Write-in candidate results

The write-in candidate results are in, and boy are they underwhelming. None even reached three digits, with Lynn Smith leading the pack at 93 votes.

Clerk & Recorder: Kevin Slevin 61
City Council D01: Gerald Styron 6
City Council D08: Lynn Smith 93
City Council D09: Ray Barela 9
City Council D11: William Helfrich 0

If you voted for someone who was not an authorized write-in candidate, your vote was not tabulated. That means we'll have no official tabulation of the votes for "Santa Claus," "George Washington," "Martha Stewart," or the ever-popular "John Elway." Sorry, folks!

Who got the money in 2007?

A few observations on the campaign finances in the 2007 Denver municipal elections.

First, our expectation that people give money to ensure a victory by their candidate just doesn't add up. Look at the below fundraising numbers put up by Mayor John Hickenlooper. Why are people giving in droves to a man who is cruising to victory? Why do his finances skyrocket at the end, with no serious race in sight? Because they want power and access, and for that, nothing's better than a sure winner for the top post in city government.

Then there's the matter of incumbents. In addition to their war chests, they can raise money quickly. Look at the sharply increasing figures for Councilwoman Carol Boigon, who raised nearly $100,000 in just four months:

Then there are the open seats. Here the candidates in Council District 7 (Nevitt, Watters, and Connor) clearly outpaced the field.

Finally, we look at the challengers. How hard is to raise money against an incumbent? Only one breached the $10k barrier.

If donors were largely ideological, new challengers willing to instantiate ideas would gain the most money. But what donors really want is access. So you give money where it's sure to do some good, to those people who are sure to get re-elected. See the below averages for City Council fundraising by incumbents, open seat candidates, and challengers.

Oh yes, and then you bemoan what a terribly boring election we're having. Why haven't we heard any new ideas?

Be a dear and pass another hors d'ourve, won't you?

Goodbye, greenhorn

I'm making a list this evening about entitled "Top Ten Ways to Ruin Your Political Prospects." The list isn't complete yet, but it includes oldies-but-goodies like:

10) Nevermind niceties like personal grooming.
9) Greet voters by kissing hands and shaking babies
8) Use your prison cell as campaign headquarters
... et cetera

More to the point of this post is the decision by Clerk and Recorder candidate Jacob Werther to end his political career before it started. Because if there's one way to ruin your own political prospects, it's to expose your own supporters to public ridicule.

For some reason, Werther has released to Colorado Confidential a personal phone message recently left on his answering service by Councilwoman Kathleen MacKenzie. In it, MacKenzie apologizes for not being able to support Werther publicly, since she had previously pledged to support candidate Stephanie O'Malley.

Read the entire article in Mark Mehringer's "Apology Regarding Endorsement Leads to Hurt Feelings in Denver Clerk Race."

There's no serious harm in the release, aside from hurt feelings, but it certainly reveals a lack of both awareness and sensibility about basic political matters.

So in a last homage to Mr Werther before his drubbing at the polls is announced, we offer this thought from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

"The best way to have a friend is to be a friend."

O'Malley pledges to do better

The backlog at the Clerk & Recorder's office has gotten a good deal of press lately. Today's Rocky Mountain News reports that appointed chief Stephanie O'Malley has fallen even further behind in the last few months, but is now taking steps to rectify the situation. Read the full article by Sara Burnett entitled "Clerk and recorder's office dives into big backlog of foreclosures."

O'Malley in the hot seat

At 11:09 am today, Channel 7 became the first media outlet with enough cohones to investigate allegations of impropriety by an incumbent in the Denver municipal elections.

Stephanie O'Malley hasn't been elected before, but she is the appointed Clerk & Recorder, which means we can evaluate not only her statements, but also her performance on the job.

We invite all voters to read "Foreclosures Held Up Because Of Clerk's Failure To Follow Law" and decide whether the allegations represent a serious public failing.

Below is an excerpt:

Hundreds of mortgage foreclosures worth millions of dollars are being held up because the Denver Clerk and Public Trustee failed to follow state law.

