Denver's more moderate mayoral candidates pull ahead

As votes for Denver's mayoral election poured in Tuesday night, two of the more moderate candidates in the unusually large and divergent field of 16 contestants pulled far ahead in the initial results.

If early results hold, Kelly Brough, the president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, and Mike Johnston, a former state senator, could be pushed to a runoff election. They would leave behind the more progressive candidates in a largely left-leaning contestant field.

 All are vying for an increasingly powerful position in a city that faces a rising crime rate not seen for decades, growing homeless encampments and dizzying housing costs. The fear that undergirds the race is clear: Denver -- the fast-growing, relatively young, business and tech hub of the U.S. Mountain West - is tumbling toward a fate similar to that of other major cities.

The stakes are high, said Ty Robertson, an engineer in Denver and Johnston supporter. The city has rapidly burgeoned into a major metropolis, she said, and "we just weren't prepared."

While the election is officially nonpartisan, the more progressive candidates include Leslie Herod, a Democratic state representative, and Lisa Calderón, the executive director of Emerge Colorado, which supports women's campaigns for public office.

Calderón, who has landed in third after the first batch of votes, said "the stakes are between a progressive Denver or a continuation of a corporate Denver for the wealthiest."

Core disagreements among candidates have arisen over whether to enforce a ban on the growing homeless encampments, further fund the police, impose rent control and allow what are often called "safe injection sites" - where people can use drugs under supervision to prevent overdoses.

Brough, who said she's feeling overwhelmed with the initial results, explained that what Denver voters want "is somebody who actually knows how to run the city, who has had experience as a CEO."

All of the candidates are also vying for the political post that's become a steppingstone for ambitious politicians.

Former Democratic Mayor John Hickenlooper launched a successful gubernatorial campaign, which propelled him into the U.S. Senate, where he now represents Colorado. Going back further, after his tenure as Denver mayor, Democrat Frederico Peña went on to become U.S. Energy Secretary under former President Bill Clinton.

The other candidates in the race - including a former boxer, an investment banker, a state lawmaker and a former Crenshaw Mafia Gang member - were further behind the two frontrunners for the initial batch of votes. Only around 90,000 votes, in a city of half a million registered voters, have been counted. Far more are expected Tuesday night and Wednesday. The election likely won't be decided until a June 6 runoff.

Current Mayor Michael Hancock, who has run the city since 2011, can't run again because of term limits. Hancock's long tenure in office has been the norm for Denver mayors over the last half century. This year's winner will be only the sixth mayor elected since 1968.

Whoever wins will inherit a city that boasts a large aerospace and tech industry, six professional sports teams, a proud beer culture and one of the fastest growing economies in the country.

The future mayor will also inherit a city experiencing a rise in gentrification, the highest crime rate in decades, and an increased rate of homelessness that grew by over 12% in the preceding two years - as well as an unprecedented surge in opioid overdoses that reached 473 deaths in 2021. Denver and the broader metro area has nearly doubled in population in the last three-decades - reaching roughly 3 million people in 2021.

The question of whether to enforce Denver's camping ban, which is aimed at curtailing homelessness and a legacy of Hancock's administration, has divided the contestants. Most candidates, including Johnston and Brough, said they would enforce the ban.

Those who wouldn't enforce it include candidate Herod and Calderón.

Two bills moving through the Colorado Legislature have also split candidates. The pieces of legislation would give municipalities, including Denver, the power to impose rent control and allow safe injection sites. Both proposals have left candidates split along roughly the same lines as they fall on a spectrum from moderate to progressive.

Whoever pulls ahead in the race will hold the reigns to a city that's both grown and suffered in recent years, as Denver becomes an increasingly popular place to live and important part of the western United States.

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By JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press/Report for America

Jesse Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.