Denver City Councilman Chris Nevitt.
Under the subject line “Humbled and Grateful,” Councilman Chris Nevitt on Tuesday thanked his supporters for backing him in what turned out to be his failed bid for Denver city auditor.
It was one week earlier that the establishment-backed Nevitt, who had raised nearly $300,000, . O’Brien .
Nevitt, who took a previously planned vacation to Mexico the next day, is now back in Denver. He declined an interview request Monday, but on Tuesday he spoke about his loss for the first time publicly via his e-mail to supporters.
“I am humbled and grateful for all your enthusiastic and generous support,” he writes. “And I can’t tell you how sad I am that I was unable to reward your confidence by actually winning the election.”
Read Nevitt’s full message below.
Dear Friends,
I am humbled and grateful for all your enthusiastic and generous support. And I can’t tell you how sad I am that I was unable to reward your confidence by actually winning the election.
Nonetheless, I’m proud of the campaign I ran. Perhaps I was naïve, but I was honest about who I was, what I cared about, and the kind of Denver Auditor I aspired to be.
Remember: I didn’t run just to be the next person to hold the position of Denver Auditor. I ran to be a different kind of Auditor, an engine for change, a catalyst for innovation and creativity. I wanted to focus more on being prospectively constructive than retrospectively critical. I wanted to help unleash the talent and creativity of City staff and agencies, not make them more timid and risk-averse. I didn’t want to be a skeptical opponent of the Mayor and his administration, but a demanding partner in making their work more efficient and effective.
I still believe that this is the kind of leader in the Auditor’s Office that most of Denver’s residents want. Unfortunately, for a majority of the voters who turned out on May 5, my kind of Auditor was not the kind of Auditor they wanted.
It has been my honor and privilege to serve the citizens of the City & County for the last eight years. I’m sorry that I won’t be able to continue to serve you as Denver City Auditor. But thank you, all of you, for thinking that I should, and for working so hard trying to make it so.
Sincerely,
Chris Nevitt
