DENVER—A former state senator and son of a former governor led the race to become Denver’s mayor Tuesday, but he won’t avoid a runoff in a close race that had election workers counting votes late into the night to determine second place.
Chris Romer, best known for making changes to Colorado’s medical marijuana industry, was leading with 29.5 percent of the vote, but two other candidates were close behind. Denver City Councilman Michael Hancock had 26.1 percent, followed by James Mejia at 25.3 percent. Mejia is a former Denver Public Schools Board member who led the construction of the city’s new justice center.
To become mayor, the winner needs 50 percent of the vote. Romer was already looking toward the June 7 runoff.
“The most honorable and humble thing is to have the voters’ support today. This is going to be an important conversation over the next 30 days,” said Romer, whose father, Roy Romer, was Colorado governor.
Hancock also declared to supporters that he was in the runoff and “one step closer” to being mayor. In his victory speech, he summoned one of the city’s most popular athletes.
“In the words of the Duke—John Elway: We got ’em right where we want them,” he said. “I left a message for Chris Romer and I told him I look forward to the next five weeks ahead.”
But Mejia’s campaign was not ready to concede.
“We are waiting until all ballots have been counted,” said Berrick Abramson, Mejia’s spokesman. About 1,185 votes separated Mejia from Hancock late Tuesday.
The campaign has been marked by a large number of candidates—10—and an unenthusiastic electorate voting in an all-mail election. In recent days, candidates have been courting voters at all-night restaurants and bars, and driving and walking through neighborhoods to offer to pick up and deliver ballots at vote centers.
Last-minute voters were hurrying to drop off their ballots Tuesday evening. Lane Bates, 49, ran down a street to a drop-off location downtown, 90 minutes before the polls closed. He said he and his wife have had the ballot at home for two weeks.
“We just procrastinated,” said Bates, who voted for Romer because he sees him as a fiscal conservative.
More than 298,200 ballots were sent out, and by Tuesday afternoon, 82,167 voters had returned them, the city’s Elections Division said. That’s a turnout of about 27.5 percent.
“It’s low. It’s very low. There were so many candidates, you’d think it would be higher,” said Tina Romero, of the Elections Division’s communications department. Monday saw a big jump in the number of returned ballots with 14,749, nearly triple the number of ballots returned Saturday.
The election has seen a wide divide among the candidates in terms of fundraising. That, in part, has led political observers to believe the race was a three-way contest among Romer, Hancock and Mejia.
Romer raised about $1.4 million, while Hancock raised $791,200, and Mejia has $571,300. By comparison, one of the closest competitors, Denver Councilman Doug Linkhart, has raised about $175,100.
The job the candidates are lobbying for is a tough one: The winner will have 60 days after the July 18 inauguration to close a $100 million budget deficit for 2012.
The candidates are vying to replace former Mayor John Hickenlooper, a Denver favorite who is now the Colorado governor.
“I think there’s a letdown. Hickenlooper was a very popular mayor,” Roanne Kuenzler, 57. “There’s no one as exciting as he was in the race.”
Kuenzler said she voted for Mejia because she thinks he’ll be an advocate for education, given his background.
“It’s key,” she said. “It’s the solution to all of our problems.”
Norman Provizer, a professor of political science at the Metropolitan State College of Denver, said all-mail elections usually help turnout. But this race been has been one “without a lot of buzz.”
“None of (the candidates) has really ignited in the sense of capturing a lot of overt public attention,” he said.
Also, the top candidates are Democrats who don’t differ much on major issues, Provizer said.
“There really hasn’t been this clash of wills over high-profile issues,” he said.
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Associated Press writer Thomas Peipert contributed to this report.
