Roughly half of voters disapproved of the job performance by both Mayor Mike Johnston and the City Council in a poll that also showed people’s malcontent with the direction that Denver is heading.

The poll, which surveyed nearly 1,600 respondents earlier this month, put Johnston’s numbers under water — 50% disapproved of his performance, while only 43% gave him a thumbs up.

Even fewer — 35% — approved of the councilmembers’ work, while 49% found the job they’ve done effectively abysmal.

Fueling the respondents’ dissatisfaction is frustration over the city’s handling of Denver’s most pressing problems, notably the illegal immigration crisis that, by Johnston’s own estimate, will cost taxpayers $90 million this year. The voters are also unhappy with the city’s

response to drugs, violence and homelessness, the poll showed.

These areas have preoccupied Johnston’s energies in his first year as mayor. Johnston, who edged out rivals in a crowd field, had outlined an ambitious goal when he assumed office last July, notably promising to solve the city’s homeless challenge within his first term. Over the past several months, his administration had spent scores of millions of dollars to move homeless people into temporary shelters.

Then a surge of immigrants who arrived in Denver after illegally crossing America’s southern border put the city in a fiscal tailspin. To finance its response, Denver — which has embraced the “sanctuary city” label — cut some services, froze hiring and even decided against planting flowers to save money.

The poll, conducted from May 7 to May 14 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.45 percentage points, offered hints that the voters who elected Johnston as mayor and picked the new council have lost patience in the city’s leaders — 55% of respondents said Denver is on the wrong track, compared to 42% who think otherwise.

Magellan Strategies, which conducted the poll on behalf of the city, listed the reasons for voters’ dissatisfaction with the mayor and the City Council.

Voters said they felt the mayor and council have “too much power, are out of touch with the people’s needs, or are beholden to special interests.”

Some said the city’s resources are “misallocated and priorities are misplaced.”

Notably, many expressed frustration with the “perceived prioritization of immigrants over citizens.”

“There is a widespread desire for change among respondents, with many expressing a desire for new leadership and fresh ideas to address the city’s challenges,” a summary of the poll said.

The poll showed dissatisfaction in the mayor among men (49%), women (50%) and unaffiliated voters (60%).

His numbers are upside down among people age 64 and younger and across all income levels, save for individuals earning $150,000 or more. The latter evenly split their view of Johnston’s job performance — 47% approved, 47% disapproved.

Johnston also found support with voters who are 65 and older and among Democrats, though 33% of his party mates disapproved of his performance. Among Republicans, 83% effectively rated Johnston’s performance as poor.

The respondents gave the City Council a similar treatment, though a higher number — 15% — said they have no opinion of the elected body that passes the city’s laws.

Interestingly, the city is doubling down on its response to illegal immigration that, according to the poll, respondents found vexing.

The Johnston administration, with backing from the council, is offering free shelter and food to immigrants who reach Denver after crossing the southern border illegally, which officials in west Texas say have been the primary draw to Colorado’s most populous city.

In an overview Tuesday of the city’s response to the crisis — the so-called “Newcomer Program” — councilmembers learned that the immigrants will receive, at taxpayers’ expense, six months of rental, food and utility assistance, a computer, a prepaid cell phone and metro bus passes.

Over the past 17 months, Denver had received nearly 42,000 immigrants. That is roughly the size of Brighton, which is located about 20 miles northeast of downtown Denver and is the county seat of neighboring Adams County.

To date, Denver’s response has cost taxpayers about $70 million — and counting. Early in the crisis, city leaders decided that Denver taxpayers would assume the cost to temporarily feed, shelter and transport immigrants to their final destination.

A sampling of comments gathered by Magellan Strategies hinted of voters’ exasperation with the city’s handling of the crisis.

“The lack of care for residents seems to be showing more and more,” said one resident, who said he has lived in downtown Denver for 10 years but that he’s considering moving out of the city because of its problems, notably the influx of immigrants and surge in crime in the last several years.

“It’s sad. I love Denver, but not sure how much longer I want to live here when it feels that the people who earn a living are being pushed out for those living on the system,” he said. “Find a balance. Remember, without my tax dollars you can’t continue to support those who don’t contribute.”

Several respondents echoed that sentiment. “Personally, I think the mayor/council is doing a great job. However, I think we’re doing too much for the migrants. I read they had a list of ‘demands.’ Give me a break,” one respondent said. “I hope the mayor and council understand that there are those of us that feel like our tax dollars are better spent (elsewhere). I’m not against immigration, but we are spending our tax dollars on those that didn’t come in legally.”

The respondent added: “Use that money to get our unhoused veterans off the street. Use that money for our citizens to get the mental health services they need. Use that money for infrastructure and city services. Keep our parks beautiful with flowers. The migrants don’t pay taxes. I pay taxes and I can’t even get my trash picked up on time (and now I’m paying extra for that).”

To the Johnston administration, the city is under a moral obligation to help the immigrants even as it seeks the best ways to deploy finite resources.

The mayor has been touting his response to the illegal immigration crisis.

In a recent post on X, Johnston said he is proud of his administration’s “Newcomer Playbook” — Denver’s how-to guide, offered to other jurisdictions, for “successfully integrating” immigrants.

“Denver is actually writing the book on welcoming newcomers,” Johnston said on the social media platform. “We’ve changed, adapted and found models that work, and now we’ve even open-sourced those strategies for use in other cities across the country.”

The mayor’s “playbook” says the city is using “newcomer” as “part of Denver’s welcoming approach” and in order to “(embrace) a more inclusive language.”

Meanwhile, some councilmembers expressed annoyance with the mayor’s office for allegedly not giving them due recognition for their actions on the crisis.

While receiving an update during a committee meeting Tuesday, Council President Pro-Tem Amanda Sandoval gave Plastino, the city’s “Newcomer Program” director, a dressing down for not appropriately giving credit to her and Council President Jamie Torres for much of the work they’ve done behind the scenes.

“Nobody knows that Council President Torres and I have been on many of these meetings,” Sandoval said. “No one knows that Council President Torres and I have worked on any of these programs. No one knows City Council approved the lease with the Mullen Home.”

And — Sandoval said — no one knows that she advocated, long before the Johnston administration stepped into the picture, for the city to partner with the Archdiocese of Denver to open Mullen House for immigrants.