Denver City Council District 7 candidate Aaron Greco is reflected on a surface nearby as opponent Jolon Clark speaks at the start of a debate on Wednesday, May 13, 2015 at the Denver Channel 8 TV studio. (Brent Lewis, The Denver Post)
Aaron Greco has been drawing on his ties to Democratic Party stalwarts for backing in his Denver runoff bid for the District 7 City Council seat.
But his opponent, Jolon Clark, also has built a solid list of backers. His list might lack the star power that Greco has drawn, but a political analyst says it arguably may help him more in the June 2 runoff in the south Denver district. (With the caveat, of course, that endorsements might not matter as much as candidates hope they do.)
Clark led the nine-candidate field in the first round of the election on May 5 with 26 percent of the vote; Greco polled 16 percent.
Since then, Clark , including from former state Rep. Anne McGihon, who came in third behind Greco by 28 votes. The seventh former candidate, Luchia Brown, has told Clark and Greco that she isn’t issuing an endorsement. Clark’s campaign also says outgoing Councilman Chris Nevitt is backing him, though he’s been a polarizing figure for some neighborhood activists.
“Of those two hands of cards, I’d rather be playing Jolon’s hand,” said Eric Sondermann, a Denver-based political analyst who’s been watching the runoff races.
Greco, a former congressional aide, from former Mayor Federico Peña; state House Majority Leader Crisanta Duran and state Rep. Alec Garnett — whose districts overlap council District 7 — and former House speakers Mark Ferrandino and Terrance Carroll. He’s also lined up backing from former bosses Ed Perlmutter and John Salazar, along with other well-known state Democrats.
But the thinking goes that the bigwigs aren’t always big draws for votes in local races. If, that is, endorsements really sway voters.
“I think endorsements tend to be overvalued as a general rule,” Sondermann said, “but I particularly think unrelated endorsements — like legislative endorsements in a council race — get particularly discounted (by voters).”
In the runoff, Clark and Greco are battling for turnout as well as for the support of voters who backed the candidates who didn’t make the first cut. “Clark, by all indications, seems to be at least winning the second category,” Sondermann said. “The first one (turnout) remains to be seen.” Mail ballots went out to voters last weekend.
Recent coverage on The Spot of District 7:
