PERSON: Mike Johnston

City and County of Denver

Mayor

Michael Christopher Johnston (born November 17, 1974) is an American educator and politician serving as the 46th and current mayor of Denver, Colorado. A member of the Democratic Party, he won the 2023 Denver mayoral election, defeating Kelly Brough in the June 6 runoff election.

Johnston first entered politics when he served in the Colorado Senate, representing the 33rd district from 2009 to 2017. He was a candidate for governor of Colorado in 2018, losing in the primary to Jared Polis, who went on to win the general election. He was also a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2020, before withdrawing from the race in September 2019.

One of four children, Johnston was born in Oklahoma City and raised in Vail, Colorado, the son of Sarah “Sally” (née Cox) and Paul Ross Johnston. His father was a U.S. Army veteran and businessman who served on the town council for more than a decade and then as mayor from 1983 to 1987.

After graduating from Vail Mountain School in 1993, Johnston attended Yale College, earning his bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1997. During high school and college, he was involved in community service activities, including volunteering at a Denver homeless shelter and mentoring youth in a New Haven housing project. After graduating from college, he taught English at Greenville High School in rural Mississippi for two years as part of the Teach For America program. Based on this experience, he wrote the book In the Deep Heart’s Core.

After his program ended, Johnston enrolled in the Harvard Graduate School of Education, earning a master’s degree in education policy. While at Harvard, he worked with Al Gore’s education advisor, Jon Schnur. With Schnur and others, he helped to found New Leaders for New Schools, an organization dedicated to training and recruiting leaders for urban schools. Upon earning his master’s degree, he enrolled in Yale Law School, and became an education policy advisor to political candidates, including U.S. Senate candidate Tom Strickland in 2002.

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