Imagine A Great Election

Denver Municipal Run-off Election Today

June 7, 2011

We have been imagining great elections since the presidential election of 2008. We were also among the first to Imagine A Great City in the 1983 mayoralty election of Federico Peña.

Given the tenor of the closing days of this mayoralty election, we have missed an exciting opportunity to discuss and debate the important issues confronting the people of this city. Once the Denver Post poll was published which showed Michael Hancock ahead of Chris Romer by 10 points, the public discourse has been about the poll's accuracy and the impact of "negative campaigning." The pundits suggested that unless something big happened, Hancock would beat the heavily favored Romer. That something big would be a scandal charged to Hancock. It will be interesting to see if Denver voters fall prey to the old-fashioned last-minute gutter charges swirling around Hancock. The beauty of last-minute charges is that one cannot defend oneself.

As for me, I am counting on the Denver voter to vote for the candidate he/she believes will be the best mayor in these very difficult times made all the moreso by cynical political strategists.

We will continue to Imagine A Great Election and hope that one day soon a great election will not be imaginary. Our democracy depends on it.

--Sherry Seiber

Denver Mayoral Election 2011: Romer, Hancock Head to Run-off

To read bios as well as candidate views on issues ranging from the economy to civil unions to planning and development, hover over 2011 Denver Run-Off at left.

According to the Denver Elections Division, the May 3 election for Denver mayor resulted in less than 50 percent of total votes going to one candidate. For that reason, the top two vote-receiving candidates will be included in a June 7 run-off election.

As of 11 a.m. on May 4, the Denver Elections Division reported the following results for the top four candidates:

Chris Romer:
31,901 votes / 28.49%
Michael Hancock:
30,314 votes / 27.07%
James Mejia:
28,823 votes / 25.74%
Doug Linkhart:
10,557 votes / 09.43%

At Imagine A Great Election, we find correlations between levels of funds raised and votes received to be of great interest. In the current election, amounts raised correlate to numbers of votes received as follows:

Chris Romer:
31,901 votes / Total raised: $1.4 million / Dollars per vote: $44
Michael Hancock:
30,314 votes / Total raised: $800,000 / Dollars per vote: $26
James Mejia:
28,823 votes / Total raised: $580,000 / Dollars per vote: $20
Doug Linkhart:
10,557 votes / Total raised: $175,000 / Dollars per vote: $17

Campaign financial disclosures for all candidates are published on the Denver Elections Division website. The June 7 run-off election will also be conducted via mail-in ballot.