Denver's Ethics Board Dismisses Travel Complaint Against Hancock

DENVER, CO — Denver's Board of Ethics unanimously dismissed a complaint Wednesday against Mayor Michael Hancock over his Thanksgiving weekend travel.

The mayor asked Denverites to stay home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and then flew to Texas to visit his family.

The ethics board said it was disappointed in Hancock's decision and understood the public's outcry against the mayor in the wake of his travel; however, his actions didn't violate the city's code of ethics, the board said.

The mayor flew to Houston Nov. 25, rented a car, and drove to Mississippi to spend Thanksgiving with his wife and daughter.

"Stay home as much as you can," Hancock tweeted on the same day as his flight. "Host virtual gatherings instead of in-person dinners."

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There were a record number of coronavirus cases in Denver in the fall, and when Hancock flew out of Denver, the city was under 'Level Red - Extreme Risk' on Colorado's COVID-19 dial, which meant that nobody was permitted to gather with others who are outside their household.

"I'm asking, I'm urging, I'm pleading with everyone — please stay home," Hancock said during a virtual news conference several days before his flight. "Please only go out for essential services."

After Hancock received a lot of backlash on social media for his flight, he released the following statement:

"I fully acknowledge that I have urged everyone to stay home and avoid unnecessary travel. I have shared how my family cancelled our plans for our traditional multi-household Thanksgiving celebration. What I did not share, but should have, is that my wife and my daughter have been in Mississippi, where my daughter recently took a job. As the holiday approached, I decided it would be safer for me to travel to see them than to have two family members travel back to Denver.

"I recognize that my decision has disappointed many who believe it would have been better to spend Thanksgiving alone. As a public official, whose conduct is rightly scrutinized for the message it sends to others, I apologize to the residents of Denver who see my decision as conflicting with the guidance to stay at home for all but essential travel. I made my decision as a husband and father, and for those who are angry and disappointed, I humbly ask you to forgive decisions that are borne of my heart and not my head."