Year in Review Downtown Partnership (DP) ADVOCACY was at the forefront of Downtown Partnership efforts this past year. Downtown Partnership set the stage last fall with its annual Mayor’s Breakfast on Downtown that brought to the podium, alongside Mayor Rivera, Governor John Hickenlooper, whose election had been sealed only a day prior. The Fine Arts Center SaGaJi Theatre was packed and an enthusiastic crowd spilled out into the adjacent corridors. In his first public appearance as Governor, Hickenlooper challenged us to dream bigger and do more. In the spring, with Colorado Springs voters charged to elect a first-ever “strong mayor” as well as new City Council members, a wide slate of candidates emerged. Utilizing Facebook, Twitter and e-blasts, Downtown Partnership encouraged citizen engagement. We interviewed 14 City Council candidates and nine Mayoral candidates, and posted their responses to five questions about Downtown on our website.
Mayor’s Breakfast 2010
We helped educate voters by disseminating information about the change of form in government. We also joined others in sponsoring a live interactive online Young Professionals Mayoral Forum, facilitated by Springs Vision Forum, a foursome comprised of Marcus Haggard (Magneti Marketing), Etienne Hardre (Next Exit Advisors), Tucker Wannamaker (Magneti Marketing) and Ashlee Springer (Smash Events). Users posed their own questions, dialogued with the leading candidates — then Richard Skorman and Steve Bach — and with each other. The forum brought to the table the tech-savvy and a newer generation of voices and vision. Downtown Partnership also continued its tradition of FACILITATING CONNECTIONS AND COLLABORATIONS. Membership mixers promoted real time, face-to-face networking. First Commercial Bank, HB&A Architects and RTA Architects generously hosted these much-anticipated get-togethers. Our monthly newsletters profiled Downtown merchants, promoted events and revealed pieces of Downtown history. Community conversations, communications about Downtown and event promotions took off exponentially this year via Twitter and Facebook. Individuals and businesses were no longer simply responding to our outgoing messages, but initiating their own. DP also provided financial and management services to its partnering organizations: the Downtown Development Authority, Business Improvement District, and Community Ventures.
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