The state law requires that homeowners be notified of the foreclosure within 20 days before proceedings can move forward, and a Notice of Election and Demand must also be recorded by the Denver Public Trustee. The law is in place so that a homeowner is given time to pay any back payments and fees.

Stephanie O'Malley was appointed Clerk and Public Trustee by Mayor John Hickenlooper in January, and is running for election as the permanent Denver Clerk and Recorder, which would make her responsible for fixing the city's troubled elections.

When O'Malley took the job of Clerk and Public Trustee, she inherited a backlog of hundreds of foreclosures.

The build up may mean some Denver residents get to stay in their homes for free.

"It takes time for me as an individual to get up to speed, to understand the nature of the business around here. You know, as much as I want to sit here and claim I've been a clerk and recorder before or a deputy public trustee, I have not," O'Malley said.

...There have now been almost 1,000 foreclosures withdrawn.

O'Malley's critics question her ability to run elections in light of the problems with the foreclosure issue, but she said she can do the job if she has enough people and resources to make it work.

Update 4/23: Dear Denver has offered a longer view of failures in the Clerk & Recorders office, trailing back to Rosemary Rodriguez's tenure in that office. She also notes that if all of these appointed leaders are failing, perhaps those placing them in the office (namely, John Hickenlooper over the last 4 years) are also failing us.

What's at stake in the Clerk & Recorder election

Rocky Mountain News reporter Daniel Chacon has offered an excellent, balanced review of the current Clerk & Recorder race.

The post not only provides biographical details about the candidates, but actually discusses the real issues behind the race itself and plans to implement once the election is decided.

I highly recommend review of the article, entitled "Two vie for clerk and recorder post: Candidates' views differ on precincts vs. vote centers."

Profile: Stephanie O'Malley (Clerk & Recorder)

We found it! For the first time, we can actually access Stephanie O'Malley's own online presence at her campaign website.

We have no idea how long it's been online, but persistent efforts to locate the same (as outlined in several previous posts) finally paid off.

You are invited to visit her site for more details on O'Malley's candidacy, but we found her biography most interesting. Why? Because she utterly failed to mention who her parents were. They were kind of important to Denver, and to her governmental appointments.

What an interesting (and yet understandable) omission.

Did the Clerk & Recorder election break election laws?

According to former Denver Election Commissioner Jan Tyler, Denver's January 2007 election violated Ordinance #851. It was conducted after just 30 days notice, yet the controlling ordinance requires at least 60 days notice.

Dear Denver wonders "What if, on May 1, a judge declares Denver's January special election void?"

In essence, the judge would have to decide whether the election violated city election laws. And if so, what's the remedy?

It's possible that our current Clerk & Recorder race between Stephanie O'Malley and Jacob Werther would be for a non-existent seat. We'd have to have another special election to validate the need for an elected Clerk & Recorder, and one more special election for the potential candidates for this seat. All of this would be the result not of some "mad" judge, but of the city's failure to follow its own ordinances.

What a shame. But what a question. Where do you think it'll land?

More details available from Lisa Jones in "Can An Election Be Nullified"?

O'Malley's daddy

Does anyone find it strange that virtually all of the campaign financing in support of an elected Clerk & Recorder position was provided by "Wellington Webb International"?

Having Webb's daughter (Stephanie O'Malley) appointed to the position by Mayor Hickenlooper seems rather... convenient, doesn't it?

Does it make it better that Dad waited two months to fund the campaign, or more suspicious?

Questions should be directed to Hick, O'Malley, Webb, and the group's treasurer, Dennis Gallagher.

Denver Post endorsements

Again, the Denver Post strikes on the theme of boring elections. The campaigns "have generated only a handful of competitive contests and all too little public interest." How is the public supposed to be interested in a campaign the Denver Post news division does not cover?

Nevertheless, they claim to have been "struck by the quality of candidates who have put themselves forward for city offices." Their endorsements represented frontrunners in every race with just one exception: Council District 3's JoAnn Phillips. Since she has scant been mentioned in this entire campaign, the full text of that endorsement may be helpful:

Our choice is JoAnn Phillips, who has an intimate knowledge of the district gleaned from her service as an aide to former Councilwoman Ramona Martinez. Phillips has solid views on economic development, strengthening neighborhoods and public safety. She faces Kathy Sandoval, Paul Lopez, Mark Roggeman, Ben Romero, Antoinette Alire and Niccolo Casewit.

