Your Money Or Your Vote: Citywide voting patterns in the May 2007 Denver municipal election

Did you vote for the mayor? If you've got a nice income and live in a wealthy neighborhood, odds are that you did.

Truth be told, the odds are that you voted for the mayor no matter where you live. It's just that folks in wealthy neighborhoods tended to support him more heavily than folks in poorer neighborhoods.
That dynamic wasn't true of all incumbents. Auditor Dennis Gallagher, for instance, seemed to do best with the middle class.
And then there were challengers like Carol Campbell, candidate for City Council At Large. She did considerably better among the poorer neighborhoods.
Talk of an uninterested electorate this year thus speaks more to the interests of the wealthy than of the poor. Poorer neighborhoods naturally were far more interested in change. Thankfully for incumbents, the rich vote more often and thus get the final word.

Note: for this study, year 2000 census figures were used. The average income in 16 neighborhoods was less than $40,000 per year in income; 15 averaged between $40,000 and $49,999; 13 averaged between $50,000 and $69,999; and 11 were above $70,000.

At Large candidates get no respect (statistically speaking)

Are the official election results misleading citizens about the race for City Council At Large seats?

Doug Linkhart’s 41,555 votes are displayed as representing 41% of the total. But the truth is, he received far more support than that.

That's because the Denver Election Commission displays the At Large percentages as a basis of all votes given in that race. Normally, that's fine. Total votes are usually equal to the total number of voters in any given race. But when voters can select up to two (2) candidates, as happens with At Large seats, the numbers are thrown out of whack.

For instance, the total number of At Large votes in May 2007 was 101,288, so half of that (assuming everyone voted for two candidates) would be 50,644. That seems low, insofar as 65,270 voted in the more obscure Clerk & Recorder race, yet it also seems unlikely that tens of thousands of folks chose just one of the three candidates. Still, if we raise the estimated votecount to 57,000 (halfway between the two numbers), the percentages change quite dramatically.

COUNCIL AT LARGE
Doug Linkhart – 41,555 / 57,000? - 72.9% (not 41.0%)
Carol Boigon – 31,952 / 57,000? - 56.1% (not 31.6%)
Carol Campbell – 27,144 / 57,000? - 47.6% (not 26.8%)
Write-In Candidate - 637 / 57,000? - 1.1% (not 0.6%)

Thus, for a more intuitive accounting, the vote tallies for At Large councilors should be judged not by the total number of votes, but the total number of voters who submitted a choice in that category.

Opinions may vary on the need for this revision, but it is at least important for voters to realize that the actual percentage of support for candidates in the At Large race was far more substantial than the generic results indicate.

Cole Neighborhood blog urges you to vote for...

The ostensible goal of Cole Neighborhood blog's "Get Your Denver Election Ballots In!" is to increase participation:

It's shocking to me how little action some residents take in improving their neighborhood - whether it be participating in their neighborhood association meetings, volunteering, getting involved with neighborhood safety, or even more basically, VOTING.

The author ties this lack of involvement to the endemic difficulty of getting Denverites to participate in any form of local government:

One couple is never short on complaints about Cole--Whether it be the crime problem, the trash problem, the condition of their neighbor's home, etc.--Yet despite numerous efforts on my part to get them involved in the neighborhood, it has been somewhat like keeping a candle lit in a gusty windstorm.

Similarly, we've had neighborhood meetings as large as 45 people, but inevitably, the next one shrinks back down to the same 4 or 5 involved residents. How do these people expect things to change in Cole? It takes a few, committed individuals, some luck, and some momentum. But it starts by getting involved, rather than just complaining.

Yet to us, the more interesting part comes when the unnamed blogger BigSprinter offered endorsements. In addition to John Hickenlooper, the site endorses Dennis Gallagher and Stephanie O'Malley for somewhat facile reasons (e.g., "because the Denver Post endorses them, and for reasons that make sense to me.").

