It was like an action movie: The key operative in a down-to-the-wire race, climbing in an elevator shaft 22 floors up as the returns come in.
And so it was for Eric Rothaus, the campaign manager for Democratic State Treasurer-elect Cary Kennedy.
At 9 p.m. election night, Rothaus got stuck in a crammed elevator at the convention center Hyatt Regency for more than 40 minutes.
“I had imagined all kinds of things about election night,” Rothaus said. “Getting stuck in an elevator was not one of them.”
Rothaus had both his and Kennedy’s cellphones but no reception. Meanwhile, reporters called. Kennedy called. Everyone was calling.
No one knew why he wouldn’t answer.
Denver firefighters tore through the elevator’s ceiling and lowered a ladder. Rothaus and 20 others climbed out one by one.
Finally, Rothaus made it to Kennedy’s suite.
“Luckily, I had all this oil on my hands, so I could say, ‘No, I was really stuck in the elevator,”‘ Rothaus said.