Their complete list of endorsements is below:

Clerk and Recorder: Stephanie O'Malley
Auditor: Dennis Gallagher
Council District 3: JoAnn Phillips
Council District 4: Peggy Lehmann
Council District 5: Marcia Johnson
Council District 7: Shelly Watters
Council District 8: Carla Madison
Council District 9: Judy Montero
Council At-Large: Carol Boigon and Doug Linkhart
Ballot Question 1A: "Yes"

Changes to Auditor and Clerk & Recorder positions

Bob Ewegen of the Denver Post outlines some of the changes in Denver's elected Clerk & Recorder and Auditor positions in an editorial entitled "Denver pours 'new wine' in old offices," noting:

For the first time, [Denver voters] will directly elect their city clerk and recorder, pouring new powers into that old office in hopes of solving Denver's election mess.

Additionally, whoever wins the familiar office of city auditor will face a radically different set of duties than the office formerly performed...

Prophet predicts

In early March, the Wash Park Prophet predicted victories for Chris Nevitt in Council District 7, Darrell Watson in CD8, and Stephanie O'Malley for Clerk and Recorder. He had no prediction for CD3, and anticipated incumbents would win without a runoff in all other races.

He added to those predictions today, indicating the likelihood of Shelly Watters getting into a CD7 runoff, Carla Madison making the CD8 runoff, and Paul Lopez facing down Ben Romero in a CD3 runoff.

The Prophet's predicted winners all have one thing in common: they are the financial frontrunners in their race. Furthermore, his predicted runners-up all have the second largest coffers. And the races he anticipates to avoid a runoff all have enormous financial divides between the frontrunner and any challengers.

We understand that the "money primary" represents votes - and the opportunity to get more votes. Those facts lead toward the obvious conclusion: candidates with the most money normally win. Nevertheless, simply following the money line doesn't strike us as a terribly inspired "prediction."

But it does lead us to wonder... does the Prophet moonlight as an Accountant?

Official Ballot for 2007

The official ballot for the mail-in May 1, 2007 municipal elections will include the following candidates:

MAYOR
(Vote for One/ Vote por Uno)
Danny F. Lopez_____
John Hickenlooper_____
(Write-In/Otros nombres)_____

AUDITOR
(Vote for One/ Vote por Uno)
Bill Wells_____
Dennis J. Gallagher_____
(Write-In/Otros nombres)_____

CLERK AND RECORDER
(Vote for One/ Vote por Uno)
Jacob Werther_____
Stephanie Y. O’Malley_____
(Write-In/Otros nombres)_____

COUNCILMEMBERS AT LARGE
(Vote for Two/ Vote por Dos)
Carol Boigon_____
Doug Linkhart_____
Carol E. Campbell_____
(Write-In/Otros nombres)_____

COUNCILMEMBER DISTRICT 1
(Vote for One/ Vote por Uno)
Rick Garcia_____
(Write-In/Otros nombres)_____

COUNCILMEMBER DISTRICT 2
(Vote for One/ Vote por Uno)
Jeanne Faatz_____
(Write-In/Otros nombres)_____

COUNCILMEMBER DISTRICT 3
(Vote for One/ Vote por Uno)
Antoinette Alire_____
Paul D. López_____
Niccolo Casewit_____
JoAnn Phillips_____
Kathy Sandoval_____
Mark Roggeman_____
Ben Romero_____
(Write-In/Otros nombres)_____

COUNCILMEMBER DISTRICT 4
(Vote for One/ Vote por Uno)
Peggy A. Lehmann_____
Ike Kelley_____
Bill Rutherford_____
(Write-In/Otros nombres)_____

COUNCILMEMBER DISTRICT 5
(Vote for One/ Vote por Uno)
R.J. Ours_____
Marcia Johnson_____
Mitchell Poindexter_____
(Write-In/Otros nombres)_____

COUNCILMEMBER DISTRICT 6
(Vote for One/ Vote por Uno)
Charlie Brown_____
(Write-In/Otros nombres)_____

