could be done. So, I am still pushing that message. I am still looking for opportunities to do master leasing … to be able to address affordability and get folks housed in our communities. I included in our budget … an opportunity to look at having a real estate transaction tax on all real estate transactions in the city and county of Denver that we can then use to fund new housing.

I also included in my submission to the mayor an apartment acquisition fund … for us to acquire hotels, and apartments that are underutilized… to build up affordable housing in the long term. There is also an opportunity to buy medical debt from everyone in the city and county of Denver as a way to prevent homelessness as well. Medical debt for plenty of people is the reason they are experiencing homelessness in the first place. I am thinking about it from a myriad of angles. 

We do have to ask, as it has come up during your election, that you do have a criminal record regarding the embezzlement of public funds. How did you go about rebuilding trust with the community and what would you say to those who argue it disqualifies you from public office?

I will start with the idea that it disqualifies me from public office. I think the fact that I am in this seat and have been sworn into two elected seats that are very different—one on the board of RTD, which is a body of the state legislature, and a municipal level at the city council—I would say that it proves otherwise. I was actually convicted of misdemeanor theft and I served two years probation, paid off all of my restitution, and have gone to great lengths to show folks I will give back to a community that has invested so much in me.

My entire life has been of service, to give to those folks in our community who are not doing well. I have to ensure for myself that each day is not me walking or living in the shame of my worst mistake, but living in the truth that I am taking care of communities. That I am making sure we all are okay, and that as I climb, the community climbs. I think the rebuilding has just happened naturally. I volunteer my time and people know Shontel, people know my heart, people feel my love, people feel my warmth. People also know that no matter what I am going through, if you don’t have it and you ask for it, I am going to give it to you. I think the last four years at RTD have been a rebuilding of that relationship and, for some communities, that rebuilding wasn’t necessary.

They understood that I was a single mother, recently widowed, and a full-time college student who was working multiple jobs, but still had to steal food stamp benefits in order to feed my family. Some people looked at that and wanted to have a conversation about how we can improve the lives of people who are ideally doing everything they can to achieve the American dream but are just outside of it because wages and housing costs just don’t make sense. 

Are there any key issues you would like to see the city council tackle during your tenure as a city councilor?

I would say, overall, we are figuring out long-term solutions to housing at all income levels. But we aren’t doing so in a way that concentrates poverty in any one community, and we aren’t building projects. We are figuring out, as a city, opportunities to reduce the expenses in individual households and also where we can have a positive impact on the environment. Climate and environmental justice are really important to me and, as a parent, I am just concerned. So I am really looking to figure out how we take the social determinants of health and parlay those into policy so that we are measuring our success in a different way than we have done thus far. 

Photo courtesy of Shontel Lewis