 The municipal board members appointed by the governor had complete financial control over the police, fire, and excise departments.Over half the expenditures of the city went through this board which gave the governor and his party much direct control over Denver.Governor Davis Hanson Waite, elected in 1893 on a Populist Party reform platform, tried to overturn the corruption in Denver in 1894 by removing police and fire commissioners that he believed were shielding the gamblers and prostitutes that he believed were resulting from and also worsening the depression.