COUNCILMEMBER DISTRICT 7
(Vote for One/ Vote por Uno)
Shelly Watters_____
Dennis Smith_____
Chris Nevitt_____
Julie Connor_____
(Write-In/Otros nombres)_____

COUNCILMEMBER DISTRICT 8
(Vote for One/ Vote por Uno)
Darrell B. Watson_____
Carla Madison_____
Sharon Bailey_____
Greg Rasheed_____
(Write-In/Otros nombres)_____

COUNCILMEMBER DISTRICT 9
(Vote for One/ Vote por Uno)
Judy H. Montero_____
Waldo Benavidez_____
(Write-In/Otros nombres)_____

COUNCILMEMBER DISTRCT 10
(Vote for One/ Vote por Uno)
Jeanne Robb_____
(Write-In/Otros nombres)_____

COUNCILMEMBER DISTRCT 11
(Vote for One/ Vote por Uno)
Michael Hancock_____
(Write-In/Otros nombres)_____

BALLOT QUESTIONS:

Referred Question 1A
Shall the elected office of the District Attorney in and for the Second Judicial District of Colorado (the Denver District Attorney) be limited, as are the offices of the Mayor of Denver and the members of the City Council of Denver, to no more than three consecutive four-year terms, thereby lengthening the term limitation set forth in the Colorado constitution by one term, for any District Attorney elected or appointed on or after January 1, 2001?

_____YES _____NO

For the exact (and possibly updated) wording of the ballot, please visit the Denver Election Commission.

The following candidates either dropped out or never submitted the requisite number of signatures to appear on the May 2007 ballot:

Mayor: Dwight Henson
Clerk & Recorder: Kevin Slevin, Don Henderson, Kim Sayers, Sharron Klein
District 1: Gerald Styron
District 3: Donald Sandoval
District 6: Steven Frank
District 7: Andy Archuleta, Jan Belle, Ari Harrison, Jake Schroeder
District 8: Lynn Smith, Donna Davis, Roger Cobb, Joshua Mitchell

Profile: Stephanie O'Malley (Clerk & Recorder)

Colorado Confidential is stepping up efforts to provide information to Denver voters regarding the 2007 municipal elections. This is the first in a series of planned video interviews with candidates, conducted by fresh reporter Kerri Rebresh.

As the first extended discussion of Stephanie O'Malley's campaign platform found on the Internet, it is very valuable indeed.

The entire interview with Stephanie O'Malley is available online, but an excerpt of her campaign promises is provided below.

As the elected Clerk and Recorder, I intend to:

Lead a comprehensive review and audit of Denver’s election methods, processes and procedures. I will use results of the election audit to further guide decisions focused on holding successful elections in the City and County of Denver.

Partner with a neighboring county, such as Larimer County, that has successfully engaged in a "vote center " model election. I will use this collaborative partnering experience to develop strategies that will lend to Denver successfully engaging in a vote center model.

Fix all challenges associated with Denver’s e-poll book.

Hire the best available Election Director.

Use a second available appointed position for the elections division to hire a Deputy Director of Elections. This is a necessary as regaining voter confidence is a priority. The presence of a Deputy Director of Elections will lend to regaining this lost confidence.

Make staffing revisions where needed to improve the department’s service delivery around elections.

Engage in a comprehensive review of costs associated with hosting various types of election models. Use the results of this review to assure that adequate resources are delivered during elections.

Engage in collaborative efforts with the Secretary of State’s office to comply with Federal and State legislation that has significant impacts on election matters within the City and County of Denver. For example, the Help America Vote Act instructs the Secretary of State to establish a state-wide voter registration list. Under my leadership, Denver will participate in this process.

Hold the management staff accountable and responsible for their performance and that of their staff members.

Work with the disabled community to deliver a voting model that affords them opportunity to vote independently.

Candidate forum at Denver Young Democrats meeting

TakeBackTheHouse has provided a terrific first-hand account of a recent candidates forum hosted by the Denver Young Democrats. I highly encourage you to read the entire article at SquareState, but include excerpts below for your convenience.

