As Colorado’s brand-new governor, John Hickenlooper lamented he was being advised to stay out of Denver’s mayoral race and not pick a favorite.
Who better to know which candidate would be a great mayor than the guy who had just relinquished the job to be sworn in as governor, Hickenlooper said in January.
He added then that he might endorse in the runoff, but he’s thought better of it since then. The election is Tuesday, and Hickenlooper isn’t saying whether he’ll vote for former state Sen. Chris Romer or Denver City Councilman Michael Hancock.
Both would be great mayors, he said, but voters need to ask themselves some questions before they mark their ballot.
Despite Hickenlooper’s penchant for running positive campaigns, he said it’s been a “little disconcerting” at how much attention in recent weeks has been paid to whether Romer is running a negative campaign.
“I hope the last weekend of the campaign gets back to the bigger issue of who are they as people,” he said. “Who’s got capacity to grow in that job? Who can hire and fire a team? Who can make decisions under pressure, bring people together pretty well?”
Hickenlooper also said he’s surprised at the lack of “conviction” among some voters in this year’s mayoral contest.
During a routine checkup at Denver Health Medical Center this week, he asked his doctor whom he supported.
“I don’t know,” the doctor answered. “I voted for Hancock the first time. I guess I’ll vote for him again.”
That lack of conviction, Hickenlooper said, is one reason he decided against endorsing in the runoff.
“It would carry an undue influence in this race,” he said.
But political consultant Eric Sondermann said Hickenlooper made a show earlier this year of wanting to have a “level playing field” in the mayor’s race.
“An endorsement would violate the marker he set,” Sondermann said.
Hickenlooper was a Lower Downtown brewpub owner and a political neophyte when he decided to run for the open seat for mayor in 2003.
He initially started in the back of a pack of seven candidates but won in a landslide. Voters loved his quirky parking meter ad and his promise to bring a business approach to government.
No matter who wins Tuesday, Hickenlooper said, “Denver will get a freshness that it needs, that everybody needs.”
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
