Feisty Denver mayoral contest nears conclusion

DENVER (AP) — An occasionally feisty Denver mayoral election culminates Tuesday with City Councilman Michael Hancock and former state Sen. Chris Romer seeking last-minute votes after spending more than $4 million trying to set themselves apart.

The winner of the all-mail election will be sworn in July 18, replacing interim Mayor Guillermo “Bill” Vidal. Denver’s last full-term mayor, Democrat John Hickenlooper, became Colorado’s governor in January.

Hancock and Romer, both Democrats, agreed on most important issues: raising taxes to complete a mass transit project known as FasTracks; dismissing the city’s police chief, whose department has been marred by excessive force allegations; and favoring civil unions for same-sex couples.

The candidates took jabs at each other since both made the runoff last month, with Romer working the more aggressive — Hancock called it negative — campaign.

“I’m really sorry that we had to default to the negative tone,” Hancock said. “I shouldn’t say ‘we,’ because I’ve worked really hard to keep it at a different level.”

“They’re really not that far apart,” said Seth Masket, an associate professor of political science at the University of Denver. “They’re both very mainstream Denver Democrats, which is why the campaign has focused on personal issues. Otherwise, it’s hard to distinguish.”

Hancock’s remarks during debates gave Romer something to pounce on. At one, Hancock was asked if he believed in evolution. “I believe in God,” he responded. In another, he was asked if creationism should be taught at public schools. He said yes — then said afterward he had misunderstood the question. He insisted that creationism is a religious belief that has no place in public schools.

It provided fodder for a campaign flyer that portrayed Hancock as a nonbeliever in evolution who wants to decide what students are taught in science class. The flyer has a picture of a dinosaur skeleton.

“At some point, you have to have good judgment to hear a question and then answer it,” Romer said. “And that’s happened a number of times in this race.”

To combat the attacks, Hancock launched a “Clear the Air” section on his campaign website.

“I don’t think we’ve seen anything like this in Denver’s history,” Hancock told The Associated Press. “It’s gotten nasty. It’s gotten personal. A lot of the information that’s put out there is false. It’s meant to scare people.”

Romer’s campaign accused Hancock staffers of heckling officials at events where they’ve endorsed Romer, including James Mejia, who finished third in the first round of voting and was heavily courted by both candidates.

Romer, whose father is former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer, raised nearly $2.6 million to Hancock’s $1.5 million, but their totals narrowed as the election neared.

In May, Romer raised about $1.1 million, but that included a loan of about $500,000 from himself. Hancock raised about $700,000 during that same time, but he did not lend himself any money.

The total fundraising exceeds the $2.9 million raised by Hickenlooper and Don Mares in 2003, when Hickenlooper became mayor.

That year, Hickenlooper faced a $50 million shortfall when he took office. This year, the shortfall is $100 million.

Both candidates have said that they would consolidate some city departments to save money. Romer said he would consider eliminating the manager of safety’s position but later abandoned the idea. Hancock said the city would have to continue a freeze on some government positions.

A lot of the debate focused on improving the city’s public school system, although the mayor has no control over the school board.

Denver resident James Hall, 41, said he wanted the candidates to talk more about helping bring more businesses downtown. “Things that they can actually control as the mayor of Denver,” Hall said.