Leafy-green sport coat notwithstanding, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper didn’t make the cut for Grist’s list of the 14 greenest mayors in the U.S.
It would seem all that donning of bike helmets, planting of trees and praising of solar-energy panels on the roof of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science have gone for naught.
Even the low-flush, water-efficient urinals at the City and County Building went unnoticed by the Seattle- based environmental journalism website that touts itself as “a beacon in the smog.”
Hickenlooper, who can count among his environmental bona fides the establishment of the Greenprint Denver conservation initiative, was out-greened by the likes of Atlanta’s Shirley Franklin and Jerramiah Healy, the mayor of Jersey City, N.J.
The ranking by Grist acknowledged that Healy governs in a “rough and tumble city,” and gave him credit for considering banning plastic bags, for holding polluters accountable and for cleaning up brownfields.
Grist reps said they would need a little time to research how their reporter decided to leave Hickenlooper off the list.
In a telephone message, Hickenlooper said he didn’t mind.
“We don’t care about polls,” he said. “Who knows how they measure them, and how they decide whether to say if you’re great or not, or not as good as somebody.”
Of course he did have a few quibbles.
“Most of the cities on there don’t have . . .”
The voice stopped.
“Ehh, I better not say that.”
Sue Cobb, the mayor’s spokeswoman, also e-mailed later in the day to point out that the Public Technology Institute on Thursday gave Denver a sustainability award for a program to reduce vehicular CO2.
And in fact, many of the initiatives applauded by Grist in other cities also are occurring in Denver.
“A lot of stuff going on here is being picked up and copied around the country,” Hickenlooper said. “That should be what the measure should be.”
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