More substantive remarks are directed at the candidacies of Doug Linkhart and Carol Campbell:

Doug Linkhart seems dissatisfied in both Mr. Hickenlooper's and outgoing Councilmember Elbra Wedgeworth's track record in tackling the many issues North Denver metro neighborhoods face. Additionally, he seems sincerely interested in "filling in" and redeveloping the blighted "horseshoe" that still rings the redeveloped downtown to the north (and of which Cole belongs). Similarly, he shares my belief that the North Denver neighborhoods like Cole, Whittier, and Curtis Park at this point have enough homeless, drug and alcohol-related shelters--It's time for Highlands, and some of the other urban Denver 'hoods to do their part and host some of these important facilities.

Carol Campbell similarly seems ready to tackle head-on the crime and disorder issues that plaque urban Denver. I applaud her for consistently not skirting the issues, or candy-coating her opinions. For example, she's not afraid to speak out about the dim-witted Denver tradition of spending police dollars every year to facilitate Cinco de Mayo cruising. Is she being racist in speaking out about it? Come on, people. I don't care if they're Starbucks-drinking yuppies blasting Yanni in their 3-series BMW's, cruising is a big problem, that adversely affects residents and businesses along the Federal corridor. I lived over there, and know first-hand. So, because Carol Campbell is a straight-shooter that has the interests of responsible, law-abiding urban Denver residents in mind, she gets my vote.

Finally, the site endorses Carla Madison in Council District 8. The explanation was negative insofar as BigSprinter was troubled by the candidacies of Darrell Watson, Greg Rasheed, and Sharon Bailey, for some well-considered reasons.

Which brings us to Carla. Why do I like Carla? One, she isn't a good public speaker. I know, you're probably laughing now, but while I wish she'd practice her public speaking skills a bit more so more people would embrace her, I feel that what you see is what you get with her--And that makes all the difference too me.

She also supports Broken Windows, stimulating redevelopment while maintaining the historical and architectural character of the neighborhood, and she has consistently attended neighborhood and Cole-Whittier Against Crime meetings (not just the one where all the candidates were in attendance to give their sales pitch). Not to mention that she has a strong track-record at the neighborhood level as president and involved member of her City Park neighborhood association.

Whomever you pick, VOTE! And the bottom line is realistically that any of the above candidates will be an improvement over Elbra Wedgeworth, who checked out years ago.

Taylor endorses Carol Campbell

Rick Taylor, former president of the Athmar Park Neighborhood Association, endorses Carol Campbell in her bid for an at-large seat for City Council. He writes, in part:

Carol has never waited for others to lead. When an issue arises, she finds the solutions. As the chair of APNA's zoning committee, she spent countless hours assisting neighbors with code compliance issues and implemented the "Landlord Project" to foster cooperation between residents and owners of rental properties. She was a strong advocate of "Broken Windows" policing in 2005 after a series of crimes in Athmar Park that included the murder of a Denver police officer and her advocacy helped to convince the Denver city administration to implement "Broken Windows."

This year she is "stepping up to the plate" again to run for City Councilmember-at-Large. Typical of Carol, she has the courage of her convictions to take on two well-known and well-funded incumbents. She is unwilling to wait for a "safe" time to run for office and believes, strongly, that every election should be contested.

I strongly urge Denver voters to elect Carol Campbell to the Denver City Council.

No on Campbell

The Wash Park Prophet urges a "No" vote on Carol E Campbell for the City Council At-Large seat.

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Profile: Carol Campbell (At Large District)

Several candidates for a City Council At Large seat were profiled in the March 2007 edition of Life On Capitol Hill.

Carol Campbell's candidacy was described as follows:

A wife, mother, artist, teacher, and activist, Carol E Campbell has lived in the Athmar Park neighborhood in southwest Denver since 1988. She has worked to improve the quality of life for Denver citizens since 1991, when she helped form a neighborhood association.

