:: walterindenver ::

:: Monday, June 02, 2003 ::

Obligatory Mayoral Campaign Post

It's hard to get excited about Denver's mayoral race, which will be decided tomorrow. It's a run-off between Don Mares and John Hickenlooper. The field originally was an incredibly diverse group. Seven Democrats. Six of them current or former office holders In other words, a bunch of insider political hacks. Hickenlooper was the only non-politician in the bunch. As a political outsider in that group he became the frontrunner, which speaks more to the level of dissatisfaction with government in this city than any charm Hickenlooper might possess.
The campaigns each of the candidates ran were standard boilerplate - more services for group X, more money to be spent on project Y. Hickenlooper managed to get in a few words about fiscal responsibility between pledges to expand funding for light rail, among other things. I haven't heard any knowledgeable observer who thinks any of them would shrink city government down to a reasonable size.
The most positive aspect of the campaign was the abysmal failure of one Ari Zavaras. As a former chief of police he was one of those most responsible for the spy files fiasco, (I've been writing about that for months) and although he was an early favorite he generated very little support, and didn't even come close to making the run-off. Sources tell me he had a very negative image in minority communities, and rightly so.

So here's the Walter in Denver endorsement: Vote for Hickenlooper! Or stay home. Might be a good day for golf. Probably doesn't matter. I don't think you can write in another candidate on a run-off ballot.

:: Walter 8:55 PM [+] ::
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