Gov.-elect John Hickenlooper isn’t saying who he wants to succeed him as Denver’s mayor, but his future chief lobbyist has lined up behind a candidate.
Hickenlooper will resign as mayor on Jan. 11, the same day the Democrat is sworn in as governor.
“Most of the wise people I know, that I look to for advice, think it’s a bad idea to get involved in a mayoral race,” Hickenlooper said.
“But part of me thinks, who knows this job better than I do? I’ve been living it and dreaming it for 7 1/2 years, eight if you count the campaign.”
Hickenlooper, a former brewpub owner who became mayor in 2003, was asked at a recent pre-session legislative forum about his preference for mayor.
He left open the possibility that he might endorse someone later on.
“I couldn’t imagine I would go out and campaign. I just am not going to have time,” he said. “But whoever gets elected, I will make sure we work together and have a good relationship.”
Floyd Ciruli, a pollster and political analyst, said Hickenlooper’s endorsement would be “a very potent thing.”
Hickenlooper has strong favorability ratings in polls and has the support of business and GOP interests.
The leading mayoral candidates so far include three City Council members — Michael Hancock, Carol Boigon and Doug Linkhart — state Sen. Chris Romer and James Mejia, a former city department head who now is executive director of the Denver Preschool Program.
Romer is resigning his seat Dec. 31 to concentrate on his mayoral bid.
State Rep. Christine Scanlan, D-Dillon, who is resigning her seat Dec. 31 to become Hickenlooper’s lobbyist, recently added her name to a fundraising letter on Romer’s behalf.
Although Denver races are nonpartisan, the leading candidates so far are all Democrats, which can lead to a messy, unofficial intraparty battle, Ciruli said.
Other mayoral candidates include Paul Noel Fiorino, who ran in 2006 and again this year as an unaffiliated candidate for governor, and Danny Lopez, a city worker who challenged Hickenlooper’s re-election bid in 2007, receiving 13 percent of the vote.
The mayoral election is set for May with a runoff scheduled for June, if necessary. The new mayor would take office during the summer.
Deputy Mayor Bill Vidal, who also is director of the Department of Public Works, will run the city until the new mayor takes office.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
