Although a final vote is two months away, Denver City Councilwoman Rosemary Rodriguez believes she will be the council’s next president.
“After speaking with a majority of the council, I’m confident I have the votes,” Rodriguez said this week. She needs seven of 13 council members to back her.
Freshman Councilman Michael Hancock will be nominated for president pro tem by Councilman Charlie Brown. Hancock said he would be “honored” to serve if elected.
Although Rodriguez expects to win the leadership post, Councilwoman Carol Boigon cautioned that the final vote is still two months away.
“It may seem that everything is settled, but a lot of things can happen between now and July,” she said. “We are looking at who will be effective.”
The council president has few perks and many responsibilities, including running every council meeting and assigning members to committees. The council president also must work with Mayor John Hickenlooper’s administration. When the council and administration differ on an issue, it can put the president in a precarious position.
The pro tem stands in for the president when he or she is unavailable.
Only midway through her first term representing west Denver, Rodriguez would take the helm from current President Elbra Wedgeworth, who has decided to step down after two years.
She would also edge out Councilwoman Kathleen MacKenzie, who has previously failed to win the position.
MacKenzie surprised many council members this week when she told The Post she wasn’t sure whether she is running.
“I’m not ruling it out, but it’s too early to be campaigning,” MacKenzie said when reached Wednesday at her hotel while vacationing in Brussels, Belgium.
After being edged out by Wedgeworth the past two years, the second-term councilwoman asked some of her colleagues to back her this year.
When asked if she thought she could get enough votes, MacKenzie added: “I don’t know. I haven’t surveyed folks yet.”
Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz was the only council member who said outright that she would support MacKenzie if she ran for president. She pledged to support MacKenzie last year.
“Rosemary is a fine person and would make a good president, but I stand by the commitments I made,” she said.
But Councilman Doug Linkhart, who also committed to MacKenzie last year, appears to be wavering.
“I told her I would support her when she was the only one running,” he said. “Rosemary looks like she has the votes to win. Usually that’s enough to make the other person back out.”
The Post called every council member and was able to reach 12. Few would disclose which candidate they would support. Council members Brown and Judy Montero and said they backed Rodriguez.
Wedgeworth said she was staying out of it.
Staff writer Karen Crummy can be reached at 303-820-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com.
