Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s decision to forgo a gubernatorial race avoids a power vacuum at city hall that would have generated political turmoil and stalled key initiatives, council members and political observers said Monday.
At least six City Council members were getting talked up as potential mayoral candidates to replace Hickenlooper. By staying put, Hickenlooper ensures those council members won’t start bickering, several key council members said Monday.
“I think it would have been hell,” said Councilman Charlie Brown. “The Monday night council meetings would have gone on until midnight, and everyone would have been posturing.”
William Mosher, the developer tapped by the city to oversee the convention-center hotel construction, said Hickenlooper’s decision preserves stability and prevents the city from experiencing a “year of God knows what we would have had to deal with.”
The normally united council had begun to show strains as the mayor considered his decision.
Last week, Councilmen Doug Linkhart and Rick Garcia clashed over the proper amount to charge to register sex offenders in the city. And Garcia and council President Rosemary Rodriguez staked out different positions during a transit meeting.
Political observers were left wondering whether the disputes were driven by higher ambitions, considering all three were considered contenders to replace Hickenlooper if he left.
“By not having a potential vacancy in the mayoral office, you won’t have as much jockeying on the council from individuals who may be tempted to run,” said Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz. “This may promote peace and harmony.”
Council members Michael Hancock, Elbra Wedgeworth and Carol Boigon also had been considered potential mayoral candidates, although Wedgeworth had said she was not considering a run.
“I think it’s good for the folks of Denver that he’s staying as mayor,” Hancock said. “We need to keep that agenda moving forward, and this is not the time to be shifting leadership.”
As Linkhart put it: “If he leaves, we’re without a quarterback.”
Not everyone agreed the city would have stalled if the mayor had jumped into the gubernatorial race.
Wedgeworth said political pundits predicted stalemate three years ago when Hickenlooper took office along with 10 new council members and a new auditor. She said tensions were high back then because she was selected council president and had backed Hickenlooper’s opponent for mayor, former Denver Auditor Don Mares.
“People thought it was going to be a nightmare when we had that transition in ’03,” Wedgeworth said. “And everything went fine.”
Rodriguez said she worried that if the mayor had left, the top team he’s assembled, some of whom moved from other states, would have been disheartened.
“I think it would have been open season on them,” Rodriguez said.
But key staff people stressed that they were prepared to push the mayor’s initiatives if he ran for governor.
Katherine Archuleta moved from Albuquerque last fall to take a job as Hickenlooper’s chief operating officer. She said then that part of her motivation stemmed from her desire to work for Hickenlooper, a person she viewed in the same vein as her former boss Federico Peña, a Denver mayor who went on to become U.S. secretary of transportation.
“What is really, really true is he has an unbelievable team,” Archuleta said. “And we would have gone forward and got things done.”
But Hickenloooper himself said part of the reason he ruled out a run for governor was to keep the steam from leaking out of his initiatives.
“It’s impossible that you wouldn’t have lost some traction,” the mayor said as he explained his decision to the media.
“I would go to bed ready to run for governor, but every time I would wake up there was the business around the public trust and what people would think about elected officials, and the risk that all the things we’re working on here would get derailed,” he said in an interview later.
Staff writer Christopher N. Osher can be reached at 303-820-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com.
Key initiatives launched by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper
Implementation of 311 call center that will allow citizens to access all city services by dialing one phone number.
Construction of new $378 million justice center.
Implementation of the new $4.7 billion FasTracks transit project.
Raising scholarship money so disadvantaged high school graduates can attend college.
Ten-year plan to address homeless issues.
Reforms of the Denver Police Department, including the hiring of a new independent police monitor to review police-misconduct allegations and the hiring of consultants to assess police deployment.