Campbell says that "crime is rampant and negatively impacting our lives." She is running for a Council seat because she believes that her first-hand experiences dealing with crime and working for over 15 years to affect positive change in her. neighborhood gives her a point of view that would benefit the citizens of Denver. She wants to use her experiences to "boldly identify issues and champion common-sense solutions that will make all of Denver a safer, more vibrant place to live, work, and raise a family."

She is running on what she terms a "solutions-based" platform designed to deal with the escalation of crime and violence in Denver neighborhoods. She also proposes an ordinance to remedy the negative impacts experienced by residents and businesses along Federal Blvd. due to cruising.

She states that she has "a long track record of balancing her work on tough issues with dynamic projects which build bridges and unite diverse groups in the community."

Profile: Videotape of the District 8 and At Large City Council candidates

An image is worth a thousand words, then Denver Direct has just offered a million or so helpful words for Denver voters this campaign season.

Gerald Trumbule visited a candidates forum sponsored by the San Rafael neighborhood association on Thursday evening (March 22nd), and videotaped all of the introductory statements by candidates.

Would you be interested to see the likes of District 8 candidates Sharon Bailey, Carla Madison, Greg Rasheed, Lynn Smith, and Darrell Watson? No matter where you live in Denver, the candidates for the At-Large Seat are important: Carol Boigon, Carol Campbell, and Doug Linkhart.

Please visit Denver City Council District 8 Candidates Speak at San Rafael 3-22-07.

The vast majority of Denver voters will never meet these candidates face-to-face. That's why issue-based, Internet resources are so valuable. Thanks, Jerry!

Opinon: Denver needs more spirited politics

Former city councilwoman Susan Barnes-Gelt penned a March 3 column for the Denver Post entitled "Election Below the Radar".

So much of the article is good, it's hard to know where to start. The column begins with a rundown of the current apathetic political situation:

So far, Denver's all-mail, May 1 municipal ballot looks like a nothing burger. With the exception of three open City Council seats in Districts 3, 7 and 8, there are no truly contested council races. There are no serious candidates challenging the mayor or the auditor. Nor does there appear to be a real horse race to fill the newly created, $125,000-per-year elected job of clerk and recorder.

Oh, sure, the perfunctory Harold Stassen candidates (the Minnesota Republican who sought the presidential nomination nine times between 1948 and 1992) have pulled petitions: Dwight Henson, Denver's "homeless mayor," may run for mayor; CPA Bill Wells is gathering signatures - again - to run for auditor; Ike Kelley Jr. and William Rutherford III want the District 4 seat; Mitchell Poindexter and R.J. Ours are running in District 5; and there's Waldo Benavides in District 9. Denver voters see these names regularly on the ballot.

In the at-large race, only Carol E. Campbell, a credible west Denver neighborhood activist, has pulled a petition. The at-large race has been a slam-dunk incumbent's dream for as long as anyone can remember because of two significant factors: money and geography. It's nearly impossible to build a political base by going door-to-door citywide. The other alternatives are a challenger with high citywide name recognition or a wealthy, self-funded candidate who would have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to buy name recognition though direct mail, TV and radio.

In fact, Councilwoman at-large Carol Boigon did exactly that four years ago. She loaned her campaign nearly $190,000 for advertising in the 2003 election and placed first in a field of seven - with 22 percent of the votes cast. Doug Linkhart secured the other at-large position with 17 percent.

After discussing the now-discarded idea of splitting the at-large council elections into two separate seats, which would have ensured more direct accountability and head-to-head campaigns, she returns to the question of political candidacies in Denver.

In 1995, Denver voters extended municipal terms to 12 years and in 2003, 10 of 13 council seats, the mayor and the auditor were open. Despite record candidate interest and numerous hotly contested seats, less than 47 percent of Denverites voted in the May municipal election.

Honestly, I don't know what to make of a citywide election for 16 important positions and little controversy. Are we so absorbed in national and international affairs and the doings at the state legislature that we simply don't care about the direction of our city, its condition and its future?

Maybe I'm tone deaf, but the absence of a spirited civic dialogue that should accompany municipal elections is not music to my ears.