DENVER-
This time, there are no catchy commercials and very few candidates as John Hickenlooper runs for re-election as mayor.
Only one person, a little-known public works employee, is challenging the Denver businessman as he seeks a second term in a mail-in election that wraps up Tuesday.
That’s a stark contrast from 2003, when Hickenlooper won his first term by beating out three more experienced politicians in a lively campaign. He won votes—and laughs—with a series of TV commercials that poked fun at his own outsider status.
The airways are virtually devoid of campaign ads this time around, and the sole challenger, Danny Lopez, said he’s in the race partly because he doesn’t think any politician should run unopposed.
Lopez said he wants to show you don’t have to be a “lifetime politician, lawyer, rich man or businessman” to run for office.
Political analyst Floyd Ciruli said the lack of major opposition indicates the public is largely satisfied with Hickenlooper.
“I think he was a good fit for the times and the times right now are pretty good,” he said.
Ciruli also said no one has tried to use Hickenlooper’s problems against him.
Hickenlooper’s first term did have bumps. A series of software, equipment and planning problems forced some people to wait for hours to vote last November. Hickenlooper himself called it a “debacle,” formed a panel to investigate and offered to personally pay the fines for any voters who got parking tickets while waiting to cast ballots.
The problems led the secretary of state to place Denver on an election watch list with other counties and prompted voters to abolish the city’s election commission and replace it with an elected clerk and recorder.
Tuesday’s election, which also includes City Council and other seats, is being conducted entirely by mail, so at least some of November’s problems won’t be repeated.
Hickenlooper also came under pressure after a December blizzard overwhelmed plow crews on city streets and at the city-owned Denver International Airport. The airport’s runways were shut down for 45 hours and some streets were clogged for days in the middle of the holiday season.
Hickenlooper defended the city’s response, saying it would have taken more crews and equipment than the city had to keep up. He authorized as much overtime as necessary to plow the streets so stores could reopen for the Christmas rush, and he also organized sledding parties across the city.
Lopez, meanwhile, promises he has a snow removal plan for major snowstorms.
Hickenlooper, a former geologist who opened Colorado’s first brew pub in downtown Denver, erased A $70 million budget deficit by cutting employees salaries, including his own, and requiring unpaid leave. That helped earn him recognition as one of Time magazine’s top big city mayors in 2005.
He also began a program to end homelessness and named a woman who grilled him on the issue on the campaign trail to lead the effort.
Last year, many Democratic leaders and donors hoped Hickenlooper would run for governor to succeed Republican Bill Owens, who was term-limited. Hickenlooper fans preferred his more liberal views on abortion to the those of the leading Democrat, former Denver DA Bill Ritter, who eventually won the seat.
Hickenlooper weighed the possibility for days but eventually declined to run, saying he wanted to follow through on his commitment to the city.