First came the Mayor:

He pointed towards future issues such as global warming as a place where simple changes on the municipal level could have ripples of impact. "Even if there is a 2% chance that 95% of leading scientists are right, we'd be insane not to spend billions." He didn't propose any billion dollar programs, but he did point to increasing the City's tree canopy as a way that we could have a real impact on the use of domestic and automotive air conditioners. The solutions he was looking for on all topics; environmental change, crime, etc. were ones where you were "not just throwing money at the problem," but ones that led to intelligent solutions. Putting more police on the streets was obviously a large contributor to Denver's 2006 10% drop in crime, but so too was the implementation of new systems that chart the hot spots in real time and help plan the new deployments.

Michael Hancock then followed:

He told us to be prepared to make some difficult decisions, and to decide if we were, "ready to pay more for a better managed government." He said that his constituents tended to make good decisions when given good information, but we have, "lost our way on some issues that are very very very germane to being Democrats." He encouraged the young crowd to become an army ready to knock on doors and to go around the media and the national organizations and find out again what changes the people really wanted in the neighborhoods. He looked around the room at all the hopeful candidates and said he had no doubt all of them were able to do the job, but wondered if all of them could look the people in the eye and make the hard decisions.

Doug Linkhart offered brief remarks about returning Denver to being a "shining example of Democratic values.":

After joking that he remembered what Denver politics was like back when he would march with Sojourner Truth, he said that this race today was mistakenly called 'non-partisan'. He said that it was very partisan, but that we were all on the same side. Aligned against us were the challenges we were facing.

Rick Garcia then spoke:

The very popular Councilman spoke of the great economic advantage brought to our businesses by foreign born residents, and how the research and policy dynamics in this region were changing with 12,000 people per day turning 60 years old.

Then came Clerk & Recorder candidate, Stephanie O'Malley:

She wants to be at the helm of the new office because, "It's no one's place to disenfranchise anyone from casting a vote." Obviously, conduct of the elections will be a large part of her role, but the Clerk's office also deals with many other issues. Increased foreclosures mean increased documentation flow. She says she intends to prepare the office to meet the statutory requirements of the greater workload, and improve accessibility by moving the old paper and microfiche documents into electronic form.

The narrator unfortunately missed the presentations of Kevin Slevin (write-in candidate for Clerk and Recorder) and Danny Lopez (mayoral candidate).

While you are at it, someone tell me where Paige Wolf came from. She is managing the campaign for Carol Boigon, and she has ~wunderkind~ written all over her. She is young, charismatic, and smart, so of course I am instantly suspicious. She made a very able surrogate for the Councilwoman-at-Large, and ran through her employer's accomplishments, including the redevelopment of the Lowenstein Theater into the Tattered Cover Bookstore. My job has me constantly researching the Council Members, and Boigon has easily the most interesting corners. She supports working family issues and development interests, her donors include labor, community leaders, and her husband's large oil company law firm buddies. I do not envy her having to appeal to the amazing clutter of an At-Large seat.

After a staffer for District 5 Councilwoman Marcia Johnson said a few words, two challengers were invited to speak:

R. J. Ours, a former government relations director for the American Cancer Society, spoke of building coalitions and investing in infrastructure. He said if we were going to spend, "three quarter of a billion of your tax dollars, I want the best price, best projects, and the best quality." He spoke of his work on Amendment 35 which increased the tobacco tax, and he advocated for smoke free casinos.

There was another candidate for District 5. He called himself a 'property rights advocate' and called for the abolishment of historic preservation designations. He talked about his experience in the 'energy infrastructure business.'

Then came Julie Connor for District 7:

As aide to the outgoing Mackenzie, she has the right to claim she represents a continuity of knowledge. Like my favorite candidates in the municipal elections she is an unashamed lover of provincial politics. Zoning issues, potholes, overlay districts; she loves that stuff.

