Calderon was among the 171 city employees laid off on Monday to deal with a $260 million budget shortfall in Denver. The city also eliminated 665 open positions and transferred 92 other positions "off the general fund to other aligned funding sources," according to the mayor's office, which expects the cuts to save $100 million. City employees were informed on Monday and Tuesday whether they got the ax.
According to Calderon's attorney, Steven Murphy, she was wrongly selected for layoffs by the city and Ben Sanders, the mayor's chief equity officer and Calderon's former employer. Murphy notes Sanders also "abolished Jessica Calderon's job" by eliminating the director of operations and innovation position that she held with his office for more than three years. Calderon held positions with the Denver Human Services and the Sheriff's Department before that.
"The city is required to apply a matrix of four factors to select the employees subject to the layoff: job performance, skills, abilities and seniority...As a 21-year employee of the city, Calderon would have benefited from the application of the matrix," Murphy said in a Tuesday press release. "The city and Sanders did not apply the factors to her. Ms. Calderon is considering all legal options to challenge the city and Sanders’ heartbreaking decision to abolish her job."
In a press release from Monday, August 18, the mayor's office said it directed department directors to "protect core city services, maintain focus on top city priorities," and "minimize impact to employees" while making layoffs.
In Calderon's lawsuit, filed in June 2025 with the U.S. District Court in Colorado, she alleges that Sanders repeatedly confronted her about her connections to Lisa Calderón (no relation),
who ran against Mayor Mike Johnston in 2023 and has since been
vocal critic of his public safety policies.Calderon supported Lisa Calderón's mayoral campaign. She was also a member of the Latinos United Neighbors Association (LUNA), an advocacy group for Latino leaders founded by Lisa Calderón. After Calderon left LUNA in early 2024, she sought a promotion to deputy executive director that summer but was passed on in favor of Brian Firooz, who was a manager at Johnston's former company Gary Community Ventures.
According to Murphy, the city and Sanders continued "to retaliate and discriminate against [Calderon] by continually criticizing and scrutinizing other positions under her supervision, denying her opportunities which she previously held while providing these opportunities to her male colleagues and failing to support her effort to fully fund the digital equity position under her leadership."
Calderon also interviewed for the chief equity officer position in August 2023, before Johnston picked Sanders for the role. In July 2021, before Johnston was mayor, Calderon applied unsuccessfully for chief equity officer and deputy executive director.
Her lawsuit claims the city discriminated against her because of her sex and national origin, and she's seeking a jury trial, back pay, compensatory damages and punitive damages in the case.
The City of Denver has declined to comment on Calderon's lawsuit, citing pending litigation.
Also among those laid off was longtime Denver Parks & Recreation executive Scott Gilmore, the husband of City Councilwoman Stacie Gilmore.
