Denver mayor brushes off no-confidence vote on Denver Fire Chief Desmond Fulton
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston Monday batted away a no-confidence vote in Fire Chief Desmond Fulton, saying, "I'm confident Chief Fulton will continue to serve our community with honor and distinction."
Last week, nearly 900 Denver firefighters weighed in -- with 64% saying they had no confidence in their fire chief and deputy chief.
The vote was an expression by firefighters of unhappiness with Fulton following a scandal over his use of comp time, revealed in a 2024 CBS Colorado Investigation. The probe found Fulton and his top commanders were awarding themselves comp time for attending routine events, which then allowed them to cash in vacation days at the end of each year for tens of thousands of dollars. An independent investigation commissioned by Mayor Johnston found the practice "problematic" and "illegal".
But in a statement released Monday after the votes were tallied, Johnston said, "Denver firefighters work around the clock to keep our city safe, and I believe Chief Fulton is the right leader to continue that important work." The statement went on to say, "Chief Fulton has been a critical advocate for making sure our Fire Department looks like the community it serves, which is not always popular, but it is right."
Assistant Chief Patrick Hynes, who supported the no-confidence vote, said, "It is absolutely shocking to the members I have spoken to that the Mayor somehow equates the vote of no confidence as being related to the department's efforts to ensure our membership looks like the community we serve. This vote had nothing to do with the demographics of the Denver Fire Department ... The membership believes the Chief was stealing money from the taxpayers of the City and County of Denver. Any firefighter, wrote Hynes, found guilty of taking money to which they are not entitled would be required to pay back every penny and be served further discipline up to and including dismissal."
Mayor Johnston had previously made clear he had no intention of disciplining Fulton or anyone else for the comp time scandal, saying previous fire administrations had done the same thing.
An email sent by CBS Colorado to Chief Fulton and Deputy Chief Kathleen Vredenburgh regarding the no-confidence vote did not result in any responses.
"The voices of the rank-and-file are being routinely ignored," Hynes said .He also said the Mayor's statement suggesting firefighters are to blame for a lack of diversity, "compounds the issue exponentially."