Finally came the candidates for the District 8 City Council seat [it should be noted that although the description of all candidates seems exceedingly fair, the author of this account is himself a Darrell Watson supporter]:

First up was the very accessible Carla Madison. She shares Darrell Watson and Julie Conner's love for urban policy. She spoke about her work with the zoning code and about increasing density on the corridors of neighborhoods while preserving the character within them. She proposed a good idea about establishing a Senior Advocacy Hotline, and she finished with a statement that sounded a bit darkly cryptic, "Welton St. is sad. The 16th St. Mall is ailing. There are a lot of reasons. I won't go into why that is."

Greg Rasheed opened with a song. Really. "Helloooo Young Democraats wherever you arrrre. I hope yooou willlll vote for meeeeee..." Really. He sang. Then he talked about gang issues. Coming out of a childhood surrounded by gang culture he wants to "give young people hope." Part of that is starting a 'Youth Advisor Council'. "I'm not looking for the A students. I'm looking for the hard heads." He spoke about students, "already being earmarked not to pass."

....After a long day and too many speakers, I was ready to take a nap, but with incredible energy [Darrell Watson] moved around the room and woke people up. "Who here, who in this corner right here, which of you thinks City Government should work for you?" Darrell did, and he explained his vision for a 'City that Works'. Darrell can cover a lot of territory in two minutes; culture of the neighborhoods, economic development, safety, broken windows, bike lanes, advocacy for the people... but obviously you can't get into detail on anything in that time. So instead of just keeping it vague and running off, he stuck around for a long while to answer all the questions. An evening that started with a room full of politicians ended with a room full of active Young Democrats and a candidate interested in helping them make the city a little better.

Again, I highly recommend that you read the full account at SquareState.net.

Denver Decides

Denver's Channel 8 is starting its Denver Decides coverage, offering a current list of election events for broadcast:

March marks the start of Denver Decides, our effort to fully cover the candidates and races of the May Municipal Election. Denver 8 TV will give you a first look at the candidates in several races for city offices.

Denver Decides is a dynamic collaboration with recognized community groups active in organizing a variety of local forums. Leading our community partnership is InterNeighborhood Cooperation and the League of Women Voters.

Coverage of these forums can be seen beginning mid-month.

Clerk and Recorder forum
Mon., March 26, 9 pm

Council District #3 forum
Mon., March 26, 8 pm
Wed., March 28, 8 pm

Council District #7 forum
Sat., March 17, 8 pm
Sun., March 18, 2 pm
Mon., March 26, 10 pm

Council District #8 forum
Sat., March 24, 10 pm
Sun., March 25, 1 pm
Mon., March 26, 7 pm

Prophet's Predictions for 2007 races

On March 9th, the Wash Park Prophet predicted victories for all incumbents in the upcoming city elections. He also tabbed Stephanie O'Malley (Clerk & Recorder), Chris Nevitt (CD7), and Darrell Watson (CD8).

The only race he declined to predict was Council District 3.

The blog also provides brief descriptions of the candidates, which may also be helpful to voters craving more information.

Visit the Wash Park Prophet for the full article.

Current races

Below is an initial list of candidates for city government elections in May 2007. At this point, some of the candidates are active and some are only anticipated. And a few have already dropped out.

Mayor: John Hickenlooper, Dwight Henson

Auditor: Dennis Gallagher

Clerk & Recorder: Stephanie O’Malley, Don Henderson, Jacob Werther, Ken Gordon, Sharron Klein (dropped out 2/19)

District 1:Rick Garcia, Gerald Styron

District 2: Jeanne Faatz, Danny Lopez

District 3: Niccolo Casewit, Paul Lopez, JoAnn Phillips, Mark Roggeman, Ben Romero, Donald Sandoval, Kathy Sandoval

District 4: Peggy Lehmann, Ike Kelley Jr., William Rutherford III

District 5: Marcia Johnson, Mitchell Poindexter

District 6: Charlie Brown

District 7: Julie Connor, Chris Nevitt, Rochelle "Shelly" Watters, Dennis Smith, Jake Schroeder (dropped out 2/15)

District 8: Sharon Bailey, Roger Cobb, Carla Madison, Greg Rasheed, Lynn Smith, Darrell Watson

District 9: Judy Montero

District 10: Jeanne Robb

District 11: Michael Hancock

At-large: Doug Linkhart, Carol Boigon, Carol Campbell