Calling it a crucial time for the city, former Denver Mayor Federico Peña today formally endorsed James Mejia in the upcoming election.
“No disrespect to the other candidates, but they just don’t have his resume,” Peña, who served as mayor from 1983 to 1991, said following a news conference in the Sun Valley neighborhood of Denver. “We don’t have to guess whether he can make tough budget decisions. We don’t have to guess whether he understands how the city functions from Day 1. We don’t have to guess whether he understands international trade. We don’t have to guess whether he’ll know how to cut the budget.
“He’s got the whole package in a way that no other candidate has—they all have pieces of it, but they don’t have the whole package.”
Mejia, one of 10 candidates running for mayor, said the endorsement was especially meaningful for him because he grew up admiring Peña. Wednesday’s announcement came about a mile from where Peña essentially launched his campaign in 1982.
“To have the confidence of an individual who, in my opinion, laid the path for decades of development in Denver, is significant in itself,” Mejia said. “But when you also talk about the values with which he’s operated and how he’s spent his political career, there can’t be a better model to emulate.”
The mayoral election will be held May 3. If one candidate doesn’t win more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the top two finishers will be held in June.
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
