There is less than a week to return your ballot for the run-off election for Denver’s mayor and, for many of us, a run-off election to choose our city council representative.
Also up for a vote is Initiative 302, which would “enact a measure prohibiting the use of public monies, resources, or fiscal guarantees in connection with any future Olympic Games, without the City first obtaining voter approval….” There’s more in that sentence on the ballot, but that really says all we want to hear.
Now I look at the ballot still sitting on my dining room table, with a certain amount of dread. On the same day another debate was held between incumbent Mayor Michael Hancock and challenger Jamie Giellis, I received two more mailers from groups that are not authorized by either candidate. One, a cartoon-format mailer from Red, White and Blue Denver, targets Hancock, and Rise Up Denver, targets Giellis. Two previous mailers in a similar cartoon format targeting Hancock were paid for by Friends of Denver’s Future, but all three have the same mailing address.
The new pieces that came in the mail are both pretty woeful. I am sorry our postal workers must deliver these things.
The debate last night sponsored by The Denver Post seemed to me to bring more clarity to the subjects at hand. But maybe that’s because at this point we almost know what to expect.
This will be over soon, but I think it will take a while for Denver to center itself after this electoral fist fight. I just do not want to ever hear anyone say that “we continue to be the most desirable city in the country where people want to live here and want to stay here.” For many, that may be true. But not for all, considering the exploding changes to this city. When the city starts pounding its chest, all I can think is, Denver, what the hell happened to you?
Below are links to the debate last night on YouTube, and a link to a Denver Post story on the debate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lrQkcBsCLo
https://www.denverpost.com/2019/05/28/denver-mayor-runoff-debate-hancock-giellis/
Chandler in Denver 