Hickenlooper Sounding Like a Candidate for Governor

Hickenlooper stopped short of making a formal announcement to run, but his spontaneous revelation during an affordable housing conference led many in the audience to infer that he has decided he can do the most for Colorado as governor.

“I don’t think the governor’s job could be as much fun as the mayor’s job,” Hickenlooper said after an audience member asked if he will run for governor. “But I do believe now it probably has greater impact. You know, my plan was only to give 10 or 15 years to public service. If you’re going to look at it that way, you should probably try to be as useful and have (the) maximum impact as you can.

“So it’s a balancing act of what you love and what you know (in the mayor’s role) vs. maybe having more impact in a different place,” Hickenlooper continued.

The mayor vowed to make the decision soon on the question people have been asking nonstop for nearly two months: whether he’ll run or not. “Certainly within the next few days I promise we will get it figured out,” Hickenlooper said. “I know people are sick of talking about it.”

The mayor’s off-the-cuff comments came while taking questions following a brief address at the housing conference sponsored by the University of Denver and held at the Police Protective Association center.